79 per cent Indians preparing western food in kitchens: Survey

At least 79 per cent Indians are preparing western food in their kitchens, at least once a week, which is mostly consumed during evening or dinner time as a full meal, a survey by market research firm Ipsos said on Wednesday.

The survey titled 'The Evolving Indian Palate', was conducted with 1,000 households across 14 cities who consumed non-home cooked western food in the last one month and prepared western food at home, with the help of western sauces or spreads, at least once a month.

"The Dr Oetker-Ipsos survey has revealed some interesting insights into western food consumption habits in urban India. It is indeed encouraging for us to see that consumers today are more open to experimenting with food in their kitchens with Indo-Western fusion food becoming a rage in particular," said Oliver Mirza, Managing Director, and CEO for Dr Oetker India & SAARC.

The advantage that western food has in terms of ease of preparation makes it a convenient choice, the Oetker - Ipsos survey has further revealed.

The survey also found that only about 19 per cent of households consume western food during breakfast.

Key trigger for the growing interest in western foods is convenience with comments like it is "easy to cook" (68 per cent) and has wide acceptance, with comments like "good to share with family and friends" (57 per cent), "Enjoyed by children" (53 per cent) and "Good to serve to guests" (46 per cent), the research said.

However, western food is not relegated to special or celebratory occasions.

Seventy per cent respondents said that western food is more likely to be a meal replacement rather than being limited to occasions owing to its ease of preparation.

The study found that irrespective of cuisines, preparation of western foods at home is a family affair with two out of five people preparing meals with assistance such as spouse (34 per cent), friend (23 per cent) or another family member (38 per cent).

The research also found that younger people are embracing western foods more.

As a result, seven out of 10 western food consumers are below 30 years of age, with the western food drive being led mostly by the youth and children in their families.

"Despite the entrenched traditional food habits, urban Indians are increasingly becoming open to Western cuisine with more people taking to Western food as a part of their regular consumption regime. Wide access to information, time-pressed and evolving lifestyles, are the key factors to this change," said Sreyoshi Maitra, Executive Director, Ipsos.

"Interestingly, kitchens in the western food consuming Indian households have on an average three western sauces (apart from Ketchup) of which mayonnaise and pasta pizza sauce top the charts," she added.