Singles' Weekday Packed Lunch Rate Rises to 15.0%: Reaching Highest Value Since FY2010
According to a survey by LifeScape Marketing, the rate of singles bringing packed lunches on weekdays in FY2025 rose to 15.0%, marking the highest value since FY2010. This trend is attributed to a cost-saving mindset due to rising prices, increased health consciousness, and home cooking experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particularly notable increase among men.
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- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 22:00
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LifeScape Marketing Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Kenji Ueda) announces the results of a survey on lunch situations in FY2025, targeting singles (493 single men and women aged 20 to 64) residing in the Tokyo metropolitan area (within a 30 km radius), covering a total of 127,253 meals.
Weekday lunches are now "my bento."
A definite change is occurring in the lunch situation for singles.
In recent years, the number of people bringing their own packed lunches, or "my bento," from home has increased. The rate of bringing packed lunches for weekday lunches expanded 1.7 times from 8.9% in FY2010 to 15.0% in FY2025 [Figure 1]. Particularly noteworthy is the growth among men; even single men, who were previously centered around eating out, are increasingly adopting "my bento," with a 2.5-fold increase since FY2010, indicating a structural change in lunch styles.
Figure 1.
This trend is likely driven by a heightened cost-saving mindset due to rising prices, increased health consciousness, and an improvement in cooking skills as opportunities for home cooking increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that home cooking, which was temporarily started, has become a regular option, leading to an increase in packed lunches. As the single population grows, lunch is shifting from "something to buy" to "something to prepare oneself." Could the expanding "my bento" trend be a new trend that reflects changes in consumers' awareness and skills, rather than just a simple cost-saving behavior?
Weekday lunches: Eating out → Eating at home → And then bringing packed lunches.
Figure 2 shows the weekday lunch situation for singles. In FY2010 (15 years ago), eating out (including restaurants and ready-made meals from convenience stores eaten in the office, etc.) was the main choice for men's lunches, accounting for 67.8%. During the COVID-19 pandemic in FY2020, this dropped below 50%, shifting towards eating at home. Subsequently, in FY2025, while the proportion of eating at home decreased from 30.2% to 25.4%, it did not revert to eating out. Instead, the packed lunch rate increased from 4.4% to 11.4%. For women, the proportion of bringing packed lunches already exceeded 20% in FY2015. After the shift to eating at home in FY2020, it is clear that they are now returning to bringing packed lunches rather than eating out. With telework and remote work becoming established options, the combined rate of eating at home and bringing packed lunches is 36.8% for men and 53.3% for women, exceeding half, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point for singles' lunch situations.
Figure 2.
"Minimal" packed lunches are mainstream.
Next, let's take a closer look at the contents of the increasing number of packed lunches.
Figure 3 shows the number of items in packed lunches in the most recent FY2025. For men, the highest proportion is 32.7% for just one item, followed by 30.6% for two items, with over 60% having two items or less. For women, 22.9% have one item and 18.5% have two items, with over 40% having two items or less, indicating that women tend to have more items than men. These packed lunches with fewer items have been increasing in recent years. In 2015, ten years ago, the average number of items in men's packed lunches was 3.3, compared to 2.1 in 2025. For women, it decreased from 3.8 items to 3.2 items recently (separate tabulation). It seems that simple bentos (bentos with fewer items) that consider cost performance and time performance will become mainstream for both men and women.
Figure 3.
Contents of simple bentos.
So, what kind of menu items make up simple bentos with fewer items?
Figure 4 shows the top 10 ranking of menu items for packed lunches with 1-2 items. For men, homemade rice (white rice) is number one, followed closely by homemade onigiri at number two. Other homemade dishes include stir-fried vegetables, as well as curry and yakisoba, which are unusual for bentos, ranking high. Besides homemade items, many also bring commercially available balanced nutritional foods, sweet buns, instant miso soup, and cup ramen, suggesting that bento is not just about homemade food, but also a rational choice to "bring what you have at home." Women's simple bentos often feature homemade rice dishes, with onigiri at number one, followed by rice, brown rice/mixed grain rice, donburi, curry, kake-gohan, and fried rice. Stir-fried vegetables and vegetable salads also ranked high.
Figure 4.
The new option of "unelaborate bentos" is spreading among singles.
As a means to effortlessly balance multiple values such as saving money, time performance, and health, "simple bento" is steadily permeating daily life. A distinctive feature is the shift from the previous image of bento as "troublesome" to a style that flexibly incorporates preferred menu items. This movement is not just a temporary phenomenon; against the backdrop of changes in awareness and behavior triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected to become one of the mainstream lunch styles in the future.
