Skip to main content
Hit enter to search or ESC to close

Narrow down your searches to:

  • All
  • Food is Living
  • Industry
  • Farmers & Growers
Top Picks
Bord Bia

Lunch!-Insights from the 2019 Contemporary Food- To- Go Show.

04 October 2019

Clodagh Slattery, Prepared Consumer Foods Executive, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board

 

 

 

This food alert will address the main themes showcased at Lunch! 2019 that are aligned with Bord Bia’s consumer lifestyle trends and the implications for Irish suppliers who are playing in this space.

 

Taking place in the ExCeL London, this unique trade show remains the definitive event for the café, coffee shop and food-to-go sector.

 

It focused on the growing ‘on the go’ and out of home product category where exhibitors showcased impressive new product development, inspiring start-ups and creative innovations that played on being ‘healthy’, ‘great tasting’ and ‘responsible’.

 

So, what exactly is the food–to-go sector? And who plays in it?

 

 FTG is currently the jewel in the crown of the foodservice channel, outperforming the total eating out market by 3% and is set to be worth £21.2bn in 2019 (MCA Report 2019).

 

Convenience and food- to- go are constantly intertwined but from what was showcased at this year’s exhibition it predominantly was owned by the snacking sector. Providing single serve, grab n’ go product offerings, with a healthy alternative twist such as crisps, popcorn, chocolate, protein bars, sandwiches and crackers just to name a few.

 

According to IGD, the UK food-to-go market is forecast to be worth £23.4bn by 2024, up from £18.5bn in 2019, growing by 26.4%.  Food-to-go specialists in the UK such as Greggs, Subway, Pret, Eat and Leon will experience a CAGR of 4.6% between 2019 and 2024.

 

The trends of healthy eating, veganism and a demand for free-from products have inspired change across the snacking sector which in turn is fueling the growth of food –to- go by providing offerings that consumers want and are looking for. And our consumer lifestyle trends are reflective of just this- consumers wanting fuller lives as well as health & wellbeing all whilst leading a productive life.  The main themes showcased from exhibitors and suppliers at this year’s show were as follows:

 

Focus on Quality-This was seen across the board from juices & crisps to chocolate & cereals; there is a focus on quality ingredients, therefore providing great taste. It is also highlighting ingredients that provide an added benefit to the consumer (functional ingredients) E.g. sweet potato, ginger, citrus saffron, vitamins, plant protein, spirulina, probiotics, beetroot, charcoal, kale, chickpeas, turmeric, cayenne & seaweed among others. ‘Consumers want to eat, drink and live to optimize their bodies systems, to feel better than well today and tomorrow’.

 

Premiumisation-Evermore sophisticated consumer tastes have forced retailers which in turn forces suppliers to premiumize their offerings to those with more sophisticated flavors and superior provenance. Premium crisps are a great example of this bringing flavor, origin and packaging together to command a 30% price premium over quality mainstream products in the UK. (CGA Trading Index Figures). The chocolate suppliers are too honing in on premiumisation by supplying offerings such as 100% Single Origin Columbian Cocoa and flavors such as Bee pollen and Honey. ‘Consumers want moments of discovery and delight’. Indulgent and ‘treat’ occasions are one’s that are being shared with others.

 

 

 

 

Vegan-The market for vegan has exploded over the last couple of years and the demand for vegan friendly foods is only growing. According to Mintel GNPD (2018), the snack foods category accounted for the largest share of vegan NPD and vegan was the third fastest growing on-pack claim for food and drink launches globally over the last five years. (Bord BIA, 2019). This is inspiring companies to innovate further as key ingredients such as egg, milk and butter need to be replaced. However, this doesn’t mean consumers are happy to sacrifice meat like textures & tastes. A lot of vegan biltong jerkies where show-cased filling this gap taking inspiration from the U.S.

 

 

 

ECO Packaging- Brands across the sector are making efforts to move away fromplastic towards cardboard and other recyclable materials as well as calling out having biodegradable and compostable packaging. Packaging for this sector is what these brands can hone in on in terms of their sustainability effort. Consumers want to have a positive impact on society and the environment while taking pride in doing so.

 

 

 

 

Plant based innovations: Fruit & Vegetables are becoming more and more popular as ingredients and flavors across category. This is not surprising considering sales of plant-based food in the US were worth $3.3 billion and growing by 20% in 2017(Nielsen, 2018). There has been an influx of vegetable crisps, ‘popped snacks’ such as pulses and seeds, freeze-dried fruit, fruit jerky, chickpeas, and fruit based oat bars.

 

 

 

 

It is clear that the main themes from Lunch! are aligned with the Bord Bia consumer lifestyle trends of Health & Wellbeing, Fuller Lives, Responsible living and Engaging Experiences.

 

 

Consumers are not slowing down when it comes to healthy eating and consumer lifestyle trends is a key factor that is fueling change in terms of offerings and driving ythe food-to-go sector. Irish suppliers need to ensure they are aligned and tapped in if they want to play in this arena.

 

References

 

 

#SmallSnackBigImpact #Vegan #EcoFriendly