The ready dish takes over the desk and attracts clientele to the hospitality business | Economy | EUROtoday

The consumption of ready dishes is experiencing an explosion in Spain. The promotion of this provide inside supermarkets is giving wings to a class that has lengthy been developed within the distribution of the United Kingdom, northern Europe and the United States, and which is now recognized as one of many fundamental progress levers for these operators.

“Our priority is to grow in ‘ready to eat’,” stated a number of weeks in the past the president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, who has already predicted on a number of events that kitchens will disappear from houses in 20 years. Beyond their forecasts, the class is rising strongly, and chains reminiscent of Dia or Consum have publicly recognized it as a key axis of their methods.

According to family meals consumption knowledge from the Ministry of Agriculture, ready dishes have been the merchandise that grew essentially the most in kilos consumed in 2024, 5.1% greater than the earlier yr, in a meals market that contracted 0.2%. In the seven months as much as July of this yr, the final month with obtainable knowledge, the expansion was even increased, at 5.8%, surpassed solely by oil. In worth, the rise in that time period is 10.3%, shifting virtually 4.7 billion euros, which additionally speaks to the truth that, for the second, the patron is accepting a rise in costs.

“It is an underlying trend that is accelerating because it is a valid and recurring option for an important part of the population,” explains Enrique Porta, companion chargeable for the patron and client sectors. retail from KPMG. This mentions demographic components which can be boosting the class: a better inhabitants focus in giant cities; much less availability of time and sources for time outdoors of labor, which forces us to decide on higher what to dedicate them to; or the change within the composition of households, with a progress in single-parent and single-person households. The INE tasks that in 2039 the latter will signify a 3rd of households and can develop by 40% till then. “That makes consumers look for more affordable and convenient options,” says Porta. María del Carmen, 41 years outdated, lives alone and admits to consuming these dishes. “They come in handy when I don’t have time to cook and, above all, so I don’t waste food,” he says.

But as well as, there may be the enterprise element for supermarkets. “They have realized that they have capillarity to go further in their proposal and capture moments of consumption,” says Porta. Something which means competing head-on with the hospitality business. According to a current report by KPMG and the Restoration Brands affiliation, 55% of operators already see distribution as direct competitors. And moreover, 63% imagine that site visitors in eating places will fall throughout the primary meals of the day. “It is affecting them, especially in work environments, where there is a transfer to the supermarket, and also among tourists,” says Porta.

The turning level

In actuality, the idea of the ready meal shouldn’t be new. Frozen meals, soups or preserves have been on the cabinets for many years, as have companies that promote take-home menus. The turning level is within the inclusion of those areas within the shops, even permitting their consumption in them, and within the evolution of the provide in direction of refrigerated dishes.

“Now there is technology to make higher quality and more affordable products,” says Raúl Martín, CEO of Familia Martínez, Mercadona’s giant provider of prepared meals. Its turnover this yr will probably be near 500 million euros, and it has simply introduced investments of 150 million to broaden its industrial capability. “We have gone from pasteurized products to baked or roasted products, and that is revolutionary in terms of flavor or appearance. The value proposition continues to improve and we are at the beginning of development,” provides Martín, who emphasizes that it isn’t a phenomenon that differentiates between ages. “Quality, good prices and convenience, is what we are looking for.”

For Blai Escoda, basic director of Bó de Debó, one other producer specialised in preparations and which distributes to all grocery store chains, besides Mercadona, the class’s journey is lengthy. In his opinion, the good driver would be the contemporary product. “It is the one with the most outlet because it is the one that most resembles what we do at home,” he provides. The Catalan firm plans to enhance its gross sales by 15% this yr, to round 50 million, and repeat this proportion in 2026. It suffered the fireplace of its manufacturing unit in 2020, which was changed by one in all 6,500 sq. meters that has already turn out to be too small. “We are already planning a new one of between 7,000 and 10,000 square meters,” he says.

Another firm that’s adapting its industrial constructions to demand is Industrias Alimentarias de Navarra (IAN), proprietor of the Carretilla model. It has been making ready ready dishes preserved at room temperature for 20 years, however has simply opened a manufacturing unit to make refrigerated ones, after investing 11 million. It is the a part of the enterprise with the best potential progress. “It is a market that can grow by double digits in the coming years,” anticipates its basic director, Alejandro Martínez. “The acceleration is going to continue. Quality products are being achieved, both organoleptically and in ingredients, reducing preservatives, additives, and being competitive in price,” provides the chief.

This is among the nice challenges of those merchandise, as shared by their producers, who acknowledge a requirement on the a part of the patron to scale back the scale of ingredient labels. “The trend is going there, but we have to find the balance between logistics, product appearance and quality maintenance,” says Raúl Martín, from Familia Martínez. “The new types of packaging allow preservatives to be eliminated. But the logistics chain is so long that the product must have a minimum of viability on its way to the store,” says Blai Escoda, from Bó de Debó.

Today, gratins or pastas are the preferred preparations. In the opinion of Enrique Porta, from KPMG, these dishes can go from an answer to a consumption behavior so long as the provide reaches all kinds of diets or intolerances. “To the extent that distribution can increase its proposal and add these diversities, the offer will be more attractive.” Although the disappearance of kitchens are, for the second, huge phrases. “We have a very relevant cooking culture in Spain. I don’t think they are going to disappear, but they are going to be used less,” closes Alejandro Martínez, from IAN.