Grocery Consumers Choose Convenience Over Nutrition

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Prepared food has become a massive industry at about 29 billion dollars a year, growing twice as fast as overall grocery store sales. A recent survey of 63,000 participants found that more than 50% had purchased prepared meals at the supermarket. This trend can be explained by the convenience aspect where people can shop for retail and foodservice products in the same place, as well as following the other themes of time efficiency, health/nutrition and value for the money. Consumers have been buying prepared food at a very high rate, but possibly not all consumer expectations are being met.

supermarketNot all prepared food is fully prepared in store, according to a study conducted by Consumer Reports. Only around 50% of prepared meals purchased were actually made on premise. Another potential problem can be found in the nutritional value of the food. Made in store does not necessarily mean free of preservatives or ingredients found in processed foods. Many meals reviewed in the survey were found to have higher than recommended levels of sodium, fat, and other undesirables. The nutritional value is also hard to judge because there are no serving sizes available for consumers. An additional concern could be the higher price for prepared meals compared to those made at home. In some cases, the prepared foods could be twice as expensive.

Even with these downsides, convenience is key. Consumers have limited time and the last thing they want to do is spend their few free minutes in the kitchen. This is what is driving the prepared food trend.

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