The dreaded question “what’s for dinner?” is one that some 88% of Canadians are responsible for addressing during the week. While the large majority of Canadians plan ahead for weeknight dinners, only about half are successful in seeing their plans through, meaning that there is a need for more immediate solutions to help them get to the finish line. That said, consumers don’t want to feel like they’re cheating and crave shortcut offerings that let them stay involved in the cooking process – a concept undoubtedly contributing to the success of time-saving small kitchen appliances. As meals cannot be made without first buying the ingredients, grocery stores are a key player in the meal planning and preparation process, yet consumers don’t think of grocery stores as a primary source for meal ideas, meaning that grocery stores are missing out in the pre-work of planning.

This Report looks at consumer attitudes and behaviours towards planning and cooking weeknight dinners and explores the degree to which they are successful in seeing these plans through. Cooking involvement levels including the usage of shortcuts like using semi- or fully prepared ingredients or ordering takeout and resources used for meal inspiration are also explored.