Millennials’ Use of Food Delivery Apps Might Put an End to Home-cooked Meals

Online ordering and delivery apps are contributing to the trend of people not cooking at home. Market research from UBS recently released a report claiming that online food delivery service providers might eventually comprise 10 percent of the total food service market. This would be a huge rise to $365 billion from $35 billion by 2030. Millennials are a big driver behind this trend.

Now that most restaurants and companies have online delivery options, millennials are said to be three times more likely to order food at home than their parents – the convenience factor has a big role to play in this. With costs of food delivery dropping, ordering in could become the main source of meals for some – meaning few will be cooking at home. Food delivery apps such as Uber Eats and others are now on the top 40 most downloaded apps in major markets.

“There could be a scenario where by 2030 most meals currently cooked at home are instead ordered online and delivered from either restaurants or central kitchens,” UBS said in their report.

The report claimed that restaurants and companies who play on the convenience factor by adding online grocery or quick services will benefit. In May, the research company Valassis also released a report that showed 18 percent of the survey takers were online shoppers. It was clear that millennials made up the majority of those who were more likely to buy groceries online.

In addition, 15 percent of millennial parents and 12 percent of millennials buy online groceries each week. When it came to picking up the pre-ordered groceries, 20 percent of millennials with children and 14 percent of millennials chose that method.

Retailers can use this information to help them increase sales, but online grocery shopping isn’t where it ends. Since convenience is what attracts these consumers, meal kits are also popular amongst this demographic. It was found that the ready-to-eat market is expected to be valued at $143 billion by 2023.

Ready-to-eat convenient meals can mean several things; meal kits, take-out food or even frozen foods. Frozen foods have also been a popular choice amongst millennials. The convenience of frozen foods matches that of a meal kit. In fact, 26 percent of shoppers are shopping in the frozen foods section.

“Although most shoppers feel fresh food is healthier than frozen, each generational demographic has reported buying more frozen food than last year, including 43 percent of millennials; 27 percent of GenXers; 19 percent of Baby Boomers; and 19 percent of silent,” a report from Acosta stated.

So how have manufacturers been using this information to their advantage? Well, Conagra’s frozen entrees Banquet brand has added a new premium “mega” section to their menu along with hot chicken sliders and cheeseburgers for consumers who enjoy bigger and more protein filled meals. This caused sales to increase by 6 percent from last year.

The retail giant Wal-Mart has also innovated its grocery store landscape by expanding its delivery service to reach 40 percent of US households. Other retailers and grocers will have to catch up to this trend if they want to stay on top of the market. Meal kits and online groceries might just be the future.