Takeaway Time
We are a takeaway nation. Over last the few decades, people have been focused on convenience and the traditional values around food, especially cooking, have been lost.
Who is taking away? A study by Mintel found 23% of adults order a takeaway once a week or more, and 33% order one at least every month. They also asked if people would pay more for a takeaway meal cooked from scratch, from good ingredients, and found 16% would (rising to 21% of high earners).
Why is there a rise? You’ve got longer-term trends, such as the casualisation of dining out, whereas going out for dinner used to be more formal. Now increasingly, people are grabbing a snack on the move. So it’s partly consumer-driven. The cost of take away has also been coming down. Analysts at the investment bank UBS believe that the ‘global culinary revolution’ could go much further, forcing the cost of takeaways down so low, it will become more affordable to order food to our home than cook.
It is even predicted that automated cooking robots and delivery drones could dominate by 2030. So with people having to pay less for current offerings, and willing to pay more for exactly what they want, there is an opportunity to fill a gap in your menu with something new. The numbers are staggering, 79 million ready meals and 22 million fast food and takeaway meals are eaten weekly by adults in the UK and Ireland.
Young adults aged 18-24 are more likely to rely on convenience meals so now is the time to think about your customer base and what they want and how you can achieve this. Euromonitor International show that fast food has risen steadily in popularity. The report showed that the UK are 8th in the world when it comes to splashing out on fast food with Ireland following closely behind at number 11. Bord Bia now state
that Quick Serve restaurants now account for a third of all spending in Ireland’s foodservice industry while coffee shops are the fastest growing segment of the market, as before they were a rarity. This all goes to prove that the take away trend isn’t going anywhere!
As costs reduce, consumers can afford to spend a little more, and they still crave indulgence, health and authenticity which were now top priorities in a recent poll. This may not necessarily mean lower fat or lower calories, but rather more information on the types of ingredients, the transparency of the menu and how much of a product can be described as natural, the report said. Lately, it’s less about calorie counting and more about good quality ingredients and being knowledgeable about what you’re eating.
Fast food 2.0 are the takeaways for the on-demand generation and will be the future of how we eat as people want best restaurant food delivered to their door at the touch of a button. But why? As populations increasingly become more urbanised, living spaces will become ever more cramped - and expensive. With future home kitchen areas barely big enough for a kettle then add the combination of longer working hours and varying shifts, this could mean less interest in cooking after a day at work. When added to lower costs and ready availability, you can see why consumers are opting for take away food so easily.
There is a hunger in the market for convenience so we will keep delivering you more ideas and inspirations for your menus.
Remember to keep it real, you don’t have to go all out, just use simple, tasty ingredients like our meat from Causeway Prime or fresh vegetables
from Ready Chef to create offerings that are all about taste and also have authenticity about the products. Also keep it new and change it up! Take inspiration from our new products, our menu suggestions and our feature pieces plus never be afraid to up sell – offer dips, sides and seasonal drinks.
People crave good food at great prices so let’s begin looking ahead and find out for your business the best and most convenient way to get it to them.