Perhaps because they have more time, the habit of cooking but also a purchasing power allowing it, consumers over the age of 60 provide half of the total expenses for traditional fresh products, category bringing together fishmonger , butcher’s shop, cutting cheeses and fruits and vegetables, according to a study by the specialized company Kantar, on the sidelines of the Agricultural Show.
According to the market research company, there is an important generational contrast to the consumption of these products from agricultural production. On the one hand, seniors are important consumers of these foods “they have known since childhood”, explains Kantar, adding that they know how to prepare and cook them, but also that they have “more higher time and purchasing power ”to buy them.
Conversely, “the youngest do not have the codes, not the culinary know-how, not time or money” to prepare and therefore consume these products, explains Kantar.
To forge this conclusion, Kantar is based on the number of transactions in supermarkets, traditional specialized businesses such as supermarkets (large costs for example), markets, fairs, or specialized stores, for example In organic.
A declining fresh products market
In total, sales of fresh products fell 1.5 % in 2024. They were struck hard by inflation since 2022. “It is an adjustment variable for the household portfolio due to their Price, ”explains Kantar.
During the Pandemic of COVID-19 and successive confinements, sales of these products had strongly progressed since the French were more at home to cook and that they had a “more substantial budget because it is mainly devoted to food”, Resumes Kantar.
“But post-Cavid, the wealthiest households have returned to the restaurants they had been deprived of for many months, also explaining the drop in their purchases of fresh products for meals at home,” concludes Kantar.