News

NPD sees restaurant opportunities in growth of 'blended meals'

July 25, 2018

Although an NPD Group recent study found that more Americans are eating at home, the good news is that they're often adding restaurant foods to home-cooked meals.

The research and data analysis firm said that its daily research of U.S. consumers' eating behaviors indicated that Americans prepare four out of five meals at home, a news release said. The company added that although the comparison of home-prepared meals versus those sourced out of the home has been relatively stable in recent years, Americans prepare more meals at home now than they did a decade ago. In fact, last year, more than 80 percent of meals were prepared and eaten at home.

That doesn't mean foodservice spending hasn't been increasing, however. For the year period that ended this May, restaurant spend nationally was up 2 percent, but foodservice visits were flat for that period compared with the previous year.  NPD said that the number of restaurant visits — onsite, drive-thru or ordered for delivery — acts as a more accurate measure of foodservice growth than spending. 

The researchers said restaurant spend is up mostly because restaurant meal costs are growing faster than those for home-prepped meals. Likewise, restaurant meals historically cost more than those eaten in the home, often as much as three times the cost of eating foods prepared in consumers' own kitchens. 
It's not all bad though

While U.S. consumers might not be dining out more, they turn to restaurants for shortcuts to meals prepared at home, the company said. Nearly half of restaurant-purchased meals are eaten at home and interestingly, a growing number of in-home meals are a blend of things consumers make at home and those they purchase ready-to-eat from a restaurant. 

In its Future of Dinner study, NPD found that those types of blended meals will grow over the next five years thanks in some part to the conveniences offered by grocery delivery, meal prep kits, restaurant-quality foods from grocers, online ordering and technology-enabled kitchen appliances and tools. 

"Due to a changing workforce, the ease of online shopping, and the boom in streaming entertainment, there are fewer reasons than ever to leave the house," NPD Food Industry Advisor David Portalatin, said in the release.  "Even with consumers eating more of their meals at home, there are opportunities for both food companies and foodservice operators. It's not a matter of where consumers are eating but rather what they're eating."