Ready-to-eat meals: A growing trend

Ready-to-eat meals, also known as fifth range products, have ceased to be a marginal solution and have become a consolidated trend within Spanish consumers’ habits. This phenomenon responds to a deep change in lifestyle: the lack of time to cook drives the search for practical and quick solutions, while consumers show growing interest in maintaining a healthy diet.

 

The consolidation of the fifth range

The data clearly reflect this evolution. In 2025, each Spaniard consumed an average of 18 kilos of prepared dishes, up 4.7% from the previous year, while overall food consumption barely grew 0.6% year-on-year up to November. Compared with a decade ago, consumption has risen by around 40%, equivalent to about five kilos more per person.

This growth contrasts with the evolution of other traditional foods. In the last ten years, fish consumption in Spain has fallen by nearly 30%, while fresh fruit intake has dropped more than 25% in Spanish households. A similar trend is observed with other staples such as milk or vegetables, reflecting a profound transformation in life habits and in the way people eat.

 

Industry adaptation and the role of retail

In response to this new scenario, the food industry has leveraged modern living, developing ready-to-consume solutions that combine convenience, variety and improved nutritional profiles. This category has become one of the major growth drivers of current food retail, forcing retailers to adapt strategically.

To this end, supermarkets have progressively expanded assortments, improved in-store visibility, created convenience spaces and optimised the logistics and turnover of products — many of them fresh with limited shelf-life. They now operate with different formats, from heat-at-home products to ready-to-consume prepared foods sections at home, in-store or “on the go”.

A notable example is Mercadona, the sector leader in Spain, which in 2018 launched its “Ready to Eat” service. This initiative combines the sale of prepared dishes with spaces designated for consuming them inside the supermarket, integrating the convenience concept into the point of sale. Since then, growth in this category has been significant. Just in 2025, this service grew by 20%, reaching close to €3,000 million in turnover, representing about 7.16% of the company’s total sales. Today, more than 1,100 supermarkets in Spain and Portugal have this space, and the company plans to extend the section to its entire network before 2033.

In parallel, other major distribution chains in Spain are also strengthening their commitment to this consumption model, expanding assortments and developing new on-the-spot consumption solutions.

 

A growing market for manufacturers

Demand growth is also reflected in the evolution of the industrial market. In 2025, manufacturers of prepared dishes achieved a combined turnover of €4,308 million, up 5% from the previous year and 11% compared with 2023.

This market includes different product typologies: frozen, ambient and chilled. Among them, the chilled category shows the greatest dynamism, with nearly 7% growth in the last year, generating €2,368.7 million in sales, accounting for around 55% of the sector’s total. These are the products gaining the most popularity in recent years, with greater presence on supermarket shelves.

 

Towards a new model of food consumption

The rise of ready-to-eat dishes responds not only to convenience but also to a structural evolution in the food consumption model. The combination of demographic shifts, new work routines and the search for solutions that simplify meal preparation is driving the development of this category across the entire value chain.

Everything points to this trend continuing to evolve into increasingly specialised and differentiated proposals with a greater focus on ingredient quality, nutritional balance, sustainability and personalised offer. A new food paradigm that places the consumer at the centre, without sacrificing flavour or quality.