Then you just may be right. Although I still would bring up the quality issue.
That said, I do believe we are reaching the point with meals that we reached decades ago with clothing - that it is cheaper to buy it pre-made than to do it yourself. Quality and selection may suffer though. Right now I'm eating a bratwurst with hash browns, onions and jalapenos. Where the heck am I gonna find that, and for the ~$.75 I paid for the ingredients.
I only go out to eat to avoid washing dishes; otherwise I figure why pay good money for something I can do better myself.
My ex-wife and her sister own a franchise store called Dream Dinners. They have two stores here in Raleigh and Cary, NC. The chain has about 150 stores if I recall. The concept is simple. They have 14 menu items, you go on the website and order 12 units (can do 12 of the same if you'd like), and then go to the store at your scheduled time and assemble the meals. When you leave, you've got 12 ready to cook meals. Costs are a little less than what it would cost to buy the parts and pieces yourself and certainly prep time is minimized. Good business plan.
It's such a good concept that in 2003, there were about 10 chains that were doing this with an average of 2 stores per chain. Now, there are over 300 chains and an average of 12 stores per chain.
It's becoming MUCH more commonplace. Grocery stores are getting on the pre-prepped, ready-to-cook foods. Tyson and several others have started doing pre-prepped meals such as Beef and Gravy (just add potatoes and green beans and you've got a meal), turkey, roast beef and others. Also, they're starting to pre-make the fixings. The sections for these foods used to fit on half a shelf at my grocery store that I shop at. Now, they cover 3 shelves of refrigerator space. That's real market movement considering that I've been using that grocery store for only about a year now.
So, you're right, where the pre-made market is rising rapidly.
Enjoy your brats and hash.
Paul