More and more, the answer is No. An article in Harvard Business Review written by Eddie Yoon on 9/22/17 discusses the changing trend.
Yoon said about 15 years ago, he gathered data on clients and cooking. Consumers fell into one of three categories:
1. People who loved cooking and did it often 15%
2. People who dislike cooking and avoid it, heating up prepared food or ordering in or dining in restaurants (aka outsourcing) 50%
3. People like to cook sometimes and mix cooking at home and “outsourcing” 35%
Fast forward 15 years and the percentages change:
1. From 15% to 10%
2. From 50% to 45%
3. From 35% to 45%
More Americans buy prepared food from grocery stores, food prep companies such as Blue Apron, from restaurants, or just eat out.
In 2014, baby boomers spent 40% of their food dollars eating out.
The allocation to eating out continues to grow. In 1974, as a country, it was 34% and increased to 50% as of 2014 according to Forbes.
With less cooking at home, fewer ingredients being used when someone is cooking, and more prepared food being utilized, grocery stores are going to need to change their product mix to get people in the store. And, with Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods, many are wondering how they will upend the current grocery store experience, as they have with so many other industries.