Cooking shows up in everyday budgets and choices, from U.S. food-at-home spending and restaurant demand to global online delivery. Learn how more people watch or share cooking content, and how smart kitchen tools are changing routines. We also cover the health stakes: CDC estimates 48 million foodborne illnesses and 128,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S. Finally, ingredient price pressure—from chicken breast to eggs—helps explain shifting costs.
Key Takeaways
- US retail sales of food and beverages totaled $1,388.7 billion in 2023
- US sales of food services (restaurants and bars) were $997.0 billion in 2023
- Global retail market for food reached $8.2 trillion in 2022
- 63% of US consumers reported using video recipes or cooking content online
- In 2022, 66% of internet users in Germany ordered goods online, and 6% ordered prepared food online at least once a month
- In 2023, 44% of EU individuals reported buying prepared meals online in the past 12 months
- CDC estimated 48 million foodborne illnesses annually in the US (all pathogens)
- CDC estimates 128,000 hospitalizations annually in the US from foodborne diseases
- CDC estimates 3,000 deaths annually in the US from foodborne diseases
- US consumer price index for food at home rose 5.4% year-over-year in 2023
- Average retail price of chicken breast was $3.68/lb in 2023 (USDA data)
- Average retail price of ground beef was $5.50/lb in 2023 (USDA data)
- In 2023, global online grocery penetration reached 6.4% of grocery retail sales (industry estimates)
- In 2022, 54% of global internet users used at least one social media platform daily (DataReportal)
- In 2024, ChatGPT had 100 million weekly active users (OpenAI)
Rising food prices and booming online cooking and delivery are reshaping demand as foodborne illness remains costly.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size9 stats
01
US retail sales of food and beverages totaled $1,388.7 billion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf
02
US sales of food services (restaurants and bars) were $997.0 billion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf
03
Global retail market for food reached $8.2 trillion in 2022https://www.statista.com/statistics/202294/food-industry-market-size-worldwide/
04
Global online food delivery market is forecast to reach $182.2 billion in 2024https://www.statista.com/statistics/654968/online-food-delivery-market-size-worldwide/
05
Global meal kit delivery market size is forecast to reach $14.1 billion in 2024https://www.statista.com/statistics/1001047/meal-kit-market-size-worldwide/
06
Global home cooking and recipe content market (food media) is projected to reach $33.9 billion by 2029https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/food-media-market-123918901.html
07
France food sales in supermarkets totaled €132.0 billion in 2023https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/serie/001653241
08
Italy restaurant and catering sales totaled €96.0 billion in 2023https://www.istat.it/en/
09
In 2023, US food manufacturing sales were $1.0 trillionhttps://www.census.gov/naics/?input=311
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
From a Market Size perspective, consumer demand for food spans both traditional and digital channels, with US food and beverage retail at $1,388.7 billion and food services at $997.0 billion in 2023, while global online delivery is projected to jump to $182.2 billion in 2024 and the home cooking and recipe content market is expected to reach $33.9 billion by 2029.
02 · Category
User Adoption7 stats
01
63% of US consumers reported using video recipes or cooking content onlinehttps://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2023/video-recipe-consumption/
02
In 2022, 66% of internet users in Germany ordered goods online, and 6% ordered prepared food online at least once a monthhttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=E-commerce_statistics_for_individuals
03
In 2023, 44% of EU individuals reported buying prepared meals online in the past 12 monthshttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=E-commerce_statistics_for_individuals
04
In 2023, 26% of EU individuals bought ready-to-eat food online at least oncehttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=E-commerce_statistics_for_individuals
05
In 2023, 29% of US adults used smart kitchen applianceshttps://www.statista.com/statistics/1191962/smart-kitchen-adoption-us-adults/
06
In 2022, 41% of households in Sweden cooked at home at least 6 days per weekhttps://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/
07
In 2023, 57% of consumers in the UK used an online retailer for grocery stapleshttps://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption for cooking is clearly strong and moving online, with 63% of US consumers using video recipes and 44% of EU individuals buying prepared meals online in the past 12 months, alongside growing regular usage in markets like Sweden where 41% of households cook at home at least 6 days per week.
