Juan Roig believes that domestic cuisine has the days counted. There are eight million Spaniards who are already beginning to prove him

“I said it and I maintain it: in the middle of the 21st century there will be no kitchens”, with that simple phrase, Juan Roig (the executive president of Mercadona) summarized the future Of his company just a month ago: it was not only a banal prediction, it was a declaration of intentions.

Then half Spain He was thrown on him.

But there was something that half Spain did not know and Roig, yes: there are already eight million people who resort to the prepared dishes of the supermarket. And it’s just the beginning.

What is happening? If we go to the datawe can see that, in recent decades, home cuisine had been in clear decline. Millenials ate 30% more often in restaurants than any other generation; When they cooked, they spent less time (one hour less than the week X) and, when they bought, they opted more for prepared meals, pasta and sweets than the rest. They are US data, but We could find A similar process in all Western countries

It is true that in recent years the situation seemed to have changed (the survey World Cooking Index Gallupfor example, said that homemade cuisine had increased 10% in Spain in 2022 compared to 2018). However, everything seems to indicate that it is something close to pandemic that, little by little, everything returns to previous trends.

And that have been seen from supermarkets. The figures The Kantar consultancy was given This same March and fit as a glove with another good number of related data. As Elena L. Villalvilla explainedduring 2024 Spanish households consumed more than 700,000 tons of prepared dishes: that is 17 kilos per head. Which represents an increase of 6.6 % compared to the previous year.

The same data presented Roig last month confirmed the trend. The precooked dishes section of the supermarket chain “is already profitable and continues to grow.” In fact, it is present in 1200 of the 1600 establishments and follows an ambitious incorporation program (salmon with vegetables, roasted vegetables with romesco sauce, roasted rib or seafood salad).

But the bet goes further. At least in Mercadona. As explained in DAP“The disappearance of kitchens not only translates into a greater offer of prepared dishes, but also in a simplification of fresh products, destined to reduce the time we dedicate to the kitchen. “

The best example is the fish market section in which the products ready for cooking are increasingly weight without the intervention of any store in store.

And why? From the Kantar point of view, the explanations are very simple: “comfort, lack of time and the increasingly elaborate and healthy proposals by supermarkets.” As explained by the Director of Great Consumption ClientsVeronika Khurshudyan, in Infobae, consumers “not only buy food, look for solutions.”

This is the background key: solutions. Because, deep down, the twentieth century has been a century in which more and more food process stages have been taken out of domestic kitchens. Today, our country Only 28% of the Spaniards cooks from fresh foods.

Fourth range foods (raw packaging, minimally processed and ready for cooking) began to introduce in the late 80s in Spain. And, although they have been with us for 35 years, Only recently have they introduced themselves completely.

Just behind the fifth range: an arrival that It was truncated by the pandemicbut that has already recovered and takes speed. That is based on Roig’s prophecy; But, above all, that is based on a good part of the key changes in the food of the future.

Image | Deski Jayantoro | Joana Costa

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