ShokuMAP® covers married households (housewives aged 20-72) and their family members (men and women aged 0 and above) in the Tokyo metropolitan area within a 30 km radius.
Weekday lunches are now "my bento."
A definite change is occurring in the lunch situation for singles.
In recent years, the number of people bringing their own packed lunches, or "my bento," from home has increased. The rate of bringing packed lunches for weekday lunches expanded 1.7 times from 8.9% in FY2010 to 15.0% in FY2025 [Figure 1]. Particularly noteworthy is the growth among men; even single men, who were previously centered around eating out, are increasingly adopting "my bento," with a 2.5-fold increase since FY2010, indicating a structural change in lunch styles.
Figure 1.
This trend is likely driven by a heightened cost-saving mindset due to rising prices, increased health consciousness, and an improvement in cooking skills as opportunities for home cooking increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that home cooking, which was temporarily started, has become a regular option, leading to an increase in packed lunches. As the single population grows, lunch is shifting from "something to buy" to "something to prepare oneself." Could the expanding "my bento" trend be a new trend that reflects changes in consumers' awareness and skills, rather than just a simple cost-saving behavior?
Weekday lunches: Eating out → Eating at home → And then bringing packed lunches.
Figure 2 shows the weekday lunch situation for singles. In FY2010 (15 years ago), eating out (including restaurants and ready-made meals from convenience stores eaten in the office, etc.) was the main choice for men's lunches, accounting for 67.8%. During the COVID-19 pandemic in FY2020, this dropped below 50%, shifting towards eating at home. Subsequently, in FY2025, while the proportion of eating at home decreased from 30.2% to 25.4%, it did not revert to eating out. Instead, the packed lunch rate increased from 4.4% to 11.4%. For women, the proportion of bringing packed lunches already exceeded 20% in FY2015. After the shift to eating at home in FY2020, it is clear that they are now returning to bringing packed lunches rather than eating out. With telework and remote work becoming established options, the combined rate of eating at home and bringing packed lunches is 36.8% for men and 53.3% for women, exceeding half, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point for singles' lunch situations.
Figure 2.
"Minimal" packed lunches are mainstream.
Next, let's take a closer look at the contents of the increasing number of packed lunches.
Figure 3 shows the number of items in packed lunches in the most recent FY2025. For men, the highest proportion is 32.7% for just one item, followed by 30.6% for two items, with over 60% having two items or less. For women, 22.9% have one item and 18.5% have two items, with over 40% having two items or less, indicating that women tend to have more items than men. These packed lunches with fewer items have been increasing in recent years. In 2015, ten years ago, the average number of items in men's packed lunches was 3.3, compared to 2.1 in 2025. For women, it decreased from 3.8 items to 3.2 items recently (separate tabulation). It seems that simple bentos (bentos with fewer items) that consider cost performance and time performance will become mainstream for both men and women.
Figure 3.
Contents of simple bentos.
So, what kind of menu items make up simple bentos with fewer items?
Figure 4 shows the top 10 ranking of menu items for packed lunches with 1-2 items. For men, homemade rice (white rice) is number one, followed closely by homemade onigiri at number two. Other homemade dishes include stir-fried vegetables, as well as curry and yakisoba, which are unusual for bentos, ranking high. Besides homemade items, many also bring commercially available balanced nutritional foods, sweet buns, instant miso soup, and cup ramen, suggesting that bento is not just about homemade food, but also a rational choice to "bring what you have at home." Women's simple bentos often feature homemade rice dishes, with onigiri at number one, followed by rice, brown rice/mixed grain rice, donburi, curry, kake-gohan, and fried rice. Stir-fried vegetables and vegetable salads also ranked high.
Figure 4.
The new option of "unelaborate bentos" is spreading among singles.
As a means to effortlessly balance multiple values such as saving money, time performance, and health, "simple bento" is steadily permeating daily life. A distinctive feature is the shift from the previous image of bento as "troublesome" to a style that flexibly incorporates preferred menu items. This movement is not just a temporary phenomenon; against the backdrop of changes in awareness and behavior triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected to become one of the mainstream lunch styles in the future.
ShokuMAP® covers married households (housewives aged 20-72) and their family members (men and women aged 0 and above) in the Tokyo metropolitan area within a 30 km radius.