Food-to-go & eating out news

Bidcorp UK, the parent of major national foodservice wholesaler Bidfood, has started 2023 by making two acquisitions in as many weeks, with the purchase of regional competitors Harvest Fine Foods (based in Southampton) and Thomas Ridley (based in Bury St Edmunds). Both were well established members of the Country Range foodservice wholesaling consortium, and have switched into Bidcorp’s buying gr...

2022 saw record Veganuary numbers, with over 629,000 sign ups across 228 countries and territories via the official Veganuary website . In our most recent research into plant-based shoppers on ShopperVista , we found that the proportion of plant-based shoppers is stabilising, with the future of plant-based looking more flexitarian and vegans remaining a small minority. Source...

Last week M&S launched Magic Coffee™. Bringing the famous Australian coffee to the UK for the first time, M&S is hoping to launch the next biggest trend to hit the UK coffee market since the Flat White.   What is Magic Coffee™? Magic Coffee™ originated in Melbourne, Australia, and gets its name from possessing an apparent ‘magic’ coffee-to-milk ratio. Magic Coffee™ uses ristretto rather ...

Digital signage is becoming more prevalent in retail stores. We consider how this will continue evolving as an increasing number of touchpoints and marketing opportunities emerge, especially centred around retailers’ media programmes. Multiple digital touchpoints As retailers invest in creating more convenient experiences, a variety of digital touchpoints are being utilised in physical stor...

Greggs annual results for 2022 show a robust end to a challenging year.  The impressive +30% vs 2019 upside was driven by additional sites (147 in total) alongside volume and value growth. Their strategy to continue to provide value-for-money across all dayparts for the consumer means they are well positioned to tackle the headwinds that 2023 will bring. Strong recovery from pandemic chall...

Our 2022 food-to-go forecasts showed that the food-to-go market would recover faster than anticipated but growth would slow in 2023 due to the continued cost of living challenges, which will significantly impact consumers’ food-to-go buying habits, and put further pressure on operators, retailers and suppliers. We predict that these are the five key trends shaping the food-to-go market...

Our recent Eating In vs Eating Out report forecasts that next year will be challenging for the UK food and drink industry, in both retail and foodservice, as consumers seek to save money and prioritise value. Eating out, like all discretionary spend, will be under pressure as household finances are squeezed, whilst operators will continue to see their costs rising too. However, during the ...

January is a typically quieter month for food-to-go, and the wider eating out market, as customers set new year’s resolutions around eating more healthily and spending less, and will likely be even quieter this year with the continued cost of living challenges. In 2023, value in food-to-go will be characterised by meal deals, loyalty schemes, value ranges and affordable premiumisation. Pret is...

The growing influence of Korean culture continues to shape the retail landscape in Asia, as Shinsegae’s convenience banner Emart24 opened its first two stores in Singapore at the end of 2022. We visited its outlet at Nex to explore some of the store's highlights. Source: IGD Research Dining in store Source: IGD Research The biggest crowd-puller of Emart24 is its in-s...

Battersea Power Station officially opened to the public on 14 th October this year. The impressive redeveloped power station features around 100 sites, 36 of which are occupied by food and drink operators. Source: IGD Research The offering at the Power Station is broad – appealing to a range of age groups, budgets, mission types and day parts.   Blend of dine-in and to-go opti...