Going solo: One in three Brits eat every meal alone
People are becoming too busy for shared meals.
A new research involving 2,000 internet users across Europe has revealed that almost a third of Europeans often eat their meals alone, with the Polish (40%) leading the way.
The Brits (33%) followed the list, then the German (31%), French (30%) Spanish and Italian (both 29%) consumers, according to marketing intelligence firm Mintel.
“Increasingly busy lifestyles are resulting in less time for nearly everything, including shared meals - with the trend in solo dining on the rise for many people throughout Europe,” Mintel global food and drink analyst Edward Bergen said in a statement.
“While some are eating their meals alone as a result of social isolation, others are using meal times to get quality time to themselves. With the festive period finally here, many consumers will relish the chance to come together, fulfilling a desire that is becoming more challenging for the busy, modern consumer,” he added.
Minted noted, however, that around four in five Europeans value family mealtimes.
Meanwhile, Germans are less likely to use their phone whilst having their meals, compared to their Spanish counterparts (55%), along with Polish (53%) and Italian (51%) consumers.
Additionally, young people aged 16-24 or the Generation Z are most likely to use their phones whilst taking their meals, with young Spanish (76%)and Polish (72%) consumers leading the way.
Besides phones, televisions also come as a distraction in mealtimes for seven in 10 Brits (71%) who often take their meals whilst watching or gaming. But this is unlikely for German (44%) and French (50%) households which seem to uphold good table manners.
“There are opportunities for brands to tap into consumers’ interest in their digital devices and encourage them to think more about what they eat and drink. In order to grab consumers’ attention in our device obsessed world, food and drink brands also need to utilise as many techniques as possible to engage people beyond taste, such as through texture, colour and scent,” Bergen said about this trend.
