Despite continuing to be frugal with everyday purchases, European shoppers are spending extravagantly on indulgent food moments that nourish both mind and body at a time when worries about global conflict, climate concerns, and ongoing economic pressures now shape daily life.
Rather than carbs, fat, sugar, and alcohol, a study by Circana suggests that indulgence in food is now about exciting new global flavours, carefully sourced ingredients, and new cooking skills. It suggests a well-curated meal kit can scratch the indulgence itch as much as a chocolate bar or tub of ice cream. An enjoyable restaurant visit is as much about socialising, ambience and discovering new cuisines as it is about leaving with a full stomach.
Circana’s ‘Eat Play Love’ report offers a snapshot of consumer habits in 2025, drawing on its tech, AI and consumer data across Europe’s food retail, foodservice, toy and prestige beauty markets.
The ‘snackification’ of food
Snacks are no longer just eaten between meals, but alongside and instead of a traditional breakfast, lunch or dinner. 13% of Europeans say they eat snacks instead of a main meal and 28% consume them alongside. Further, four out of 10 snack products consumed outside the home are now eaten at lunch or dinner.
Never mind crisps and chocolate bars, almost anything can function as a snack, including pickles, boiled eggs and even frozen pizza. What matters to consumers is that their snack of choice fits into their day and meets their lifestyle needs.
With many more natural, high-protein and minimally processed options to choose from, it is not surprising that almost half of European consumers say snacking regularly is a form of self-care, while 73% indulge while watching screens, with nearly half regarding it as a wellbeing ritual.
Spend on ‘snacking meals’ is up 4.5% in foodservice outlets and up 9.6% in retail foodservice (a combined total of €64bn).
Snacking now accounts for nearly 40% of all edible grocery value, delivering €234bn in value sales; up 2.9% or an additional €7bn in 2024 compared to 2023.
“Eating is no longer just about satisfying hunger; it’s about boosting moods, adding excitement to every meal and enhancing everyday rituals,” said Ananda Roy, Senior Vice President of Strategic Insights and Thought Leadership EMEA at Circana.
“The convenience, flexibility and variety offered by snack foods is a great example. Today, snacks are less a guilty pleasure and more a deliberate purchase.”
Restaurant-quality dining, delivered at home
Ordering delivery is one of the most expensive ways you can get food into your home, but the report suggests savvy Europeans are using delivery to cleverly manage spend while still getting to experience restaurant-quality food. By ordering just the main for delivery and buying the starters, desserts and drinks from the grocery store, they are turning a €120 restaurant visit into a €50 pizza delivery occasion while preserving a lot of the same enjoyment.
This is one of the reasons why delivery continues to do surprisingly well in Europe, even as cost-of-living pressures have increased, with spend in the last year at €29bn on foodservice deliveries, up from €26bn in 2023. Spend in the UK last year was £9.7bn on foodservice deliveries, up from £7.5bn in 2023.
“The desire for greater control goes beyond ingredients,” said Edurne Uranga, Vice President Foodservice Europe, Circana.
“Consumers are watching their spending, asking for doggy bags and planning meal occasions carefully. This isn’t just budgeting; it’s a form of empowerment. As people’s emotional needs from food change, the line between what they buy in grocery stores and bars, restaurants and other foodservice outlets is blurring.”
Other shifts and changes in European tastes and preferences highlighted by the Eat Play Love report include:
- A fresh take on balanced nutrition. As the world feels more chaotic and health concerns such as obesity and chronic illnesses rise, European consumers want to be more proactive about taking control of their health. High in protein, with added fibre, immunity-boosting, mood-enhancing and brain foods are all now a multi-billion Euro business and firmly embedded in European food culture. This doesn’t mean Europeans are completely against processing. While more natural options are definitely in demand, especially in categories like snacking, 38% of consumers also believe processing can improve taste and 40% say it makes products more affordable.
- Big chains and mainstream outlets rule the day. Europeans’ choice of restaurants, bars, food outlets and grocery stores remain decidedly mainstream. They are buying even more from chains such as Starbucks, Five Guys, Quick and Pret a Manger over independents because they want value, convenience and easy home delivery options, which the large operators with professional back-office operations are often better placed to provide.
This is also evident in food retail. After years of rapid growth for the discounters, Europeans are falling back in love with the supermarket again. In the last year, supermarket unit sales grew by 1.6% compared with just 0.8% for the discounters.
- Better for me and the environment. Despite cost-of-living pressures, being environmentally responsible with food purchases remains important with 26% of European consumers preferring environmentally friendly options and 27% drawn to socially responsible brands. While most restaurant visits continue to be driven by a desire to indulge, Europeans’ increasingly want local sourcing and seasonal produce.
- The doggy bag becomes a European institution. 20% of European consumers (8% in the UK) now claim that taking their doggy bags home is important to them and say they see it as an act of sustainability. Saving money is the main motivation for requesting a doggy bag, but the desire to reduce food waste also plays a role. A further 19% would like to see leftovers donated to charities.
- Breakfast gets a makeover. From croissants and café au lait to tostada and the full English, Europe isn’t short of iconic breakfasts. More breakfasts are now eaten out of home – in 2024 it was 9.8 billion, up 3% on 2023. While these ‘eaten out of home’ breakfasts are mostly consumed on the go, breakfast eaten on-premise is also growing, up 2% in 2024 and accounting for 8 billion on-premise visits in 2024. Healthy choices are on the rise, with cereal and egg-based products such as omelettes increasingly in demand. Even delivery is getting a growing slice of the breakfast action, with Europeans ordering 21.9% more breakfasts from restaurants.
