Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Ageing population should benefit ingredients
- Vast majority of meals eaten at home
- World cuisines having a big impact on cooking
- Interest in naturalness and ‘clean eating’ influences meal choice
- Meat reduction trend is changing meal choices
- Companies and brands
- Ease of use a big focus of NPD claims
- Meal kits offer convenient route to scratch cooking
- Bigger focus on premium in prepared meals
- ‘Flexitarian’ and vegan products are increasing
- Supermarket campaigns focus on love of cooking
- The consumer
- Cooking/meal preparation relevant to vast majority of population
- More than four in 10 mostly cook from scratch for evening meals
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- Figure 1: Type of evening meal cooked/prepared most often in household, April 2018
- Majority of people shop with specific meals in mind
- Weekly meal choices fairly fixed in most homes
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- Figure 2: Behaviours related to cooking at home, April 2018
- Ease of preparation top consideration for everyday meals
- More room for indulgence for leisure occasions
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- Figure 3: Factors most important when cooking/preparing a meal for an everyday occasion or for a leisure occasion, April 2018
- Roasting, pan frying and boiling are top cooking methods
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- Figure 4: Cooking methods used to cook/prepare meals most often, April 2018
- Ready-to-cook shortcuts have strong appeal
- Strong demand for more recipe ideas
- Most people get enjoyment from cooking
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- Figure 5: Attitudes towards cooking at home, April 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Room for brands and retailers to help home cooks with planning meals for the week
- The facts
- The implications
- Overcoming barriers to expanding meal repertoires through focusing on factors influencing meal choice
- The facts
- The implications
- A range of products can help offer shortcuts to scratch cooking
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Ageing population should benefit ingredients
- Vast majority of main meals eaten at home
- Growth in real incomes could mean people dining out a bit more
- ‘Foodies’ represent a large group of engaged consumers
- World cuisines having a big influence on cooking
- Interest in naturalness and ‘clean eating’ influences meal choice
- Meat reduction trend is changing meal choices
Market Drivers
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- Ageing population should benefit ingredients
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- Figure 6: Trends in age structure of the UK population, 2012-22
- Dining out only has limited effect on spending for cooking at home
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- Figure 7: Frequency of eating out or ordering a takeaway/home delivery in the past month, April 2018
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- Figure 8: Annual rate of CPI inflation for food and catering, Q1 2017-Q1 2018
- Saving money a major driver for scratch cooking
- ‘Foodies’ represent a large group of engaged consumers
- Popularity of world cuisines has a big influence on cooking
- Interest in naturalness and ‘clean eating’ influences meal choice
- Meat reduction trend is changing meal choices
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Ease of use a big focus of NPD claims in protein categories
- Cook-in-the-bag and slow-cooked dishes see more launches
- Meal kits offer convenient route to scratch cooking
- ‘Easy’ ingredients seen to offer a shortcut for scratch cooking
- Bigger focus on premium in prepared meals
- Catering for those looking for their 5-a-day
- ‘Flexitarian’ and vegan products are increasing
- Supermarket campaigns focus on love of cooking
- Promoting the benefits of frozen and canned foods
- Meat and poultry marketing focuses on recipes and ease of cooking
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Ease of use a big focus of NPD claims in protein categories
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- Figure 9: New product launches in the processed fish, meat & egg products markets making ease-of-use and time/speed claims, share of launches, 2013-18
- Ready-to-cook and easy-to-cook dishes offer convenience
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- Figure 10: Examples of product launches making ease-of-use claims, 2017-18
- Cook-in-the-bag continues to see launches
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- Figure 11: Examples of cook-in-the-bag product launches, 2017-18
- Slow-cooked dishes cut cooking time
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- Figure 12: Examples of new products in slow-cooked ranges, 2017 -18
- Meal kits offer convenient route to scratch cooking
- Chilled meal kits attract NPD
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- Figure 13: Examples of launches of chilled meal kits by major retailers, 2017-18
- Meal kits continue to target world cuisines
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- Figure 14: Examples of launches of ambient meals kits for world foods, 2017-18
- ‘Easy’ ingredients seen to offer a shortcut for scratch cooking
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- Figure 15: Examples of launches of shortcut ingredients, 2017-18
- Bigger focus on premium in prepared meals
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- Figure 16: New product launches in the prepared meals and pizzas making premium claims, share of launches, 2013-18
