Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Pret A Manger launches Five-Point Allergy Plan
- Sustainability driving the food-to-go sector
- Backlash after drinks brands shrink sizes in response to sugar tax
- Companies and brands
- Pret’s takeover of EAT will boost vegetarianism
- Greggs continues to scale up
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- Figure 1: Selected lunch foodservice brands, by number of outlets, 2012-19
- Paul UK to drive loyalty with technology
- Vending machines blur boundaries
- Leon's veganism takes root
- The consumer
- Brunch eats into lunch participation
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- Figure 2: Change in overall visits, April 2018-April 2019
- Established venues lost the most lunch visitors in 2019
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- Figure 3: Change in venues visited for lunch out of home, April 2018-April 2019
- Leisure dining is as important as everyday convenience
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- Figure 4: Types of occasion, by days of the week usage, April 2019
- Late week (Thu-Fri) lunch: focus on full-time workers
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- Figure 5: Days of the week usage, April 2019
- Spicy lunches heat up interest of younger consumers
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- Figure 6: Lunch meal preferences, April 2019
- Key consumer groups
- Young and working professionals are “creatures of habit”
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- Figure 7: Behaviours related to eating lunch out of home, April 2019
- Lunch options at fast food chains score poorly
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- Figure 8: Perceptions of different operators’ lunch ranges, correspondence analysis, April 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- The popularity of supermarket meal deals
- The facts
- The implications
- Healthy behaviours of non-meat eaters and Flexitarians
- The facts
- The implications
- Scope for promotions before payday
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Pret A Manger launches Five-Point Allergy Plan
- Sustainability driving the food-to-go sector
- Backlash after drinks brands shrink sizes in response to sugar tax
Market Drivers
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- Clear allergen information
- Food-to-go sustainability
- Fish
- Packaging
- Shrinking sizes in response to sugar tax
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Greggs continues to scale up
- Rise of supermarket-style meal deals
- Technology drives loyalty
- Vending machines blur the boundaries between supermarkets and foodservice
- Pret’s takeover of EAT will boost vegetarianism
- Leon's veganism takes root
Key Players and Market Share
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- Key players continue to scale up
- Greggs
- Pret’s takeover of EAT
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- Figure 9: Selected lunch foodservice brands, by number of outlets, 2012-19
- Pubs need to do more to strengthen their lunch position
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- Figure 10: Types of venues, by number of sites, 2019
- Growth markets
- Supermarket tie-ups
- Non-food retail tie-ups
- Travel hubs
- Spin-off restaurant brands
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Rise of meal deals
- Supermarket style
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- Figure 11: Examples of meal deal flyers, by a restaurant (left) and sandwich/bakery shop (right)
- Limited edition
- Role of technology
- To drive loyalty
- Click-and-collect
- Vending machines
- Veganism takes root
- Leon’s sales get a vegan boost
- Greggs vegan sausage rollout
- Subway trials vegan sandwich and salad
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Brunch eats into lunch participation
- Established venues lost the most lunch visitors in 2019
- Late week (Thu-Fri) lunch: focus on full-time workers
- Spicy lunches heat up interest of younger consumers
- Young and working professionals are “creatures of habit”
- Lunch options at fast food chains score poorly
Out-of-home Eating Occasions
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- Brunch starts to eat in to the lunch out-of-home sector
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- Figure 12: Change in overall visits, April 2018-April 2019
- Leisure dining is almost as important as everyday convenience
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- Figure 13: Change in participation in eating out, by type of occasion, April 2018-April 2019
- Significant decline in everyday lunch…
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- Figure 14: Change in everyday participation (eg for work/college, to refuel when shopping), by meal occasions, April 2018-April 2019
- …leisurely lunches at risk of further decline
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- Figure 15: Change in leisure participation (eg as part of a day out, to catch up with friends), by meal occasions, April 2018-April 2019
- Promote all-day dining
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- Figure 16: Repertoire of types of meals eaten out of home, April 2019
Venues Visited
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- Established venues lost the most lunch visitors in 2019
- Pubs/bars
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- Figure 17: Change in venues visited for lunch out of home, April 2018-April 2019
- Fast food outlets
- Supermarkets strengthen food-to-go position
Days of the Week Usage
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- Late week (Thu-Fri) lunch: focus on full-time workers
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- Figure 18: Days of the week usage, April 2019
- Monday-Wednesday lunch: focus on leisure
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- Figure 19: Types of occasion, by days of the week usage, April 2019
- Sandwich shops and bakeries: usage drops after Wednesday
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- Figure 20: Venues visited for lunch out of home, by days of the week usage, April 2019
- Supermarkets miss out on weekend lunch trade…
- …as more people eat lunches at restaurants and fast food outlets on weekends
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- Figure 21: Days of the week usage, by consumer groups, April 2019
Lunch Meal Preferences
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- Key consumer groups
- Spicy lunches heat up interest of younger consumers
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- Figure 22: Spicy lunch offers, by Greggs
- Figure 23: Lunch meal preferences, April 2019
- Especially spicy and non-spicy veggie options
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- Figure 24: Pick-and-mix pickles by Number 1 Sons, as seen in Washington DC (US)
- Figure 25: Flavour type preferences, by consumer groups, April 2019
- Potential for pre-packaged foods to drive veggie sales
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- Figure 26: Product type preferences, by consumer groups, April 2019
- Meat eaters and Flexitarians not keen on reduced fat options
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- Figure 27: Calorie content preferences, by consumer groups, April 2019
Lunch Behaviours
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- City dwellers avoid eating meat at least one day a week
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- Figure 28: Behaviours related to eating lunch out of home, April 2019
- Young and working professionals are “creatures of habit”…
- …but healthy eating trends can disrupt their habits
- Family-friendly meal deal combinations – CHAID analysis
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- Figure 29: Attitudes towards lunch out of home – CHAID – Tree output, April 2019
Perceptions of Lunch Ranges
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- Restaurants have the most accolades
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- Figure 30: Perceptions of different operators’ lunch ranges, correspondence analysis, April 2019
- Sandwich/bakery shops are most comforting
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- Figure 31: Perceptions of lunch meals, April 2019
- Supermarkets’ lunch options are bland
- Most have a negative view of the lunch options at a fast food outlet
- Most consider coffee shops to be expensive
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- CHAID methodology
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- Figure 32: Attitudes towards lunch out of home – CHAID – table output, April 2019
- Correspondence analysis methodology
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- Figure 33: Attitudes towards lunch out of home – Correspondence analysis, June 2019
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