Ready meal consumption remains stable as price hikes push value sales. Younger consumers drive increases in consumption frequency, with many consumers in this cohort now purchasing ready meals as weekly…
Germany
Ready Meals
simple
Germany Ready Meals Market Report 2025
"Germans continue to rely on ready meals for ease, but excitement is lacking. To boost appeal, offer bold, globally inspired flavours and highlight fresh, transparently sourced ingredients."
Ready meal consumption in Germany remains stable as price hikes push value sales. Younger consumers drive increases in consumption frequency, with many consumers in this cohort now purchasing ready meals as weekly staples.
Consumer associations with scratch-cooking mean it still outshines ready meals, leaving brands under pressure to deliver value for money and health benefits. Processing concerns leave consumers demanding natural fortifications and transparency, pushing brands to build trust with clean labels, honest sourcing and a focus on German localism.
Busy lifestyles and blurred mealtimes, rivalled by snacking, highlight the need for convenience. Brands must integrate themselves into consumer-specific lifestyles and housing situations to offer them a viable break from their routines.
As foodservice becomes less affordable, ready meals can step in to support social occasions with quick, high-quality solutions. Collaborations with trusted partners, such as chefs, can ensure flavour and elevate the ready meal experience beyond compromise.
Brands must expand on variety with bold flavours to appeal to German taste demands and overcome the low levels of excitement that ready meals currently trigger.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
Established but stagnant consumption patterns of ready meal segments in 2025
Attributes consumers associate with different types of meals, with scratch-cooking outperforming ready meals and meal kits on taste and nutritional value
Features of interest for consumers in ready meals, highlighting transparency and customisability
Attitudes and behaviours towards ready meals, shaped by portion sizes and processing concerns
Trends in launch activity and opportunities for further innovation in ready meals
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What you need to know
Opportunities
Market size and forecast for ready meals
Outlook
OPPORTUNITIES
Flexible mealtimes can cater to the masses
Simplify decision-making with emotional cues and deconstructed choices
Personalised portions need to rise to the occasion
Broaden your base with better nutrition
Offer honest origins
Redefine ready meals as smart solutions
Turn to technology for tailor-made experiences
Develop strategic partnerships to fuel trust and excitement
CONSUMER
Usage of ready meals and meal kits
Ready meals are here to stay…
Graph 1: typical usage of ready meals/meal kits, by segment, 2021-25
…and are turning into weekly essentials
Graph 2: typical frequency of ready meal usage, by segment, 2025
16-34s drive demand, but over-55s stay disengaged
Pair convenience with superior taste to meet older Germans’ high standards
Kitchen-shy men are ready meal regulars
Give men a helping hand
Reasons for consuming ready meals/meal kits
Ready meals as time and effort savers
Graph 3: reasons for eating ready meals, 2025
Time is precious, and every second counts
Position fakeaways as an integral part of socialising
Offer the choice of novelty through customisation
Attributes associated with meals, ready meals and meal kits
Scratch-cooking perceived as superior to ready meals and meal kits in terms of taste and health
Graph 4: associations with different meal formats, 2025
Ready meals come with company
Simplify nutrition with smaller and smarter portions
Lack of excitement around meals is shaping consumer preferences
Transparency creates value for money
Focus on exciting flavour combinations to break through monotony and poor value perceptions
Concepts of interest for ready meals and meal kits
Local origins and customisability appeal to consumers
Foster quality assurance through locally rooted practices
Attitudes and behaviours
Processing concerns are pervasive
Focus on natural benefits
Textural messaging can appease demand for freshness
Variety is the spice of life
Graph 5: portion-size-related attitudes towards ready meals, 2025
Blur the line between meals and snacks
INNOVATION
Chilled meals have become the most innovative segment
Graph 6: prepared meals and meal kit launches, by storage type, 2020-25
Private labels are going premium
Busy brands are increasingly out-launching private labels
Graph 7: prepared meals and meal kit launches, private-label vs branded, 2022-25
Convenience claims not ubiquitous
Graph 8: convenience-related claims in ready meals, 2020-25
Frozen meals lead the pack in terms of value sales growth
Graph 12: retail value sales for ready meals, by segment, 2023-24
Graph 13: retail volume sales for ready meals, by segment, 2023-24
Value sales will continue on a steady upward trajectory…
Graph 14: retail value sales of ready meals, 2019-30
…while volume sales are forecasted to show more-moderate growth
Graph 15: retail volume sales of ready meals, 2019-30
Market share
Frosta solidifies its market leadership
Graph 16: company value shares in ready meals, 2023-24
Graph 17: company volume shares in ready meals, 2023-24
APPENDIX
Report scope and definitions
Market definition
Abbreviations
Methodology – consumer research
Consumer research methodology
A note on language
Correspondence analysis methodology
Methodology – market size and forecast
Forecast methodology
Forecast methodology – fan chart
Market size – value
Market size – volume
Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
Market forecast and prediction intervals – volume
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