- Figure 17: Examples of products launched under Sainsbury’s ‘The Supper Club’ range, 2018
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- Figure 18: Examples of launches making premium claims in prepared meals, 2017-18
- Catering for those looking for their 5-a-day
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- Figure 19: Examples of ready meals launches making ‘5-a-day’ claims, 2018
- ‘Flexitarian’ and vegan products are increasing
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- Figure 20: Examples of ‘flexitarian’ and vegan food launches, 2017-18
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Supermarket campaigns focus on love of cooking
- Tesco Food Love Stories focus on customer recipes
- Sainsbury’s runs Food Dancing campaign
- New Beautifully Simple campaign from Waitrose
- Co-op focuses on bringing people together with food
- Campaigns promoting the benefits of frozen
- ‘Power of Frozen’ from Iceland extols frozen fish
- Birds Eye in new advertising push to encourage children to eat vegetables
- £5 million campaign for Young’s frozen fish features premium products and quick family meals
- Princes pushes canned foods for cooking
- Brands look to encourage cooking of world cuisines at home
- Blue Dragon focuses on recreating Asian cuisines
- Table sauces showcase versatility for cooking
- Getting more people cooking Caribbean, a focus on the social aspect of Mexican food
- Branston positions pickle as a cooking ingredient
- Knorr Flavour for All campaign raises issue of food poverty
- Meat and poultry marketing focuses on recipes and ease of cooking
- AHDB promotes “midweek” pork loin medallions
- Support for thin-cut steak continues focus on midweek meals
- QMS focuses on ease of cooking
- Asda spotlights hassle-free roast-in-bag chicken
- New marketing showcases ease of cooking with Quorn
- Charlie Bigham’s promotes ready meals as shortcuts to weekday meals
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Cooking/meal preparation relevant to vast majority of population
- More than four in 10 mostly cook from scratch for evening meals
- Majority of people shop with specific meals in mind
- Weekly meal choices fairly fixed in most homes
- Ease of preparation top consideration for everyday meals
- More room for indulgence for leisure occasions
- Roasting, pan frying and boiling are top cooking methods
- Ready-to-cook shortcuts have strong appeal
- Strong demand for more recipe ideas
- Most people get enjoyment from cooking
Responsibility for Cooking
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- Only 11% of adults have little responsibility for cooking/preparing meals
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- Figure 21: Responsibility for cooking/preparing meals in household, April 2018
- Traditional patterns of household responsibilities still linger
- Many men feel they bear the responsibility in the kitchen
- Under-25s play a lesser role in the kitchen
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- Figure 22: Responsibility for cooking/preparing meals, by gender and age, April 2018
Scratch Cooking and Use of Prepared Meals
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- More than four in 10 mostly cook from scratch for evening meals
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- Figure 23: Type of evening meal cooked/prepared most often in household, April 2018
- Over-55s cook from scratch the most
- Prepared meals feature most for under-25s and men
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- Figure 24: Type of evening meal cooked/prepared most often in household, by age, April 2018
Behaviour Related to Cooking at Home
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- Majority of people shop with specific meals in mind
- Three quarters of people look to use up leftovers
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- Figure 25: Behaviours related to cooking at home, April 2018
- Weekly meal choices fairly fixed in most homes...
- 16-24s and one-person households are most stuck in a rut and keen on inspiration
- …but new meals are being added to those eaten regularly
- ‘Flexitarian’ trend is changing meals
- Avoidance of recipes with expensive or too many ingredients is common
- Recipes with expensive ingredients put off women more
- Meal kits that save on preparation time being tried
Factors Most Important When Cooking Meals for Everyday and Leisure Occasions
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- Ease of preparation top consideration for everyday meals
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- Figure 26: Factors most important when cooking/preparing a meal for an everyday occasion or for a leisure occasion, April 2018
- Being healthy influences meal choice for two in five
- More room for indulgence on leisure occasions
Cooking Methods Used Most Often
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- Roasting, pan frying and boiling are top cooking methods
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- Figure 27: Cooking methods used to cook/prepare meals most often, April 2018
- Variations in cooking methods between men and women
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- Figure 28: Cooking methods used to cook/prepare meals most often, by gender, April 2018
Attitudes towards Cooking
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- Ready-to-cook shortcuts have strong appeal
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- Figure 29: Attitudes towards cooking at home, April 2018
- Strong demand for more recipe ideas
- Most people get enjoyment from cooking
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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