Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- Irish consumers struggle to find time to cook
- Convenience in high demand
- Increasing number of grab and go food products influencing eating behaviour
- Flexible and microwavable packaging driving consumers’ interest
- Cooking skills gap amongst younger generations needs to be addressed
- Consumers in need of culinary skills improvement
- Cooking from scratch facilitates portion and ingredient control
- Digital media a source of culinary inspiration
- Innovations
- The consumer
- Most Irish consumers report to be responsible for preparing meals
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- Figure 1: Responsibility for cooking/preparing meals in the household, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Most Irish consumers cook from scratch
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- Figure 2: Frequency of meal preparation, by type of meal, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish consumers recognise healthy benefits of cooking from scratch
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- Figure 3: Reasons for cooking from scratch, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish consumers report high cooking confidence levels
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- Figure 4: Agreement with statements related to cooking behaviours, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Consumers value the importance of cooking skills
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- Figure 5: Agreement with statements related to attitudes towards cooking, NI and RoI, March 2018
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Shortage of time affects consumers eating and cooking habits
- Time-poor consumers with busy lifestyles search for convenience
- Snacking and consumers’ eating habits
- The effect of ready meals, takeaways and meal delivery services on scratch cooking
- Convenient packaging appealing to consumers
- Teaching younger consumers cooking skills essential to their physical and mental wellbeing
- Consumers lack culinary skills and cooking confidence
- Scratch cooking helps consumes to control portion sizes and ingredients
- Social media and networks helping consumers to improve their cooking skills
Market Drivers
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- Lack of time affecting consumers’ cooking behaviour
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- Figure 6: Agreement with a statement ‘It is hard to find the time to cook from scratch every night’, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Consumers seeking convenience
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- Figure 7: Agreement with statements ‘Preparing raw ingredients is a hassle’, ‘Cooking from scratch means having to do more washing up’ and ‘I use pre-prepared products when cooking’, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Snacks and on-the-go products influencing eating habits
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- Figure 8: New products launched in the snack category, UK and Ireland, January 2013-May 2018
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- Figure 9: How often consumers snack between meals in a typical day, NI and RoI, November 2015
- Ready meals, takeaways and meal delivery services reducing the need for cooking skills
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- Figure 10: Top ready meal launches, by sub-category, UK (including NI) and Ireland, 2013-18
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- Figure 11: The frequency with which consumers have bought ready meals in the last three months, by type, NI and RoI, August 2016
- Technology influencing ready meal/takeaway usage
- Consumers demand convenient food packaging
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- Figure 12: New product launches in the (UK including NI) and Ireland food market, by packaging type, January 2013-May 2018
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- Figure 13: New product launches in the (UK including NI) and Ireland food market, by claims related to convenience, January 2013-May 2018
- Parents advised to cook with children
- Concerns about cooking from scratch emphasise the need to address the skill gap
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- Figure 14: Agreement with statements ‘It is hard to know whether meat is cooked through to a safe temperature’ and ‘It’s best to avoid recipes with ingredients you are not familiar with’, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Cooking from scratch helps consumers to control diets and improve their health and wellbeing
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- Figure 15: Consumers who cook from scratch to have control over portion size, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Millennials cook from scratch to meet special dietary needs
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- Figure 16: Consumers who cook from scratch to meet special dietary needs, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Digital media and their influence on meal preparation and cooking behaviour
- The impact of celebrity chefs and cooking programmes on consumers’ attitude towards cooking
Innovations – What You Need to Know
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- Irish consumers like time-saving food preparation
- High protein content a prized attribute for meal choices
- Meat substitutes market showing compound growing, albeit from a low base
- Consumers are still avoiding key allergens, particularly gluten
- Food retailers working to reduce plastic used in packaging
Who’s Innovating?
