NPD study: Americans use fewer dishes, ingredients

When it comes to meal prep, Americans are using fewer dishes and ingredients at a time when food and beverage occasions remain flat, according to the NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. As a result, major food companies, which are already contending with losing share to new, smaller entrants, are scrambling to meet changing consumer needs.

“This means that food manufacturers and foodservice operators are increasingly competing for a larger share of a smaller food and beverage pie,” says David Portalatin, vice president of food industry analyst. “This doesn’t mean that main meals, ingredients, condiments and side dishes are going away; it just requires food manufacturers to reconsider the role of these items in the occasion and how these items can stay relevant to consumers’ new eating patterns.”