Trend of The Month

Growth in Off-Premise

The growth in off premise trade (take-away; F2G; home delivery; drive thru; dark kitchens) has been documented for some time and without a doubt accelerated as a result of Covid-19 and changing consumer behaviours.

In our second wave of consumer research that took place at the end of March, we looked to track behaviours in relation to dine at home, now that restaurants had re-opened for dine in.

What we found was that although, on average, as many as 2 in 3 consumers claimed that they were likely to use these off-premise services less, or stop altogether, younger consumers (U35) claimed that they would continue to use off-premise just as much into the future. On this basis, it is really important for restaurant businesses to develop and continue an off premise solution that can accommodate this consumer requirement and for suppliers to understand how their offering can meet the needs of off-premise.

A great example of a future-focused business is LEON, they recently announced acceleration of growth plans, with 50 openings scheduled for 2022. According to owners EG Group, new restaurants will include both traditional and new formats such as DriveThrus, smaller restaurants and Leon To Go coffee outlets. The restaurants expansion programme will also be accompanied by additional investment into digital platforms across Leon sites.