CONSUMER TRENDS

Taking Sides
Side-dish marketers have had a tough time. As the level of cooking skill and “tolerable time limits” for home food preparation continued to fall, consumers began to limit the number of dishes made at mealtime. From pizza to stir-frys, the shift of Italian, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines from restaurant to everyday fare furthered the movement to one-dish meals.

Averse to cleanup and more comfortable with convenience, Americans set a new table with skillet dinners and bowl meals at the c…