Fractured meal patterns abound in Britain. There is an even split among 2+ person households of members eating the same dish at the same time, and their eating different foods…
UK
Cooking
simple
UK Attitudes towards the Evening Meal at Home: 2026
"Pressure on incomes in 2026 will buoy at-home meals and favour established brands. Aligning with new influences and shopping approaches is essential for long-term."
Fractured meal patterns abound in Britain. There is an even split among 2+ person households of members eating the same dish at the same time, and their eating different foods or at different times. This represents a formidable pool of demand for meals that can wait for the diner or can conveniently flex to cater to different needs and preferences.
Continued pressure on household budgets in 2026 due to the Middle East crisis will continue to favour at-home meals over eating out and takeaway options, and scratch cooking over ready meals. However, the associated ‘trade up while trading down’ mindset creates opportunities for premium variants.
The substantial influence of social media and AI chatbots in younger home cooks’ evening meals points to a growing need for brands to embrace these touchpoints to stay visible and relevant to what will, going forward, be a growing group of consumers drawing inspiration from them.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
The impact of the rising pressure on incomes and accelerating food prices on evening meals
Evening meal patterns, including cooking choices and households sharing meals
The need for companies to embrace social media and AI’s growing influence on evening meals at home
The opportunity to drive engagement by encouraging ‘safe experimentation’
The rise of rapid delivery services and the scope to tap into this for impulse buying
Collapse All
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What you need to know
Opportunities
Embrace social media and AI to support sales
Offer “safe experimentation” suggestions to engage home cooks
Leverage rapid delivery to make the most of impulse buying
THE MARKET
Continued income squeeze will favour at-home dining in 2026
Further food price rises are on the cards for 2026
Companies must be mindful of consumers’ health focus
THE CONSUMER
Cater to cooking differences and fractured meal patterns
Reliance on prepared meals declines in 2026
Graph 1: type of evening meal prepared most often in households, 2021-26
Scratch cooking patterns vary by age and gender, but not by finances
Fractured meal patterns are the norm for many
Offer shortcut solutions for people with fractured meal patterns
Align with new information sources to stay relevant
Social media and AI are ones to watch
Craft an accessible and aspirational brand identity
Align with social media trends
Include interactive elements to build engagement
Adapting to AI search tools is essential
Grocers must launch their own AI assistants
Encourage ‘safe experimentation’ and customisation to boost enjoyment
Many people don’t like to – or cannot afford to – experiment
Encouraging variety has benefits
Emphasise ease and reliability
Anchor experimentation in familiarity
Shift customisation to the plate
Team up with rapid delivery services to facilitate impulse buying
Rapid grocery delivery services are set to grow
Rapid delivery services gain momentum in 2025
Explore non-store impulse purchase prompts
Offer recipes and bundle deals via rapid delivery
Use timed adverts to catch people’s attention
APPENDIX
Report scope
The market
Market drivers – food inflation
Graph 2: CPI inflation for ready-made meals, vegetables/potatoes, poultry and all food, 2021-26
The consumer
Consumer research questions
Consumer research methodology – EMEA
UK generation groups
Abbreviations
Market Intelligence Made Easier With Mintel
The first Mintel Market Intelligence report was published over 50 years ago. Since then, we have provided our unique insights and understanding of consumers, innovation and global markets to thousands of customers worldwide. Here’s why our customers rely on Mintel:
Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the market: Mintel reports blend consumer research, market forecasts, product innovation tracking, and competitive analysis, allowing businesses to see every angle of their industry and identify new opportunities quickly.
Make decisions with confidence, grounded in robust data: Each report draws on up-to-date, reliable information from trusted sources and industry experts, ensuring your strategies are based on solid evidence rather than speculation.
Benefit from expert analysis and practical recommendations: Mintel’s reports are written by experienced analysts who interpret complex data and provide clear, actionable insights you can trust to guide your next moves.
Stay ahead with actionable intelligence on market trends and consumer behaviour: By combining fresh research with long-term market monitoring, our reports help businesses anticipate changes and adapt strategically. So you’re prepared to make informed decisions and drive growth.
What goes into a Mintel Market Intelligence Report?
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
The Four Pillars of Our Research
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
Consumer Research: Direct surveys with real people, giving us clear, current insights into what people think and do.
Desk Research: In-depth review of trusted data sources. We use this rich database, plus powerful internal tools that track new products and market sizes, to detect trends and guide forecasts.
Trade Research: Insights from conversations with industry experts. Their real-world experience helps us understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
Brand and Social Media Research: Analysis of online opinions and trends. This lets us spot trends, measure brand sentiment, and capture feedback in real time, adding further depth to our research.
Bringing It All Together
Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
£ 2,195(Excl.Tax)
Download today with instant access
Pay via credit card or invoice (net 30 payment terms)
Multiple formats provided
We send a PDF, Powerpoint and Excel Databook straight to your inbox. An interactive version of the report is also available on our online platform
Interactive databook included
Focus on the data that matters most to you with a customisable databook available on our platform
Making meals healthier remains the top reason for people to cook/part-cook evening meals. Widespread efforts to bring plant variety to evening meals suggest an opportunity for shortcut products...
Home cooking has strong health and money-saving associations. Simple recipes and ideas on how to deliver flavour to meat-free meals will be key opportunities.
Isabelle Shilling, Research Analyst
...
Cooking fatigue is increasingly shaping home cooks' behaviour. 42% feel too exhausted to put much effort into cooking or preparing meals most days, driving up usage of prepared...
Meal planning and preparation exist at a crossroads where time-honoured traditions meet future innovations. It is a space defined by the tension between functional necessity and culinary enjoyment....
This report looks at the following areas:
Frequency of home cooking and baking, and changes in habits
Reasons for cooking/baking at home
Western-style home cooking products
Attitudes towards...
Consumers want cookware that lasts. Durable, safe, and versatile tools not only stand the test of time but also improve the cooking experience as skills grow.
David Hamlette, Research...
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
Ben Zeidler, Director - Research and Analytics, Tenth Wave
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
Andrew Neeson, Market Intelligence Manager, VocaLink
One of the biggest challenges we face is the need to get smart on a business or category real quick.
We are talking to clients who live and breathe their category every day and the expectation is that we will be able to get caught up very quickly, and bring the thinking that can help them.
We need to do that often in a matter of days, so it’s not a small ask. Mintel gives us a very articulate view of category conditions and does so at the speed we need it.
Jeff White, Business Development Director, Deutsch
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
Stephen Taylor-Brown, Managing Director, Abacus
We have such a great working relationship with Mintel on lots of different levels. As an insight partner, they have helped us to develop our business planning in specific categories as well as supporting our creative process but they’ve also been super helpful with facilitating our events in their inspirational offices near St Paul’s.
They’re an innovative company, with a client-focused team that always delivers.
Abby Carvosso, Group Managing Director, Bauer Media Group
Need help before you buy?
Our research specialists can answer your questions and recommend the reports that best match your business needs.