Introduction
Changing Cooking Behaviors & Attitudes tracks the evolving nature of consumers' food preparation practices as a variety of lifestyle and societal factors continue to fuel a shift to convenience. It also discusses how many consumers are attempting to reassert themselves in the kitchen, offering opportunities to industry actors who can deliver convenience, health, indulgence and comfort needs.

Scope
A unique survey of home cooking behaviors was conducted with 5,000 consumers across the US and Europe during June 2006
In-depth quantitative data covering at-home meal occasions, including dinner by cooking type (scratch-, part- and fully-prepared)
Detailed action points offering practical strategies based on the trends and insights analyzed in the report
Countries covered: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK, US
Highlights
Consumers' attitudes still largely favor scratch-cooking (52% of European dinner occasions and 44% in the US) and increasing people are aspiring to alter day-to-day cooking behaviors to more accurately reflect this. Cooking skills, especially amongst younger consumers are associated with a "new cool" and are seeing signs of a renaissance.

Despite a growing interest in cooking as a showpiece event, the overall trend continues to be a move away from traditional forms of cooking towards convenience options. Fragmenting mealtimes, erosion of basic cooking skills and a desire to use free-time for other activities will continue to fuel the desire for time-saving, easy meal solutions.

Consumers' meal choices and methods of food preparation are the product of the tension between the three consumer mega-trends of convenience, health and sensory indulgence. Solutions that hit all three areas, such as the emergent meal assembly industry, or help in establishing producers as consumers' trusted helpers will be well placed to benefit.

Reasons to Purchase
Uncover fresh insights into the changing attitudes and behaviors affecting consumers' food preparation choices in the home
Obtain exclusive data on cooking occasions and consumers' cooking practices in the US and Europe
Improve your marketing strategy by targeting the most profitable occasions and their accompanying need states

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
Hot topic 3
The future decoded 3
Everyday meal occasions are still increasingly characterized by convenience 3
Consumers are increasingly keen to cook exciting, flavorful and interesting meals themselves 4
Cooking behaviors and attitudes are affected by the conflicting convenience, health and sensory mega-trends 5
Home cooking is emerging as a “status skill” 6
Cooking behavior is influenced by occasion 6
Lifestage has a direct impact on cooking behaviors and attitudes 7
Action points 7
CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED 17
Introduction 17
Key findings 17
TREND: Everyday meal occasions continue to be increasingly characterized by convenience 18
The fragmentation of mealtimes continues to fuel the convenience trend 19
TREND: Cooking from scratch occasions will decrease under pressure from more convenient options 25
Consumers place meal preparation low in terms of prioritizing their free time 30
Cooking skills have been eroded, promoting convenience options 35
TREND: Consumers are however increasingly keen to cook exciting, flavorful and interesting meals themselves 39
The home remains the central location for mealtimes 39
Scratch-prepared meals are still the most common meal-type 41
Traditional cooking methods remain the most popular 42
Consumers are seeking more authentic foods and flavors 46
Home-cooked foods are a key source of comfort 46
Home-cooking can offer both economy and premiumization opportunities 47
At-home occasions are forecast to increase due to aging populations 48
TREND: Cooking behaviors and attitudes are affected by the conflicting convenience, health and sensory mega-trends 48
Consumers compromise between the three key mega-trends 49
Traditional mealtimes and food preparation choices are affected by reactions to stress 53
INSIGHT: Convenience is no longer a selling point on its own 55
INSIGHT: Home cooking is emerging as a “status skill” 56
The ability to home cook is increasingly valued based on its creativity, especially among younger consumers 57
INSIGHT: Cooking behavior is influenced by occasion 58
Entertaining at-home is widening in popularity 58
INSIGHT: The kitchen is the heart of the home 61
The kitchen is a key social location 61
INSIGHT: home hygiene influences meal preparation choices 62
Food hygiene concerns can act as a countertrend to home hygiene improvements 63
INSIGHT: Lifestage has a direct impact on cooking behaviors and attitudes 64
Cooking behavior variation by age group: gourmet versus quick-and-easy meals 64
Younger consumers are looking to cook more creatively, bucking usual stereotypes 71
Mid-lifers seek increased indulgence 73
Seniors balance convenience and comfort in their cooking 74
INSIGHT: Ethnic consumers spend more time on meals and cooking 75
Ethnic influences impact on mainstream cooking culture 75
INSIGHT: Cooking attitudes and behaviors show gender variation 76
Women are still the primary cooks despite the erosion of skills 76
Confidence in cooking skills varies with gender 77
INSIGHT: Household living arrangements have an impact on the propensity for cooking or convenience 81
INSIGHT: “Kitchen performance anxiety” is a negative consequence of the home-cooking trend 82
Conclusions 83
CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS 85
Assist consumers in acquiring status skills 85
Aid consumers in building confidence in the kitchen 86
Exploit the emergent meal assembly trend 89
Meal assembly can bridge key mega-trends 90
Develop crossover potential in convenience meal solutions 95
Develop more options for sharing 96
Pursue solutions that leverage the convenience needs of party hosts 97
Promote convenience options that target the differing comfort needs of consumers 97
Pursue convenience options that target traditional/home-cooked preferences 98
CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX 100
Supplementary data 100
At-home dinner occasions 100
Frequency of meal preparation by cooking method 102
Frequency of gourmet meal preparation by age group 106
Frequency of quick-and-easy meal preparation by age group 109
Prepared dinner occasions in Europe and the US 111
Definitions 112
Research methodology 113
Further readings 113
Report writing team 114
How to contact experts in your industry 114


LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Number of skipped breakfast occasions per head, Europe and the US, 2006-2011 21
Table 2: Number of skipped lunch occasions per head, Europe and the US, 2006-2011 22
Table 3: Number of skipped dinner occasions per head, Europe and the US, 2006-2011 22
Table 4: Europe & US number of at-home dinner occasions (per head), by preparation type, 2006 29
Table 5: Europe & US forecast number of at-home dinner occasions (per head), by preparation type, 2011 29
Table 6: Europe & US growth in at-home dinner occasions (%), 2006-2011, by preparation type 30
Table 7: Europe & US share of dinners prepared at home versus out-of-home (%), 2006 40
Table 8: Ranking of cooking method by frequency, Europe and US 45
Table 9: Incidence of cooking type (%), Europe and US 45
Table 10: Europe & US number of at-home dinner occasions (millions), by preparation type, 2006 100
Table 11: Europe & US forecast number of at-home dinner occasions (millions), by preparation type, 2011 101
Table 12: Europe & US prepared dinners, by segment, per head, 2006 111
Table 13: Definitions of other terms 112


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Pressures on mealtimes motivate continuation of the convenience trend in cooking behaviors 19
Figure 2: At-home breakfasts fall as more occasions are missed or take place out-of-home 24
Figure 3: Lunches are meal occasion with the highest incidence of out-of-home consumption 24
Figure 4: Dinners remain predominantly at-home occasions but are under pressure 25
Figure 5: Microwaveable meals account for multiple occasions per week in both the US and Europe 32
Figure 6: Time intensive roasting and broiling are reserved for infrequent occasions 32
Figure 7: Consumers grill cook either very often or hardly ever 33
Figure 8: European and US consumers experience the same difficulties in scratch-preparing gourmet-style meals at home 37
Figure 9: Scratch-prepared meals account for the largest single shares of at-home dinners in both Europe and the US in 2006 42
Figure 10: Gourmet meals are prepared at home infrequently in the US and Europe 50
Figure 11: US and European consumers opt for convenient and quick meal options several times a week 51
Figure 12: US & European consumers aim to maximize healthy eating occasions 51
Figure 13: Convenience and mealtime fragmentation fuels the “top-up” shopping trend 53
Figure 14: Stress is a major factor responsible for convenience food sales along with busy lifestyles, but it also fuels an increased desire for comfort foods 54
Figure 15: Complete meal solutions can offer traditional comfort and convenience 55
Figure 16: The kitchen can influence consumers’ cooking behaviors 62
Figure 17: Younger consumers in the US prepare gourmet meals most frequently 66
Figure 18: UK propensity for gourmet meal preparation is lower across all age groups 67
Figure 19: French consumers, in contrast, cook more gourmet meals with age 68
Figure 20: Quick-and-easy meal preparation is more consistent across the age divide in the US 69
Figure 21: Younger UK consumers prepare the most quick-and-easy meals 70
Figure 22: French consumers prepare quick-and-easy meals very frequently 71
Figure 23: Female consumers prepare healthy meals more frequently than males 79
Figure 24: Microwave cooking incidence is closely comparable between males and females 79
Figure 25: Women are less likely to prepare gourmet meals than men 80
Figure 26: US and European female consumers also opt for quick meal options more regularly than men 80
Figure 27: A number of factors are responsible for driving convenient approaches to food preparation and undermining scratch-cooking 84
Figure 28: Old El Paso ‘Summer Sensations’ recipe book emphasizes the brand’s versatility and that creativity can be fun and easy 87
Figure 29: The meal assembly model allows close alignment between convenience and premium quality attributes 91
Figure 30: Variety packs for prepared meals may allow companies to tap into the emergent bulk-buying trend 94
Figure 31: Stop N Shop ‘Meals Made Easy’ sort their product range by convenience/skill level 95
Figure 32: Sharing is a key trend emerging in convenience meal options 96
Figure 33: Convenience and comfort can be married in ready meal offerings 99
Figure 34: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving baking 102
Figure 35: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving boiling 102
Figure 36: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving frying 103
Figure 37: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving roasting/broiling 103
Figure 38: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving grilling 104
Figure 39: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving steaming 104
Figure 40: Europe & US frequency of oven use 105
Figure 41: Europe & US frequency of meal preparation involving outdoor cooking 105
Figure 42: Germany: frequency of gourmet meal preparation, by age group, 2006 106
Figure 43: Italy: frequency of gourmet meal preparation, by age group, 2006 106
Figure 44: Italy: frequency of gourmet meal preparation, by age group, 2006 107
Figure 45: Netherlands: frequency of gourmet meal preparation, by age group, 2006 107
Figure 46: Spain: frequency of gourmet meal preparation, by age group, 2006 108
Figure 47: Sweden: frequency of gourmet meal preparation, by age group, 2006 108
Figure 48: Germany: frequency of quick-and-easy meal preparation, by age group, 2006 109
Figure 49: Italy: frequency of quick-and-easy meal preparation, by age group, 2006 109
Figure 50: Netherlands: frequency of quick-and-easy meal preparation, by age group, 2006 110
Figure 51: Spain: frequency of quick-and-easy meal preparation, by age group, 2006 110
Figure 52: Sweden: frequency of quick-and-easy meal preparation, by age group, 2006 111