Rise of Ready Meals Threatens Home Kitchens in Spain and Beyond

Anthropologist Xavier Medina of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya warned that, while home kitchens are unlikely to vanish in the short term in Spain or Europe, the rapid growth of ready‑meal consumption is reshaping kitchen design. Data from Worldpanel by Numerator show that 98 % of households already eat at least one prepared dish, and Kantar reports a 48 % increase in ready‑meal sales over the past two years, reaching about eight million consumers.

Mercadona president Juan Roig predicts that, if current trends continue, most homes could lack traditional cooking spaces by mid‑century. In the United States, new housing often includes only a single column of appliances to save space, a model that is beginning to appear in some European homes. While industry pushes convenient, healthy pre‑cooked options, public campaigns still encourage fresh cooking, and many view cooking as domestic work still largely associated with women.