PREPARED MEAL DELIVERY MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2024-2031)

Market Size and Trends

The Prepared Meal Delivery Market is estimated to be valued at USD 10.92 Bn in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 23.85 Bn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8% from 2024 to 2031.

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Convenience and preference for cooked meals delivered at doorsteps is driving solid growth in the market over the forecast period. The prepared meal delivery market is expected to witness significant trends such as the rising popularity of organic and healthy meals options to cater to the evolving customer tastes. Major players in the market are investing heavily in R&D and product innovation to offer diverse cuisines and customization options like calorie controlled or allergen free dishes to expand further their target audience.

Convenience and Busy Lifestyles

With modern lifestyles becoming increasingly fast-paced and demanding, consumer convenience has emerged as a dominant factor influencing people's daily dietary choices and preferences. Between long work hours, commitments to family and social lives, most individuals and households now have very little time or energy left for elaborate daily meal preparations. This has significantly boosted the demand for easy, hassle-free, and nutritious meal solutions that can be quickly prepared and consumed without much effort. Prepared meal delivery services have emerged as a highly appealing choice for such time-starved consumers. They offer a wide array of freshly cooked meals that are tailored to different tastes, dietary needs and occasions. Customers can simply log onto an online platform, browse through menu options, and order meals to be delivered right at their doorsteps on selected dates and timings. This saves them the effort of grocery shopping, chopping, cooking and cleaning up afterwards. The meals are often prepared by expert chefs using fresh, high-quality ingredients. They provide a healthy and balanced meal solution without compromising on taste or variety. For instance, according to recent data from the United Nations, more people now live in urban areas globally compared to rural areas, with hundreds of millions expected to migrate to cities in the next few decades. Urbanization has only accelerated the fast-paced lifestyles in most households. Those with demanding jobs have even less time and energy for repetitive domestic chores. The UN data indicates that prepared meal delivery services catering to busy urban populations have grown exponentially since 2020. With nuclear families becoming more common, along with the trend of dual income households, such services are projected to continue growing rapidly as they address the core consumer need of convenience without compromising on nutrition or flavor.

Market Concentration and Competitive Landscape

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As health consciousness rises globally, people are more motivated than ever to eat nutritious, home-cooked meals. However, between juggling responsibilities and long working hours, preparing such meals every night is unrealistic for many. This is driving growth in the prepared meal delivery market, as these services help time-starved consumers maintain a balanced, home-cooked diet aligned with their wellness goals. Meal kits and prepared meal companies market themselves as providing affordable, tasty solutions that don't compromise on nutrition or quality of ingredients. Options include meals tailored for diverse health needs such as gluten-free, plant-based, low-sugar, and high-protein.

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One of the key challenges for the prepared meal delivery market is customer acquisition as it is a relatively new concept for many customers who have traditionally done their own cooking. Additionally, maintaining consistent food quality for every delivery is difficult due to factors outside of company control such as traffic and weather. Retaining customers is also a challenge as consumer tastes and preferences are constantly evolving. Winning customers away from restaurants and take-out deliveries additionally adds to the difficulties in customer acquisition and retention.

 Market Opportunities: Convenience, Health, and Changing Demographics

More customers, especially millennials, are seeking convenience over time spent cooking. Those with increasingly busy schedules turnover to prepared meals. Additionally, there is an overall increased focus on health and nutrition presenting an opportunity for prepared meals to offer healthy options. Demographic trends also favor single person households and dual income families who have less time to cook daily presenting a ready customer base.

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In terms of Product Type, Ready to Eat Meals contributes the 41.6% share of the market owing to their unparalleled convenience. As lives get busier, people have less time to dedicate to meal preparation each day. Ready to eat meals eliminate all preparation time - they can simply be heated up and eaten straight from the packaging or container. This saves busy individuals valuable minutes every day that would otherwise be spent chopping, cooking, and cleaning up. The instant gratification and ease of ready to eat meals have made them incredibly appealing to time-strapped consumers. Their single-serve and microwaveable formats suit lifestyles on the go. With ready to eat meals, eating healthy meals does not have to come at the cost of convenience.

Insights, by End User: Families continue to drive household delivery numbers

In terms of End User, Households contributes the 35.6% share of the market due to the large family consumer base. While prepared meal delivery sees usage across all age groups, families with children at home especially value the value and quality these services provide. Juggling work, kids' activities and daily responsibilities leaves little time for cooking elaborate meals every night. Prepared meal delivery kits and services allow parents to feed their families home-cooked options with less stress and cleanup. They offer better nutrition and variety than takeout while saving time spent grocery shopping and cooking. Catering to diverse family tastes under one roof also contributes to household prepared meal delivery's success. As long as busy families see value, this end user segment will continue propelling market growth.

