Survey on Food (2024) In-House Meals and Home Meals

We conducted the "Survey on Food (2024)" targeting 2,500 men and women aged 20-69 living in 47 prefectures in Japan, and asked about their actual conditions, awareness, and behavior related to food in general. This time, we picked up and analyzed the rate of home-cooked meals, reasons for and importance of purchasing ready-made foods, purchase of instant, freeze-dried, retort pouch, chilled, and frozen foods, and use of meal and food services.

Survey Result Topics

Rate of home-cooked food and reasons for and emphasis on purchasing ready-made food

When eating at home, a high percentage of respondents "cooked by hand" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with dinner accounting for 77% of the total. The percentage of home-cooked meals tends to increase with age. ＜Figure 1, 2＞

The top 3 reasons for purchasing ready-made foods such as side dishes are "easy to prepare," "shopping and meal preparation are troublesome," and "I want to eat food I can't prepare by myself. No major changes were seen from the Corona Disaster of 2022. ＜Figure 3＞

Purchasing of various food products

The purchase rates for instant/freeze-dried foods that can be stored at room temperature, retort-pouch foods, and foods that need to be refrigerated or frozen were 67% for frozen foods, 65% for instant/freeze-dried foods, 61% for chilled foods, and 58% for retort-pouch foods. In particular, less than 50% purchased "retort-packed" and "chilled" foods, probably due to the time-consuming washing up involved. On the other hand, retort-pouch foods and chilled foods were purchased by a high percentage of those in their 40s. ＜Figure 4＞

The most commonly purchased products were instant cup ramen noodles (52%), followed by retort curry/hayashi (41%), instant cup yakisoba (33%), and instant cup udon/soba (32%), all of which can be stored at room temperature and have a long shelf life.
＜Figure 5＞

Home delivery service, etc.

The use of services related to meals and foodstuffs was high for "cooking and box lunch take-out" (20%) and "food delivery" (17%); only for those in their 20s, the percentage of food delivery use was slightly higher than that of take-out. ＜Figure 6＞

Report Item List

□ Attribute questions (gender / age / never married / family living together / number of family members / place of residence / occupation / food domain potential needs cluster)

▼Survey Results Details
□ Frequency by eating occasion / What you eat / Staple food / What you drink / Meals eaten at home (breakfast / lunch / dinner / snacks / evening meal)
□ Home-cooked and ready-made meals
□ Homemade meals / meals that are often eaten with ready-made foods
□ Where to buy food and ingredients
□ Behavior when buying food
□ Usage of services related to meals and foodstuffs
□ Reasons for buying ready-made food/what is important to you when choosing
□ Must be confirmed by the contents of the package.
□ Instant foods and freeze-dried foods that are usually purchased
□ Retort foods usually purchased
□ Chilled (refrigerated) foods usually purchased
□ Frozen foods usually purchased

▼About the Food Area Potential Needs Cluster