September brought cooler temperatures around the country and kids returned to school. “With it, the share of meals prepared at home increased to 78.8%,” said Jonna Parker, team lead fresh for Circana, citing the September edition of the Circana primary shopper survey. "This upholds the patterns observed in 2021 and 2022, in which at-home meal preparation dips in the summer and increases month-over-month throughout the fall and holiday season.”
The strength of deli-prepared food continues to be very encouraging, Parker said.