“Cost-conscious American families are eating meals at home more, which means household cooks are in greater need of meal ideas,” says Darren Seifer, NPD food-and-beverage-industry analyst. “Recipes provide the ideas for convenient and good-tasting meals and enable households to stretch food dollars by providing new and creative ways to use ingredients already available at home.”
Growth in recipe usage is being driven primarily by young adults, Millennials. One-half of Millennials, nearly 30 million young adults, are now using recipes at least once a week. Forty-five percent of Generation Xers, or nearly 25 million adults, use recipes at least once a week. Frequent recipe users, those households that use recipes at least once a week, also tend to be traditional families that include children under the age of 18.
“As in-home meal consumption continues to grow, the home cooks’ need for new and interesting meal ideas is going to continue to grow, as well,” says Seifer. “Food manufacturers can take advantage of the advanced planning involved in recipe dishes. If you can promote the right recipe in front of these cooks you are very likely to get on their shopping list.