Proving to be ‘one of the fastest-growing areas of Britain’s out-of-home (OOH) foodservice industry,’ NPD Group research found that for the year ended July 2018, food-to-go registered 5.1 billion visits (+2%) while on-premise visits were down -3.5% to 4.4 billion.
It also showed changes in when, where and how consumers are eating, with 58% of the total 11.3 billion OOH foodservice visits last year taken away from the point of purchase:
- 42% were eaten/drunk on-site
- 48% on-the-go
- 6% delivery
- 4% drive-thru
According to NPD, the trend suits consumers and operators alike – saving both time and money (the former often benefits from on-the-go meal deals while the latter incurs less running costs).
Insights director Dominic Allport said: “Breakfast, lunch, dinner – or just a snack. When you buy food or drink away from home, you have two main choices – eat in the premise in which you made the purchase or eat ‘on the go’.
“The lion’s share is ‘food-to-go’ which reflects how consumers are trying to save time and money.
“For many, working life means rushing to our workplace and then rushing around again during meal breaks. Food-to-go is an integral part of our lifestyle and underlines how much we are keeping an eye on the clock - and on our wallets.”
Backing this, figures show that circa 20% of OOH purchases are consumed in the workplace, school/ college, while 8% ‘make it no further than the car.’ A further 7% while walking along the street or in a public place. while eating/drinking on public transport is rapidly growing – 292m foodservice visits resulted in food being consumed on public transport last year - growing five times faster than the overall ‘food-to-go’ trend.
Breakfast is the most popular time to buy food-to-go – accounting for 48% of all visits – followed by lunch (48%), snacking (59%) and dinner at 37%.
Allport added: “A generation ago, food-to-go might stretch little further than a sausage roll, a bag of chips, a cheeseburger, a sandwich or a cream bun.
“Today’s offerings inject innovation, portability and ease-of-consumption across a huge range of international hot and cold cuisines to create exciting meals, snacks and beverages for any time of day.
“There’s no doubt that foodservice operators are grasping the ‘food-to-go’ opportunity by offering increasingly appetizing and healthy options