Appetite 47 (2006) 372–383 Research report Managing routine food choices in UK families: The role of convenience consumption Marylyn Carrigan à , Isabelle Szmigin, Sheena Leek The Birmingham Business School, The University of Birmingham, University House, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK Received 25 April 2006; received in revised form 16 May 2006; accepted 19 May 2006 Abstract The paper explores the meaning of convenience food for UK mothers, investigating the relationship between mothers and their families’ food. The study examines the role of convenience food within the food strategies of contemporary UK families, and aims to elicit consumption meanings in the broader social context of family relationships with food, their rituals, routines and conventions. The findings reveal convenience has multiple meanings for UK women, and that convenience food has been incorporated into reinterpreted versions of homemade and ‘‘proper’’ meals. A hierarchy of acceptable convenience food is presented by the mothers, who tackle complex and conflicting family routines by introducing convenience solutions. Rules of eating have evolved, yet remain essentially controlled by the mother in terms of nutrition. While the traditional model of ‘‘proper’’ food remains aspirational, contemporary family lifestyles require that convenience food become part of the equation. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Convenience food; Family consumption; Consumer behaviour Introduction Researchers have identified the role and importance of food in the shaping of the family unit and individual members’ identity and agency (Moisio, Arnould, & Price, 2004; Valentine, 1999). While some research attention has focused upon food and the family (e.g. Moisio et al., 2004; Murcott, 1983; Romani, 2005), food remains relatively under researched in relation to its ‘‘significance in human affairs’’ (Symons, 2000, p. 432, cited in Brownlie, Hewer, & Horne, 2005). Despite its status in contemporary culture, Marshall (2005, p. 69) noted how ‘‘much of our engage- ment with food is unspectacular and inconspicuous, undertaken in private, and regulated by a series of unspoken rules regarding eating.’’ Marshall (2005, p. 82) argued that we should consider ‘‘ordinary’’ eating, as a more representative context for our engagement with food. Consumers are now more discerning regarding the food they eat, and convenience is a factor that is increasingly important to them (Buckley, Cowan, McCarthy, & O’Sullivan, 2005). In response to criticism at the lack of empirical studies within the consumer research field relating to food consumption (Campbell, 1996; Marshall, 2005), this study undertakes an examination of routine family food consumption from a mother’s perspective. The aim of the study is firstly to gain an understanding of the meaning of convenience food for UK mothers. The second objective is to investigate the relationship between mothers and their families’ food, and finally to examine the role of convenience food within the food strategies for contem- porary UK families. The study aims to elicit consumption meanings by examining UK family food consumption in the broader social context of family relationships with food, their rituals, routines and conventions. Feeding the family: the role of mothers Past research reveals the importance of mothers in family food consumption and ritual (De Vault, 1991; Moisio et al., 2004). While the increased numbers of working women has sometimes reconstructed family food consumption (Bugge, 2003; Romani, 2005), mothers ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/appet 0195-6663/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2006.05.018 à Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1214146696; fax: +44 121 7791. E-mail address: m.carrigan@bham.ac.uk (M. Carrigan).