There was a time when people went to supermarkets to fill their pantry. Not anymore. Or at least not only does it for that. As The tastes changedhabits and especially Rhythm of life It has also been doing our relationship with retail chains. When today we go to a super we can do it to take food that we will then cook at home, but also to buy already prepared dishes or even (increasingly) stay lunch inside the premises, as if we were in a bar.
In 2025 the super do not compete only with neighborhood stores, they do it with restaurants to which every time They cost them more Offer profitable menus.
What happened? That our way of consuming is changing. And with her the super. Black left over white A report of the consultant Worldpanel by numerator Efe revealed that it confirms that hypermarkets are no longer just places we go to food to prepare food at home or already prepared dishes. In addition to all that, every year hundreds of thousands of people cross their doors to do something else: breakfast, lunch or snack right there. Yes, as if they were in a restaurant or a bar.
What do the figures say? According to Veronika Khurshudyan clarifiesspokesman for the consultant, throughout the last year (at the end of July 2025) 6.9 million people have gone to hypermarket and supermarket coffee shops to buy food they have then consumed away from home. The data is interesting, but the report includes another that is still more: about 1.3 million customers chose to stay in the establishment and eat food in situ.
The data is significant for two reasons. First, its reach. Second, the trend. Those 1.3 million consumers double the figure of the previous year.
“Shows an increasing interest in enjoying the experience within the establishment itself”, Notice Khurshudyan. The most common is still that we buy food to consume it at home (31% of the time) or in the place where we work (16%), but the data reflects a growing business for large chains. “The coffee shops in the hyper and super begin to consolidate as a flexible point of consumption that combines the practical ‘to carry’ with the possibility of staying and enjoying at the time,” insists the consultant’s spokeswoman.
Is there more data? Yes. And while they are not so clear about where we eat and if we do it inside or outside the hypermarkets themselves, they show a clear trend: we are increasingly going to the super search of cooked food. No paste packages, tomatoes or minced meat trays. No. What we want is the ration of carbonara spaghettis already prepared. Dishes that we can devour instantly.
Another report by Worldpanel by numeraton, Posted in August by Five daysshows that food sales ready for consumption have shot in the last three years in the Spanish premises 49% in terms of value.
Where do we eat? The report reflects that although in most cases (80%) we realize those dishes already ready in our own homes, it is increasingly common for us to consummate them, far from the table of our living room or kitchen. That study Specifically, I did not delve into details, but it did slide that the ‘extra -adomatic enjoyment’ was growing double digit: with the data and April in the hand it was 15% if we talk about frequency and 29% in terms of sales value.
Worldpanel is not the only one who has found the growing interest in already cooked dishes. In his Sectorial Report In March, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Map) points out that the consumption of prepared dishes increased 6.4% in the last year until leaving the average consumption per person in 17.47 kg.
Not just that. If we take into account that indicator (the average per capita intake) the prepared dishes are the ones that grow the most between the categories identified by the map. While the food set was reduced by 0.5%, with falls in the case of fish and vegetables, already ready foods grew by 5.4%.
Why do we do it? For comfort. Or rather, changes in priorities to Manage our time. Worldpanel and the Promarca association contributed Some keys A while ago with a survey that reflects that 47% of Spaniards consider that they lack time throughout the day, which provides a golden opportunity to those known as “convenience” products, those who focus on the ease and comfort for the consumer.
According to The same study “convenience” is the main motivation that moves customers in 45% of the occasions when they demand food and drink. It may seem little, but it exceeds other reasons, such as health (18.6%) or pleasure (22.6%).
The trend is clear enough to A few months ago The president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, recognized his conviction that in not much time the Spaniards will feed ourselves with the food we bought outside the home. Not with the ingredients, no, but with the already prepared dishes that we take to our home. “I said and kept it: in the middle of the 21st century there will be no kitchens”, He settled. The data of prepared dishes manufacturers suggest that it is not disenchanted: in 2024 its consumption increased in Spain 6.6%.
How do companies respond? Roig has not only shared his forecast. His chain has been preparing for that stage (gastronomically speaking) apocalyptic with his line ‘Ready to eat’a branch of the company whose origins can be traced to 2018 and that is committed to the sale of dishes, from incoming to pizzas, lentils, or meatballs, between a long etcetera.
In your last Annual Report Mercadona pointed out that last year the service was extended to a hundred and a half of premises, which raises the network to 1,260 supermarkets, 1,200 in Spain and the 60s of Portugal. Moreover, the chain ensures that the section “has not stopped growing” and Keep incorporating it to more premises.
And Roig’s company is not a unique case. Other chains, such as Alcampo, Carrefour either The English Court (To name just a handful of examples) have opted for prepared dishes. Sometimes With spaces to taste them within the establishment itself. A few months ago Mercadona was one step further in that direction by incorporating a coffee service on demand ready to consume.
The idea is the same: that the supermarket is no longer (only) the place where you are going to fill the fridge at home, but the place of the one you eat.
Images | Mercadona and Simon Karemann (UNSPLASH)
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