The Rise of the Solo Diner
More people are eating alone, which is driving demand for convenient, single-serve meals.
Oct 04, 2019
NEW YORK CITY—Solo dining has moved mainstream. Today, Americans consume close to 50% of their meals by themselves, the Wall Street Journal reports. Busy families and the increase of single-person households have stripped away the stigma of eating alone—and upped the need for tasty, nutritious and convenient meals-for-one.
“A lot of those solo-eating occasions,” are not that sad, said Laurie Demeritt, CEO of Hartman Group. “A lot of people we talk to say, ‘I love eating alone because I can eat whatever I want.’”
Food companies are responding with products packaged in bite-size and single-serve portions. “Traditional meal occasions are declining,” said Jen Bentz, senior vice president of insights and innovation for Tyson Foods. “Years ago, people used to schedule their lives around their meals—what we’re seeing now is that we eat around our schedules.”
The NPD Group found that Americans gobbled up 45% of all meals alone at home during the 12-month period ending in February, an increase from 42% in 2013. Twenty-three percent of all party sizes eating at a restaurant were single diners during the same period.
Kraft Heinz research discovered that close to 50% of solo diners like eating alone. They find it’s a way to catch up on other activities and have some alone time,” said Elizabeth Obbard, who heads innovation for Kraft Heinz, which is looking to revamp some of its products to meet the needs of single diners, who often want simple meals without a lot of fuss.
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