The growth of the UK convenience sector has slowed since 2002 and consumers are increasingly cooking food from scratch, new research has shown.


According to Mintel, in 2003 less than 24% of UK consumers said that they “always cooked from scratch” but today this figure has risen to 41%.


Only 11% of people now regularly use the microwave to cook an evening meal.


“Convenience food now accounts for over GBP3 (US$6) in every GBP10 spent on food. However, there are signs that the market is maturing and growth since 2002 has been slower than the food market in total,” a Mintel analysts commented.


Mintel told just-food that one of the main reasons for this trend is the move towards healthier lifestyles.

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“While ready meals are a major part of the convenience sector growing by almost 70% over the past decade to account for over GBP2.7bn in 2007, growth has slowed from 46% in the first five years to 16% since 2002. Customers have traded up to chilled from frozen partly due to the perceived health benefits of the former. Nevertheless, even these have received a less than healthy image,” Mintel said.