How to eat food from plastic containers
According to a study conducted by an analytical agency, the ready-to-eat food market in Russia is growing at an accelerated pace. The figures are impressive: for the period from January to June of this year, turnover in this segment has already reached 435 billion rubles. This is 29 percent more than in 2023. And in total, during the study period from 2017 to 2023, the average increase in cash turnover in the prepared food market was as much as 17%. If this continues, by the end of the year the growth rate will become truly record-breaking: total sales of prepared food in Russia will increase by 38.8% and amount to over 1.04 trillion rubles, analysts predict.
Photo: ru.freepik.com
What do these numbers say? Sociologists have no doubt: Russians are becoming lonely, exhausted and half-starved. Is it possible to fully eat food from plastic containers?
— We see a picture typical of wild capitalism. The Soviet generation remembers this term well,” sociologist Marina Kuspits comments on the analytical data. – People spend all their time at work, but there is no time and no one to cook. Single workaholics who put life off until later: this is a cross-section of modern society.
Another study has arrived. According to the same agency, there are more households per person in Russia. This figure has doubled compared to the last decade.
— According to the study, in 2010, 14 million people lived in one-room apartments. And according to data for last year, 28.5 million Russians already have such households,” the sociologist cites the figures. – Accordingly, the layout of modern one-room apartments has also changed. The kitchen area in them is becoming smaller and smaller, already reducing the small total area of modern “cells”. Developers are already planning housing for bachelors in the project: both men and women. It is assumed that with this lifestyle, residents will not cook on their own. There simply isn't enough time.
Employers are also quickly joining the trend. Companies of any size have vending machines with ready-made food and snacks. True, such “food” quickly becomes boring. Even the most unpretentious workaholics want the warmth of home and good nutrition with first, second and compote.
— These indicators indicate that there is a large bias in society towards work. People, like driven horses, are forced to earn their living. We know that in most companies the labor code has long been shelved. Long working hours have become the norm. If you don't like it, leave. But with such procedures in the labor sphere, it is difficult to talk about increasing demographics, Kuspitz is sure. “Women immediately after university hit the ground running and try to make a career. The type of successful but lonely woman can now be increasingly found in society. The same can be said about workaholic men. They are afraid of losing their job by entering into a confrontation with their bosses over weekends, normal working hours and paid leave. I am sure that in order to solve the demographic crisis, it is necessary to restore order in labor relations and oblige managers to comply with the labor code.