Author: Mintel Group Ltd.
Last saved by: HTTP server

Family Dining Trends - US - January 2020

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Definition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
What parents want and why
The issues
Hyper-convenient packaged kids’ meal solutions pose competitive threat to dining out
Figure 1: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, November 2019
Half of parents report increased preparation of food at home for their family
Figure 2: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, November 2019
Kids’ meals remain unhealthy, and parents aren’t thrilled
Figure 3: Attitudes toward healthy menu items, December 2018
The opportunities
Parents rely most on fast food restaurants for prepared food for their families
Figure 4: Prepared food purchase locations, November 2019
International kids’ menu items will appeal to influential parental demographics
Figure 5: Innovative family dining concepts, November 2019
Growing off-premise business drives opportunity for family meals
Figure 6: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, November 2019
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Adventurous eaters have rising influence
Kid-friendly packaged goods and meal kits quickly emerge
Lawmakers restrict kids’ meal options
MARKET PERSPECTIVE
CPG and meal kits increasingly cater to convenience-oriented Millennial parents
Figure 7: New Savory Meatball kids’ meal from Yumble
Figure 8: New Kidfresh Waffles with hidden butternut squash
Away-from-home spend outpaces at-home spend
Figure 9: Share of food expenditures for in-home food vs dining out, 2013-18
MARKET FACTORS 
The majority of parents with kids under 18 are now Millennials
Figure 10: Households with own children under age 18, by age of householder, 2018
Figure 11: Parental status by generation, November 2019
Millennials are biggest international food consumers
Figure 12: Frequent international food eaters, by generation, November 2018
Families are increasingly diverse
Figure 13: Population by race and Hispanic origin, 2014-24
Some states, cities mandate kids’ meal nutrition changes
KEY TRENDS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 
Entertain the family
Kids options are getting more sophisticated
But healthfulness at top chains still lags
WHAT’S WORKING?
Marketing to families
Figure 14: McDonald’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 happy meal toys and McPlay games promoted on abcya.com, June 2019
What’s next?
Figure 15: YouTube influencer Ryan of Ryan ToysReview channel helps relaunch Hardee’s kids’ meals, toys
Off-premise family meal deals
Figure 16: Bertucci’s Bundles ad, September 2019
Make it pint-sized
WHAT’S STRUGGLING?
Healthy kids’ options at top restaurant chains
Figure 17: Attitudes toward healthy menu items, December 2018
Figure 18: McDonald’s Facebook ad, November 2019
WHAT’S NEXT? 
Kid-themed restaurant pop-ups
Figure 19: Sesame Street restaurant pop-up in Singapore, September 2019
International kids’ menu items
Goodbye, plastic toys
Mobile order-ahead and payment for full-service dine-in
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 
Parents rely heavily on fast food to feed the family
Parents make the dining decision, kids make the ordering decision
Top kids’ menu items remain burgers, breaded chicken
PREPARED FOOD PURCHASE LOCATIONS
Parents rely heavily on LSRs to feed their family
Figure 20: Prepared food purchase locations, by parents and general population, November 2019
More moms than dads use retail prepared foods for family meal solutions
Figure 21: Prepared food purchase locations, by gender, November 2019
Young parents source prepared foods for their family from a wider variety of locations
Figure 22: Prepared food purchase locations, by age, November 2019
Asian parents drive family prepared foods purchases from club stores, fine dining
Figure 23: Prepared food purchase locations, by race and Hispanic origin, November 2019
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGES IN FAMILY DINING BEHAVIOR 
Kid-friendly meal kits and packaged foods are growing threat to restaurants
Figure 24: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, November 2019
Dads drive demand for convenient prepared family meal solutions
Figure 25: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, by gender, November 2019
Young parents also drive growth of convenient prepared family meals
Figure 26: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, by age, November 2019
Higher-income parents drive growth of restaurant usage, healthy kids’ options
Figure 27: Year-over-year changes in family dining behavior, by income, November 2019
RESTAURANT VISITATION MOTIVATORS FOR FAMILY DINING
Menu variety is top of mind for family dining occasions
Figure 28: Restaurant visitation motivators for family dining – NET any rank, November 2019
Young parents prioritize kid-friendly options over menu variety and cuisine type
Figure 29: Restaurant visitation motivators for family dining – NET any rank, by age, November 2019
Black parents overindex in preference for atmosphere, family meal deals
Figure 30: Restaurant visitation motivators for family dining – NET any rank, by race and Hispanic origin, November 2019
KIDS’ MENU ITEM CONSUMPTION
Burgers are the most popular kids’ menu item
Figure 31: Kids’ menu item consumption, November 2019
Young parents’ kids are most likely to order traditional kids’ menu items
Figure 32: Kids’ menu item consumption, by parent age, November 2019
Asian and Hispanic parents’ children drive kids’ breakfast item purchases
Figure 33: Kids’ menu item consumption, by parent race and Hispanic origin, November 2019
KIDS’ BEVERAGE ITEM CONSUMPTION 
Despite sugar backlash, juice remains the most popular kids’ beverage option
Figure 34: Kids’ beverage item consumption, November 2019
Higher-income parents’ kids overindex in milk, water orders from kids’ menus
Figure 35: Kids’ beverage item consumption, by parent household income, November 2019
FAMILY DINING BEHAVIORS
Most families decide where to dine as a group
Figure 36: Family dining behaviors, November 2019
Young parents tend to choose the food their child eats when dining out, since their children are younger
Figure 37: Family dining behaviors, by age, November 2019
Black families are most likely to primarily dine out for special occasions
Figure 38: Family dining behaviors, by race and Hispanic origin, November 2019
Parents are highly influential for the family dining decision
Figure 39: Family dining decision making, November 2019
INNOVATIVE FAMILY DINING CONCEPTS
Restaurants can appeal to kids with mobile app games
Figure 40: Innovative family dining concepts, November 2019
Millennial parents drive interest in international kids’ options
Figure 41: Innovative family dining concepts, by age, November 2019
Black parents drive interest in seafood options on kids’ menus
Figure 42: Innovative family dining concepts, by race and Hispanic origin, November 2019
The majority of parents find smaller portioned adult entrées for kids and kid-friendly pop-ups appealing
Figure 43: Innovative family dining concepts, by TURF analysis, November 2019
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Consumer survey data
Direct marketing creative
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
APPENDIX – THE CONSUMER
Figure 44: Percent of children who are obese, by age, 2015-16
Figure 45: Age of child living in the household, by parents’ age, November 2019
Figure 46: Race and Hispanic origin, by household income, November 2019
TURF Analysis Methodology

This report is supplied in accordance with Mintel's terms and conditions.  
© Mintel Group Ltd.