Food manufacturers are making headway in their fight to take back America’s kitchen, according to a new report from leading marketing information provider The NPD Group, Inc. According to the firm’s 15th Annual Report on Eating Patterns in America, this year 10% of our evening meals include frozen entrees; by contrast only 7% include items taken home from restaurants or other establishments. The figure represents an 18% growth rate for frozen foods consumed at at-home suppers since 1995. NPD’s report is based on information collected daily for the last 20 years from a nationally representative sample of American households.
Percent of All Suppers Containing
Take-out vs. Frozen Foods
Brought Home When Main Dish
From a Restaurant is Frozen Product
1995 6.2% 8.8%
1996 6.2% 9.0%
1997 6.6% 9.0%
1998 6.6% 9.6%
1999 6.8% 9.9%
2000 6.8% 10.4%
“One of the hottest trends in the food business during the past 15 years might be coming to an end,” confirms NPD Vice President for Food Consulting Harry Balzer. “In an effort to feed the family nightly, Americans were increasingly turning to the restaurant industry to prepare their in-home supper meal. This trend was not lost on supermarkets as they responded several years ago by offering prepared meals. Food manufacturers did not stand still either. They began producing all sorts of new frozen, easy to prepare meals. And it’s the food manufacturer that appears to be winning the battle of the American kitchen. The latest reports suggest that more new products will be introduced as many food marketers shift their thinking from ‘packaged foods’ to ‘packaged meals.'”
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The trend dovetails with another key NPD finding: For the most part, Americans want to eat supper in their own homes. According to the study, nearly three out of four evening meals are eaten at home. Two-thirds of all evening meals are prepared there as well.
Distribution of Supper Meals
Prepared and consumed in-home 66%
Eaten at a restaurant 7%
Brought home from a restaurant 7%
A guest at somebody else's home 3%
Skipped supper 4%
Ate supper somewhere else 8%
Place not reported 5%
Reinforcing this finding about the home dinner, the latest report on eating patterns shows that the percentage of evening meals that Americans eat out is the same as it was 15 years ago!
Percent of Suppers Consumed at a Restaurant
1985 7%
1990 7%
1995 7%
2000 7%
Mr. Balzer suggests that Sir Isaac Newton best described this lack of desire to go out and eat supper at a restaurant hundreds of years ago when he stated that, “A body at rest tends to stay at rest.” As it relates to eating patterns, this might translate to, “A body at home, tends to stay at home.”
And, finally, more than half of America’s adult population probably won’t be surprised to know that there’s been little change in who is preparing our meals. NPD reports that by and large the female head of the household is still responsible for preparing the evening meal, and that has not changed much during the past five years.
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By GlobalDataOf The Last 10 Dinners Prepared In-Home, Percent Prepared By Female Head Of Household
1996 78%
1997 78%
1998 76%
1999 76%
2000 77%
About The NPD Group’s 15th Annual Report on Eating Patterns in America
The NPD Group collects more information on how Americans eat than any other organization. Data are amassed from consumers, retailers, manufacturers and restaurateurs. The foundation of this is NPD’s nationally representative consumer panel of 12,800 households and 33,000 individuals who maintain food and beverage diaries of their eating habits for a two week period. Samples are evenly distributed throughout the year. The NPD Group has collected dietary data every day since March 1, 1980.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is an international marketing information company headquartered in Port Washington, NY.
Founded in 1953, the firm specializes in providing insight into consumer purchasing and behavior via both Internet-based and traditional research methodologies, including online and offline consumer panels and point-of-sale tracking.
NPD offers proprietary databases and research expertise in more than 20 industries, including apparel, automotive products, consumer electronics, cosmetics and fragrances, financial services, food, foodservice, footwear, housewares, information technology, interactive entertainment, new media, pharmaceuticals, toys, and more. The firm also offers a full range of analytical tools for ad hoc research. NPD is the developer of the revolutionary Web audience measurement technology now marketed by its successful spin-off Media Metrix, Inc. NPD has offices and affiliations in 36 countries, covering North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information on The NPD Group, visit http://www.npd.com.
