America’s desire for easy at-home meals is on the rise. 34% of Americans use air fryers weekly, while 60% of Americans prefer to spend less than 30 minutes cooking their meals in the evening, according to a new YouGov report.
YouGov’s America's appetite for convenience: Trend report 2025 explores how Americans are prioritizing convenience in the kitchen, and which brands they look for when buying ready-made meals.
The report finds that Kraft is the most considered brand for ready-made meals (43%), followed by Campbell’s (41%), and Pillsbury (39%).
The report finds that:
- Gen Z are significantly more likely to buy ready-made meals than any other generation (52% vs 33% of Millennials, 28% of Gen X, and 28% of Baby Boomers)
- 49% of Americans buy ready-made meals monthly, with 24% buying them less frequently, and 24% never purchasing ready-made meals
- Taste and price are the most considered factors by those who purchase ready-made meals (70%) followed by ingredients (51%) and microwavability (43%)
- Stovetops remain the most used appliance when cooking food, with 79% of Americans using one at least weekly, followed by microwaves (74%), and ovens (58%)
- 34% of Americans cook with an air fryer at least once per week, citing ease of use (76%), food crispness (64%), and cooking time (64%) as their primary motivations
- Kraft is the most considered ready-made meal brand among Gen Z (23.9%), Millennials (37.5%), and Gen X (50.1%) while Campbell’s is most considered by Baby Boomers (50.5%)
“Only 17% of Americans say they cook from scratch every day, and 27% do it once a month or less,” said Kenton Barello, VP at YouGov. “While cooking will surely remain popular for special occasions, it seems most American consumers want to limit the time they spend cooking to less than 30 minutes. Classic ready-made meals from Kraft, Campbell’s, Pillsbury, and other brands are helping Americans limit their time in the kitchen and are checkout favorites at the supermarket.”
The US convenience food report 2025 draws on data from YouGov Surveys and YouGov BrandIndex, a daily brand tracking tool that measures consumer perceptions across 16 key metrics and is available in 56 markets worldwide.
The full report is accessible free here.
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