Insights, by Delivery Frequency: Weekly subscriptions cater to consumer habit formation

In terms of Delivery Frequency, Weekly subscription contributes the 35.6% share of the market because it supports habit formation among users. Many people fall into regular rhythm of grocery shopping and home-cooked meals on a weekly cycle. Prepared meal delivery services that replicate this natural weekly cadence make it very easy for consumers to form lasting habits. By delivering fresh ingredients and recipes suitable for an entire week in one delivery, these subscriptions streamline meal planning and cater to how busy lifestyles already operate. The consistent arrival of weekly boxes helps integrate prepared meals seamlessly into clients' routines. It also fosters loyalty and minimizes thoughts of canceling the subscription due to convenience. By pandering to consumer psychology and habits, weekly subscriptions have emerged as the most popular delivery frequency.

Regional Insights

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North America currently dominates the global prepared meal delivery market with 39.9% share. The U.S., in particular, has seen tremendous growth in the popularity of prepared meal delivery services over the past decade due to increasing health consciousness, busy lifestyles, and desire for convenience among consumers. Major American cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and others have widespread availability of multiple prepared meal delivery options. The region also has a strong presence of leading prepared meal delivery brands like HelloFresh, Blue Apron and Home Chef. Established food delivery infrastructure and purchasing power of consumers have further accelerated the market growth in North America. Rising adoption of online ordering and digital payment methods have also made prepared meal delivery extremely accessible and seamless for consumers.

Asia Pacific region is expected to register the fastest growth in the coming years supported by increasing internet and smartphone penetration. Countries like India, China, Japan and South Korea are witnessing rising health awareness and willingness to pay for convenience among urban population. This has boosted the popularity of ready-to-eat and semi-cooked meal options. While countries like Japan already have well-established prepared food markets, other nations are seeing a surge of new prepared meal delivery startups. These companies are leveraging online platforms and mobile-first approach to acquire new customers. Growing disposable income and preference for international cuisine are some key drivers of growth. International players are also exploring opportunities in Asia by partnering with local F&B brands or launching their own operations to tap into vast consumer base in the region. This is indicative of Asia-Pacific emerging as one of the key battlegrounds for prepared meal delivery services worldwide.

Market Report Scope

Key Developments

• In February 2023, Zomato, an India-based food service platform, launched Zomato Every day, a home-cooked meal service that offers affordable food options
• In October 2023, UK Company Wonder Group acquired well-known industry player Blue Apron and entered the meal kit delivery service market
• In December 2022, Gobble was acquired by Intelligent Foods. Gobble is reputed to provide meal kits that are ready to eat in a short amount of time

*Definition: The Prepared Meal Delivery Market involves companies that design, produce and deliver pre-made complete meals directly to consumers on a regular schedule. These companies cater to people who want freshly made meals but lack the time or skills to cook themselves. Prepared meals are designed to be ready-to-eat or heat-and-eat and typically include choices for various diets and lifestyles. The meals cover different cuisines and nutritional needs delivered conveniently on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis

Market Segmentation

• Product Type Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Ready to Eat Meals
  • Ready to Cook Meals
  • Specialty Meals
  • Others
•  End User Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Households
  • Offices
  • Diet Specific
  • Others
• Delivery Frequency Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Weekly subscription
  • Bi-weekly subscription
  • Monthly subscription
  • Others
• Regional Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • North America
    • U.S.
    • Canada
  • Latin America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Mexico
    • Rest of Latin America
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • U.K.
    • Spain
    • France
    • Italy
    • Russia
    • Rest of Europe
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • South Korea
    • ASEAN
    • Rest of Asia Pacific
  • Middle East & Africa
    • GCC Countries
    • Israel
    • Rest of Middle East & Africa
• Key Players Insights
  • Hello Fresh
  • Blue Apron
  • Home Chef
  • Marley Spoon
  • Sun Basket
  • Abel & Cole
  • Riverford
  • Gousto
  • Quitoque
  • Kochhaus
  • Middagsfrid
  • Allerhandebox
  • Chefmarket
  • Kochzauber
  • Fresh Fitness Food
  • Mindful Chef
  • Fresh N Lean
  • CookUnity
  • Pete's Real Food
  • Mosaic Foods