Telangana spends most on ready-to-eat meals in country: Study

Telangana also happens to be among the top five states spending the most on food.

Hyderabad: When it comes to ready-to-eat and served meals, Telangana beats any other state in the country, according to an SBI Research report on household consumption patterns. It also happens to be among the top five states spending the most on food.

According to the research, as reported by The Times of India, served and ready-to-eat meals make up 16.3 per cent of Telangana’s food expenses. The other states on the list are Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, and Karnataka.

In the monthly food consumption expenditure, Telangana ranks fifth, right behind Haryana, Nagaland, Goa, and Keralam.

Even as this reflects on busy lifestyles, the analysis does not indicate how often households take these melas or if they have replaced home-cooked food.

The analysis, which is based on the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24, also shows how food baskets across states vary– if Telangana tops in spending on ready-to-eat meals, Goa spends the most, an 11.4 per cent, on packaged foods.

Likewise, other states also show unique trends. For instance, Haryana spends 28.6 per cent on milk and milk products. At 38.6 per cent, cereals take up the largest chunk of food expenditure in Jharkhand, while Chhattisgarh spends the most, 20.5 per cent, on pulses.

Overall, Keralam leads in spending on fruits at 7 per cent.

Online purchase

While online purchases are still limited across fresh foods, grocery purchases showed the highest digital adoption at 4.29 per cent. Next up is served processed food at 2.62 per cent, followed by packaged processed food at 1.65 per cent.

In the fresh food category, only 1.32 per cent of vegetable purchases were done online, while 1 per cent of fresh fruits and 0.62 per cent of dry fruits were bought digitally.

Another interesting aspect influencing spending choices is household demographics, said the report. For instance, families with more older people spend more on milk and fresh produce than on served or packaged meals. However, families with children spend more on milk and ready-to-eat foods.