We live in a world where a frozen ready meal is an inconvenience because it takes 10 minutes to cook and where parents buy their children's sandwiches ready made. Consumers now want food so fast that many can't be bothered to wait more than half an hour for a takeaway to be delivered. We've all heard researchers banging on about our growing laziness and culinary apathy and the latest research does seem to bear this out: Nestlé's family monitor discovered only 34% of people prepared a meal from scratch every day while the IGD found that a staggering 13% of adults with children under five ate convenience food every day. Although fewer people report feeling time pressured, according to Marcus Hickman a director at the Henley Centre, 60% still say they feel modern life is stressful. He says because of higher incomes, there is now as much emphasis on getting "value for time" as on convenience. "They want a good experience and are less tolerant of slow service." The rapid growth of the chilled ready meal offer in supermarkets is one way retailers are trying to help us all out. Their increasingly large Indian and Chinese food offer is a big draw, while rotisserie chickens virtually fly off the spits and no new self-respecting store is without a serve-over counter or a "pizza designer" artfully arranging peppers to order while-u-wait. These ubiquitous counters are eating up ever more floor space in the multiples, as well as convenience stores, so that storecupboard staples to knock up a meal of meat and two veg are given even less shelf space. Safeway is particularly keen on emphasising this culinary drama and trading director Jack Durkan says it fits with its policy of concentrating on ready meals. "We think we can grow our own label business, particularly ready meals by up to 60%." Linsey Wright, Asda's home meal replacement category development manager, says serve-overs are a key part of the Asda mix, but she admits that although 70-80% of its cooked meal sales used to be made over the counter, 70% is now sold pre-packed in paper bags ­ evidently because consumers no longer need the reassurance of an assistant or are too busy to wait for service. Asda's given more space over to HMR by stealing it from the deli counter and boasts a 32% share of the market. But although it calls itself the biggest Indian takeaway in the country, not everything works ­ its TexMex range flopped because Wright says shoppers didn't have a point of reference in the outside world. "You need to look at foodservice first to ensure consumers understand it." You still have to go into a store to get these meals however and studies have shown that many people would like the convenience of being able to buy a takeaway evening meal from their place of work ­ something which a few canny firms are starting to address. Rocket, Unilever's meal kit offer, is on track to advance through the capital and beyond, with its stands at rail stations and the offices of financial firms, while Leapingsalmon, a web start-up with a similar, more sophisticated offer, is powering ahead and recently opened two stands in London for commuters. Both recognised harassed shoppers' desire for quality food that can be knocked up quickly, while Birds Eye Wall's got in on the act with its Enjoy range and even the supermarkets have own label ranges which let shoppers put together food using raw products and sauces. Asda for example, is ramping up its Meals Made Easy range by 20% in September, because it says consumers like preparing meat with sauce. IGD says that consumers want to save their energies, time and skills, but adds that indulgence is a key factor and that convenience food usually means buying food they wouldn't normally buy. As eating out is an indulgence for most people, perhaps we'll follow the American trend where shoppers eat out rather than heat up meals at home, particularly as a meal out is viewed as a way of replicating the traditional family meal. According to the UK Food Service, by 2020 the spend on food away from home will exceed the spend on food prepared and cooked at home. However, Asda's Wright believes people in the UK like to eat at home rather than go out to eat because they work longer hours. The McKinsey & Company report, Foodservice 2010: America's Appetite Matures, predicts a rosy future for food away from home over the next 10 years in the US and says that overall food spending will increase by $123bn, with foodservice capturing $76bn of those new dollars. It predicts an increase in the number of well-off older people who are increasingly likely to eat out ­ especially in full service restaurants rather than fast food joints ­ and young people who will continue to eat out frequently and eat takeaways at home. It also reckons that meal assembly, or combining prepared or partially prepared items for at-home consumption, will almost entirely replace cooking from scratch as consumers manage busy schedules. Dr John Stanton, professor of retailing at St Joseph's University in the US, says supermarkets there missed the point a few years ago. "They offered fast food, not restaurant food, and misinterpreted the meaning of convenience. Although consumers are pushed for time they want life to be made easier while still preparing food. It's a way of showing love and respect. Saying Look what I nuked for you darling' isn't the same. The planning's the hard part." He says the latest trend Statesside is cross-merchandising products to provide meal solutions ­ for example, putting the sour cream next to the potatoes. Salad bars are also being relabelled ingredients bars. Happily, UK supermarkets appear to be a step ahead and Safeway is starting to push back the boundaries of convenience with its Fresh to Go trial delivery service from St Katharine Docks and Woking stores which Durkan says is doing well, particularly at weekends. Shoppers can order pizzas, Chinese and Indian food which get delivered hot to the door. They can also order beers and wine. Interestingly however, a similar trial at Welling didn't prove as successful and was dropped. He adds: "We are pleased with the trial's progress so far. There has been a positive response from customers with a high level of repeat orders. We're looking to roll the concept out." The scheme does seem a logical step for retailers, particularly those with a grocery home delivery service, who could piggyback deliveries ­ after all, how convenient can it be if you still have to visit the store to pick up your meal? However, no other retailer seems to want to follow Safeway's lead, including Asda ­ a chain with a mission to reduce the time its shoppers spend in the kitchen. It has tried radical ideas such as a drive-thru in its Canterbury store car park where shoppers could pick up pizzas and curries, but the idea was dropped in favour of in-store counters where shoppers might pick up groceries too. Asda's Wright says it has trialled hot food to go in a couple of stores, which hasn't worked, although she doesn't rule it out for smaller stores which have a more local population. This fits in with its research which shows that although shoppers say they're prepared to travel 10 minutes for a takeaway, in reality five minutes is more like it. Patrick Reeves, director of Deliverance ­ a London-based firm delivering restaurant quality meals, says there's a huge opportunity for retailers and suppliers. He believes there's a trend for delivered home meals which suppliers must start addressing. "I think at least one retailer will start delivering hot food nationally." Reeves says takeaways used to be a distress purchase but people now enjoy ordering food. But he acknowledges that the offer takes up a lot of space in store and new skills are needed. "Suppliers will have to work out how to supply the food to supermarkets. Food delivery is different because as soon as it leaves your kitchen it starts to deteriorate so it must be extra good in the first place. If it's done wrong, the supermarkets will look very foolish." So where might this leave the supermarkets, which would tell you some of their ready meals already taste like those in a restaurant? It's debatable. But maybe trained chefs in each store and a new logistics set up for hot deliveries would help get a quick, quality offer to shoppers. IGD programme manager Anna Dawson says shoppers will welcome anything that makes life easier ­ bigger ranges or quicker meal times. "The demand is there, as long as quality doesn't suffer." n {{COVER FEATURE }}