Younger generations prefer ready meals
They say they want to eat healthier foods, but they are breaking records in the market for ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook (essentially heating) meals, while appearing less willing to pay more money for more environmentally friendly products.
These are just some of the main contradictions of consumers, especially those of Gen Z (born after 1996), the generation that is most interested in suppliers and retailers and that largely determines what is and will be on supermarket shelves and in the refrigerators in the near future.
Contradictions that are justified – if not explained – by the fact that today’s young people are more aware of issues related to environmental protection and overall sustainability, but have a low income.
According to the latest annual report by McKinsey and pan-European trade confederation EuroCommerce on the supermarket sector and the trends that will emerge in 2025 and beyond, 77% of consumers belonging to Gen Z buy ready meals at least once a week, compared to 33% among baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). The rates are also high among the intermediate age groups – i.e. millennials (72%) and those belonging to Gen X (57%).
In fact, the turnover of ready meals is increasing at a rate that is multiple of this total grocery sector at a pan-European level (4.4% compared to 1.4% in 2024 compared to 2023).
In Greece, sales of ready-to-heat meals are increasing at a rate of 7.5%, which is also related to the dizzying increase in air fryer sales, that have largely replaced heating in a microwave oven.
At the same time, it is Gen Z that is most interested in buying healthy foods, with 45% appearing willing to follow a healthy diet, when the corresponding percentages are lower in other age groups (below 40% among millennials and below 30% among Gen X and baby boomers).
Precisely for this reason, the ready-to-heat-and-eat category of meals no longer includes only frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets, but also cooked vegetables and, more recently, even super legumes, a category in which a leading Greek company is active.
Kathimerini
