Lunch can be anything from a snack or a quick sandwich at your desk to a sit-down meal in a pub or a restaurant. But rather than being content to sell the same, predictable foods, operators have worked hard to introduce a range of exciting grab-and-go foods and affordable prices to tempt people away from their own packed lunch or work canteen. Whereas once lunch was a sandwich or soup, it now ranges from burritos to wraps, sushi to street foods.
Competition on the high street for lunch business has seen the quality of foods rise and the new, dynamic start-up operators, who are building the high street brands of the future, have had the effect of raising the game across the board as everyone strives to stay one step ahead.
Lunch sales still represent a massive opportunity, representing 47% of sales of the total market of £44.9bn, up from nearly 46% in 2010. Penetration, the number of people buying something to eat outside the home for lunch, is also increasing and now stands at 71%. Over the past year operators report that more people are buying lunch out – some 53% in Spring 2014, compared with 45% in Spring 2013.
There are several reasons for this including the convenience of grabbing something to eat, the increased choice on the high street and the fact they have more money in their pockets with which to do so. With busy 24/7 lives, few of us have time to make a packed lunch in the morning when relatively inexpensive grab-and-go food is so readily available and with so much choice.
Amongst the new concepts in Horizons’ Ones to Watch survey, which tracks the emergence of up and coming brands on the high street, are a number of quick service outlets with an emphasis on healthy foods. Brands such as Abokado, Chop’d, Planet Organic, Pure, Tossed and Pod are focusing on healthy foods to go, much of which is serving the lunch market. Growth in this sector was a massive 81% in the most Ones to Watch recent survey, showing by far the biggest expansion of any sector.
Sandwich bar quick service outlets are also showing steady growth with new names on the high street keeping the established operators on their toes. New brands such as Birleys Sandwiches, Camden Food Co, Delice de France and Moodog are sitting alongside brands such as Pret and Eat, focusing strongly on freshly made, often made-to-order, quality foods-to-go.
Operators have responded well to the changing demand for grab-and-go lunch. Price points have stayed within the £4-7 area, new dishes focus on quick to prepare, easy to eat options, and foods are catering for the demand for lighter, healthier dishes. Mainstream brands are now in new locations including airports, railway stations, motorway service areas as well as in the workplace, educational establishments and shopping centres.
Payment options are becoming easier too with technology enabling operators to develop online ordering systems, ordering apps, delivery to desk, contactless payments are operate corporate accounts.
Operators are going to the consumer with their offer, rather than waiting for the consumer to come to them, and that, combined with the broad range of quality foods on offer is the key reason that lunch business will continue to grow in the UK and continue to be an exciting sector to follow.