TRENDS IN READY-MADE MEAL CONSUMPTION: IS THE COUNTRYSIDE FOLLOWING THE CITY?

Abstract

Contemporary food consumption patterns are undergoing dynamic changes influenced by globalization, urbanization, and evolving lifestyles and work models. One of the most visible trends in recent years is the growing interest in ready-to-eat meals, which are gaining popularity among both urban and rural residents. The study aimed to diagnose differences in the consumption of ready-made meals between rural and urban households from 2015 to 2023. It drew on individual, non-identifiable data from the Household Budget Survey conducted by GUS during this period. The research revealed a continuous and significant increase in the percentage of households purchasing ready-made meals. At the beginning of the study, every second household in Poland declared buying ready-made meals, with a difference of about 14 percentage points between urban and rural households. By 2023, approximately three-quarters of households in Poland were purchasing these products, with urban households only 4 percentage points higher than rural ones. The study also noted a systematic increase in the real average expenditure on ready-made meals until 2022 (from 6.2 PLN/person/month in 2015 to 10.3 PLN in 2022 for all households). In 2015, the average expenditure on ready-made meals in urban households was twice as high as in rural ones, but these disparities decreased towards the end of the period. In 2023, urban households’ expenditure on ready-made meals was about 60% higher than that of rural households.

Keywords

• ready-made meals
• food expenditure
• consumption trends
• rural households
• urban households