Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Order up, it's food to go
Europe | Consumer
May 14, 2025 – On-the-go meal options are gaining traction, particularly among younger consumers in Europe. In a recent McKinsey survey, 77 percent of Gen Z shoppers and 72 percent of millennials purchase on-the-go food at least once a month, compared with 57 percent of Gen Xers and 33 percent of baby boomers, note Senior Partner Daniel Läubli and coauthors. As the share of consumers who opt not to cook grows, grocers have an opportunity to regain market share from food service companies.
To read the report, see “The State of Grocery Retail Europe 2025,” April 8, 2025.
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Visual form
Stacked column chart. The visual uses one vertical stack per generation to show how often European consumers buy ready-to-eat and grab-and-go fresh meals.
Layout / body structure
The page presents a single chart with four columns arranged left to right for Gen Zers, millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers. Each column is read from the bottom segment upward, and the side brackets show the combined share of shoppers buying food to go at least once a month.
What is being compared
The chart compares generations by purchase frequency for on-the-go meal options. It is comparing the share of respondents who buy at least once a week, one to three times a month, or less than once a month or never.
Measurement system
All values are percentages of respondents. The stacked segments represent frequency bands, and the bracketed totals summarize the combined monthly-or-more purchasing share for each generation.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Each generation appears as a three-part stacked bar with a dark weekly segment at the bottom, a medium-blue monthly segment in the middle, and a light-blue infrequent-or-never segment at the top. The numeric labels sit inside the segments, and a bracket to the right of each column totals the weekly and monthly portions into one headline figure.
Main takeaway from the visual
The visible takeaway is that food to go is much more common among younger consumers than among older ones. The two darker segments occupy most of the Gen Z and millennial columns, while the baby boomer column is dominated by the light top segment for infrequent consumption.
Key standout values or extremes
Gen Zers show 42 percent buying at least once a week and 35 percent buying one to three times a month, for a combined 77 percent buying at least monthly. Millennials total 72 percent, Gen Xers 57 percent, and baby boomers only 33 percent, while the baby boomer column shows 67 percent in the less-than-monthly-or-never segment.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.