03 · Category
Performance Metrics6 stats
01
CDC estimated 48 million foodborne illnesses annually in the US (all pathogens)https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html
02
CDC estimates 128,000 hospitalizations annually in the US from foodborne diseaseshttps://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html
03
CDC estimates 3,000 deaths annually in the US from foodborne diseaseshttps://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html
04
CDC estimates 1 in 6 Americans get sick from foodborne disease each yearhttps://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html
05
Foodborne pathogens cause 96% of foodborne disease burden in CDC estimateshttps://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html
06
In 2020, 4.7 million people were affected by foodborne diseases in the US (CDC estimate subset)https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/index.html
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics in cooking underscore how costly food safety failures can be, with the CDC estimating 48 million US foodborne illnesses each year and 128,000 hospitalizations as well as 3,000 deaths, showing that prevention is critical to reducing real-world harm.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis7 stats
01
US consumer price index for food at home rose 5.4% year-over-year in 2023https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
02
Average retail price of chicken breast was $3.68/lb in 2023 (USDA data)https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/retail
03
Average retail price of ground beef was $5.50/lb in 2023 (USDA data)https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/retail
04
Average retail price of eggs was $1.80/dozen in 2023 (USDA data)https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/retail
05
In 2023, restaurant and other food service prices increased 6.6% (CPI)https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
06
US food price index increased from 2019 base by 18% by 2023 (USDA/ BLS series)https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/
07
Gas cooking typically has lower fuel cost than electric cooking by 15%–25% (industry cost comparison)https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For the Cost Analysis category, the data shows that everyday cooking inputs got noticeably more expensive, with food at home up 5.4% year over year in 2023 and overall food prices rising 18% versus the 2019 baseline, while key staples like chicken breast at $3.68 per pound, ground beef at $5.50 per pound, and eggs at $1.80 per dozen also climbed under these higher cost conditions.
05 · Category
Industry Trends11 stats
01
In 2023, global online grocery penetration reached 6.4% of grocery retail sales (industry estimates)https://www.planetretail.com/online-grocery-penetration/
02
In 2022, 54% of global internet users used at least one social media platform daily (DataReportal)https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-global-overview-report
03
In 2024, ChatGPT had 100 million weekly active users (OpenAI)https://openai.com/index/chatgpt/
04
In 2022, 33% of consumers used smart kitchen devices (survey)https://www.statista.com/topics/4130/smart-home/
05
In 2021, consumer spending on home cooking-related products increased 12% year-over-year (US retail)https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
06
In 2023, average US household size was 2.5 persons, impacting meal portioning and cooking behavior (Census)https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/households.html
07
In 2023, 21% of US adults reported being food insecure at some level (USDA)https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics/
08
In 2022, 10% of US adults were food insecure with very low food security (USDA)https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics/
09
In 2023, 7.1% of Americans were in SNAP households (USDA)https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap
10
In 2022, 8.6% of US households participated in WIC (USDA)https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/wic-program
11
In 2022, 12% of US households used food stamps to buy ready-to-eat foods (US survey)https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-security-in-the-united-states/
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
For the Industry Trends in cooking, the rise of digital and connected behavior is clear as online grocery reached 6.4% of global grocery sales in 2023 and 33% of consumers used smart kitchen devices in 2022, suggesting more people are cooking through digitally influenced routines and technology-enabled habits.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Christopher Morgan. (2026, February 13). Cooking Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cooking-statistics
MLA
Christopher Morgan. "Cooking Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cooking-statistics.
Chicago
Christopher Morgan. 2026. "Cooking Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cooking-statistics.
Sources & references
28 datasets cited across this report
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)