The food-to-go market is expected to experience double the growth of the wider UK food and grocery retail market, which is predicted to grow 12.5% over the next five years.
Rhian Thomas, head of shopper and food-to-go insight at IGD, said: “Food-to-go remains a key growth opportunity for businesses, and one that appears particularly attractive given the structural and growth challenges being faced by UK supermarkets and hypermarkets right now.
“While there continue to be good opportunities for growth in this area, the gap will continue to grow between those businesses who are actively targeting food-to-go growth and those who simply want a presence in the channel. Opportunities remain, however, for those with clearly defined and relevant strategies.”
Thomas believes food-to-go ‘specialists’ including Greggs, Subway, Pret, Eat and Leon will thrive in the next five years. Sales are expected to increase from £5Bn in 2019 to £6.3Bn in 2024. These food-to-go ‘specialists’ are expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% between 2019 and 2024. IGD’s forecast reflects a moderate growth scenario and has assumed an orderly Brexit for the purposes of this report.
Commenting on food-to-go specialists, Thomas, added: “Food-to-go specialists include a wide selection of different operators, and within this segment we’ve witnessed contrasting fortunes and performance over the past year. What is clear, however, is that significant growth opportunities exist for those with a relevant proposition who target the right locations.
“While menus continue to evolve, with vegan and vegetarian lines gaining more profile on many menus in 2019, the location question is a fascinating one right now, as the combination of high rents and increased competition on high streets encourages a growing number of operators to vary their location strategy.”
Recently URBAN eat launched their new food-to-go Street and Deli ranges: http://costsectorcatering.co.uk/urban-eat-unveils-fresh-look-biggest-ever-launch