Market Overview

In FY2024, the domestic medical meal service and healthy meal delivery market (i.e., the total markets for hospital meals, care home meals, and healthy meal delivery) was valued at 2,409,600 million yen, marking a 2.4% increase from the previous fiscal year.
The hospital meal market (meals for patients and medical staff) continued to decline slightly due to the decreasing number of hospitals and beds. Meanwhile, the care home meal market (meals for elderly adults and care workers) entered a stable phase as new facility openings slowed. Demand for healthy meal delivery surged during the pandemic but slowed due to rising ingredient costs and price adjustments. Nevertheless, the decline in hospital meals was offset by care home meals and healthy meal delivery.

Noteworthy Topics

Frozen Meal Delivery

The market for frozen meal delivery services for the elderly is gaining attention. These services deliver frozen bento boxes and ready-to-eat meals, including long-term care food and therapeutic diets. In addition to major companies expanding into this area, many small- and medium-sized businesses are entering the market.

Frozen meal delivery is advantageous for both users and suppliers. Users can stockpile meals when they are sold at lower prices and do not need to receive them every day. Suppliers experience increased business efficiency and reduced delivery costs compared to ordinary meals. Additionally, the market has also expanded due to a more positive impression compared to its past image, as people no longer feel guilty about offering frozen meals instead of preparing meals from scratch. Furthermore, a wide variety of frozen meals is available for delivery, which include long-term care food and therapeutic meals.
However, the frozen meal delivery market has many new entrants, intensifying competition. Companies that have been involved in the market for a long time face a significant challenge in differentiating themselves from newcomers.

Future Outlook

The medical meal service and healthy meal delivery market (total of hospital meals, care home meals, and healthy meal delivery) is forecast to reach 2,512.2 billion yen by FY2029. While the market share of hospital meals (for patients and medical staff) is shrinking, the market shares of care home meals (for older adults and care workers) and healthy meal delivery are expected to grow.
Continuous stagnation is anticipated for the hospital meal market, as more hospitals experience shakeout or closedown and more clinics eliminate beds. The markets for care home meals and healthy meal delivery services are expected to expand further, despite slowing growth due to increased meal copayments and labor shortages.

Research Outline