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- Irish consumers seeking to minimise preparation time and environmental impact
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- Figure 17: Claims analysis of products launched in the Meals & Meal Centre, Side Dish, and Processed Fish, Meat & Egg Product markets, Ireland, 2014-18
- Protein is the most valued nutrient in consumer diets
- Consumers choosing to reduce meat consumption and seek alternate protein sources
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- Figure 18: New meat substitutes products launched, UK and Ireland, 2014-18
- Low/no/reduced allergen products retain popularity
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Irish consumers share cooking responsibilities
- Cooking from scratch popular in a typical week
- Scratch cooking perceived as a healthier option
- Irish consumers confident in using various available ingredients and modifying recipes
- Cooking knowledge important in developing healthy attitude towards food
Cooking Responsibility
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- Majority of Irish consumers do not share cooking responsibilities
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- Figure 19: Responsibility for cooking/preparing meals in the household, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish women primary cooks for the family, while men more likely to share the cooking responsibility
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- Figure 20: Responsibility for cooking/preparing meals in the household, by gender, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Older generations more likely than Millennials to be mainly responsible for meal preparation
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- Figure 21: Consumers who are mainly responsible for cooking/preparing meals in the household, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
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- Figure 22: Responsibility for cooking/preparing meals in the household, by working status, NI and RoI, March 2018
Frequency of Meal Preparation
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- RoI consumers cook a dish from scratch more frequently than consumers in NI
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- Figure 23: Frequency of meal preparation, by type of meal NI and RoI, March 2018
- NI ABC1s tend to cook from scratch less frequently
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- Figure 24: Frequency of creating a dish completely by scratch, by socio-economic group, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Millennials more likely to create a dish from combination of prepared food and uncooked ingredients
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- Figure 25: Frequency of creating a dish that is a combination of prepared food and uncooked ingredients 3-4 times a week, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
Reasons for Cooking from Scratch
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- Irish consumers perceive cooking from scratch as healthier
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- Figure 26: Reasons for cooking from scratch, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Older consumers see cooking from scratch as healthier
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- Figure 27: Consumers who cook from scratch because it is healthier, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
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- Figure 28: Consumers who cook from scratch because it tastes better than prepared meals, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Women and C2DEFs cook from scratch to save money
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- Figure 29: Consumers who cook from scratch to save money, by gender and socio-economic group, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Consumers who enjoy cooking spend more time online
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- Figure 30: Consumers who cook from scratch because they enjoy cooking, by daily internet usage, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish 25-34-year-olds most likely to cook to try out new recipes
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- Figure 31: Consumers who cook from scratch because they want to experiment/try out new recipes, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
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- Figure 32: Consumers who cook from scratch because they want to experiment/try out new recipes, by daily internet usage, NI and RoI, March 2018
Cooking Behaviours
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- Irish consumers confident in using a variety of ingredients
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- Figure 33: Agreement with statements related to cooking behaviours, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish Millennials less confident when it comes to modifying recipes
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- Figure 34: Agreement with statements ‘I often cook with whatever ingredients I have at home’ and ‘I feel confident modifying recipes’, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish men and older generations more willing to handle raw meat
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- Figure 35: Agreement with the statement ‘I am happy to handle raw meat when cooking’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Traditional cooking methods favourited by older consumers
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- Figure 36: Agreement with the statement ‘I prefer to use traditional cooking methods where possible’, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Younger consumers less likely to seek locally produced and seasonal ingredients
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- Figure 37: Agreement with statements ‘I seek out locally produced ingredients to cook with’ and ‘I seek out seasonal ingredients to cook with’, by age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- NI women feeling guilty about using ready meals and constrained in terms of meal choices
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- Figure 38: Agreement with statements ‘I feel guilty using ready meals to feed my family/friends’ and ‘My meal choices are constrained by what my family/the people I live with want’, by gender, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Social media and online food shopping appealing to Irish Millennials
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- Figure 39: Agreement with statements ‘I enjoy sharing photos of food I have prepared on social media’ and ‘I prefer to shop for food ingredients online than shop in stores’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, March 2018
Attitudes Towards Cooking
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- Improving cooking skills essential in developing healthy attitude towards food
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- Figure 40: Agreement with statements related to attitudes towards cooking, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Women and Baby Boomers more likely to believe in the importance of developing cooking skills
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- Figure 41: Agreement with the statement ‘Learning how to cook is important for developing a healthy attitude towards food’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Millennials and women feel judged by others for their food choices
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- Figure 42: Agreement with the statement ‘People judge you by the kinds of food that you eat’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, March 2018
- NI’s C2DEFs concerned about the costs of eating a healthy diet
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- Figure 43: Agreement with the statement ‘It is more expensive to eat a healthy diet’, by socio-economic group, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish consumers seek out advice and tips
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- Figure 44: Agreement with the statement ‘There should be more information on how to use leftovers’, by daily internet usage, NI and RoI, March 2018
- Irish women concerned about environment and animal welfare
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- Figure 45: Agreement with statements ‘The way in which food companies treat animals is a big concern’ and ‘Cooking from scratch is more environmentally friendly than using prepared meals’, by gender, NI and RoI, March 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Consumer research
- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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