News and Trends

Each year Waitrose publishes a report covering the latest trends it is seeing across food & drink. Here we frame some of the key findings from the latest report alongside some of our learnings from across food-to-go over the past year. 1. Despite the pressures, consumers remain focused on making the most of special occasions It’s been a year of significant price rises in food & drink, but at the same time, Waitrose called out how consumers are making sure they do celebrate properly, whether it be around birthdays or other special occasions. At the same time, for more everyday lines, they noted more caution around spending on ready meals, not least in less willingness to experiment on more unfamiliar cuisines. And comfort food was called out as a key winner over 2023. Of course, this may also be impacted by the range on offer, but more broadly, two cuisines which do feel to have good broader acceptance, Italian and Japanese food, were both highlighted as areas of renewed growth ...

Ahead of our forthcoming 2024 How to win in food-to-go report, we look back at some of the key trends we’ve seen over 2023. Value for money redefined   The UK is a great example here of how we’ve seen the market evolve. Premium tier meal deals in supermarkets and convenience is one aspect to this, but, increasingly, we’re seeing better propositions and better environments feed through into upgrades in the size of the opportunity. But there are a number of critical levers to get right here, for example across environment, facilities and customer service, alongside serving great, mission-focused, food & drink. A failing on one of these aspects can limit the overall commercial opportunity significantly. Consideration of the full customer journey is therefore crucial. But several city centre food-to-go operators have spoken to us about how they've been able to increase transaction values - their core customers may still be working away from the office more than would have tradition...

  To find out which retailers hit the mark with the older generation, CACI has used transaction data to reveal the brands that over-index with the over-50s and which Acorn consumer profile types they register with the most During years of turbulence and tight budgets, retail cannot underestimate the power of the grey pound. Throughout the UK’s recent economic instability, the financial solvency of older generations has been remarkably resilient.  According to CACI, overall transactions rose by 5% over the last year and that growth was driven largely by the over-50s, with the grey pound’s increase of 6% outstripping the 3% for younger groups. “It shouldn’t be called the grey pound; it should be the gold pound,” says Heather Jackson, co-founder of GenM, a partner for brands and retailers that helps them serve the needs of menopausal consumers.  “Right now, older women in particular see themselves as invisible and yet they’re probably at the highest level of their career, ha...

November 28, 2023   José Miguel Flavián Erlac   Food  To Go  has been playing an important role in supermarket plans for some time.  It was one of the segments of mass consumption that was growing the most before the pandemic, and naturally the confinement ended the need to buy this type of products and the market collapsed. After the pandemic, the recovery of this market has been slow, mainly due to the gradual return to office work, but now it seems that it has recovered and is once again as promising as before the pandemic. It is a purchase that offers repeat visits by customers, since every day they have to buy something to eat, and if you manage to tempt them to come into your store, you have already done a good job.  And another important factor is that supermarkets do not compete directly with each other for customers, but rather with other agents such as restaurant businesses that sell sandwiches or salads, whether they are restaurant chains or inde...

 

Despite a dip in consumer footfall traffic, certain market segments show significant growth. Top 25 cities demonstrate a 5 % increase in fast food and coffee shops traffic, five times higher than the market average.

  Chart from Meaningful Vision. New consumer habits are driving this part of the day. According to Meaningful Vision's recent report, based on in-depth analysis of the top 100 chains in the UK, Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) categories are experiencing significant footfall growth during morning and daytime hours, with increases of 9.7% and 2.1%, respectively.   Notably, bakery, sandwich, and coffee shops are capitalising on this trend, showcasing growth rates of 6.9% and 13.3% compared to the previous year.  For instance, 32% of coffee shop visits occur in the morning.  Day-time visits across the entire food service sector have risen by 4%, whilst evening traffic, particularly in burger establishments and coffee shops, has witnessed a decline.   "People are spending more days in the office and are returning to their familiar morning routines.  As these new trends emerge, swapping a cup of coffee at home for breakfast near the office, or opting for a quick s...

Sep 21, 2023 The Taste Tomorrow forecasts trends in the baking industry based on a global survey of 20,000 people in 50 countries, as well as cutting-edge AI-powered online data science. To maintain a competitive edge in the bakery industry, it is essential to remain proactive in meeting consumer demands. Discover the top 3 bakery trends predicted for 2024 in this trend analysis from Taste Tomorrow. Discover not only the most popular food choices, but also the underlying reasons behind these preferences. Here are the 3 strongest trends that will shape the baking industry in 2024: Plant the future Sourdough & well-being Natural & organic These trends stem from insights provided by Taste Tomorrow, the largest consumer research program in the bakery, pastry and chocolate industry. It is not only the largest program of its kind in the world, but also the most comprehensive, reaching 20,000 consumers in 50 countries. Our unique approach seamlessly merges in-depth consumer surveys wi...

Image source: Getty/Shannon Toth Inspired by interior design and fashion, “newstalgia” blends together vintage and contemporary design elements. Within the snacking category, it’s a fusion of familiar snack brands with new flavors and formats, Ryan noted. From re-emerging retro brands like Bonomo Turkish Taffy and Necco wafters and updated familiar snacks with functional benefits like Snickers Hi Protein bars to leveraging recognizable flavors and formats like Apple Jacks-flavored Pop-Tarts, snack innovation pulls from the past to engage consumers’ emotions while keeping them on their toes with new technologies, ingredients and formats. “There’s this tension about, ‘Should I try something new?’ and I think what newstalgia does is it allows you to get some of that innovation that you want as a consumer but still get something safe,” Ryan said. "All snacks have an emotional resonance" Since the pandemic, consumers turned to products that provided a sense of comfort, safety and ...

Tate & Lyle delves into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the European bakery market today. Pic: GettyImages While the majority of British and European consumers consider bakery products a daily staple, they are not tucking in just for the sake of carbs. “[Younger consumers are] particularly interested in functional health benefits, which is driving the popularity of segments like protein bars,” ​ said Clara Mombeshora, senior consumer insights manager for Europe. “Meanwhile, the introduction of HFSS legislation in the UK and the review of Nutri-Score have further emphasised the need for products that are lower in fat, sugar and salt.” ​ S.W.O.T With the bakery market estimated to reach $272bn by 2027, this is a massive opportunity that all stakeholders – from major manufacturer to independent artisan – cannot afford to ignore. “Our new report gives the opportunity to explore how different health needs influence the desire to purchase for different age ...