TO GO MARKET


What next for the ‘to go’ market?


As business gets back to normal, industry experts comment on the outlook for the ‘to go’ market and identify the trends that will drive it’s recovery


DAVID LLEWELLYN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE VENDING AND AUTOMATED RETAIL ASSOCIATION (AVA) I expect micromarkets are likely to play a much greater role in the ‘to go’ market, particularly in the post COVID-19 workplace due to the reduced demand for traditional catering or 24-hour canteen services. This is where vending machines naturally become the ideal solution, as they can cater for these smaller numbers of people effectively, at a much lower cost than having a fully staffed canteen. It was predicted that the UK food-to-go market will grow by +31.8% in 2022, to a value of £21.3bn, according to Lumina Intelligence’s new report – it will be interesting to see how this is reflected in our upcoming census, with results set to be released later this month (May 2022). This poses a huge opportunity and shows the huge demand for ‘to go’ catering, whether in micromarkets or on-the-go coffee towers, making it so important that the vending industry can continue to diversify and develop its service offering, to meet this demand effectively. Since the arrival of COVID-19, we have seen a rapid acceleration in the adoption of cashless technologies with coin-based vending machine operators and manufacturers being encouraged to consider integrating cashless payment solutions to their machines. We have seen the suggestion that contactless payments made using mobile phones is set to almost double over the next two years – further streamlining the payment process for to-go retail options. As consumers grow increasingly accustomed to these types of payment, this welcomes further opportunity for automated retail – such as micromarket vending. This ongoing development demonstrates how the vending industry is future-proofing, to ensure it can meet the evolving needs of its customers and put the customer experience at the very forefront of what we do.


MANAGING DIRECTOR OF QUALITY DISPOSABLES MANUFACTURER AND SUPPLIER, HERALD, YOGESH PATEL We’ve come out the other side of a world pandemic with huge rises to the cost of living and continuing repercussions. Facing a point of economic crisis, everyone is feeling the squeeze. At times like this, for many households and families, the big treats simply have to go. Some people will be forgoing holidays; home improvements will grind to a halt and, for a lot of people, nights out and restaurants will be an occasional luxury. Overall, everyone is looking to buy cheaper. The ‘to go market’, at the lower end of the scale, gets the


opportunity to step up and become the affordable treat for those who still have the means to access treats; that is the key advantage it holds. There will always be a market for cheaper and immediate treat items. Sadly, we’ve reached a point at which these treats are out of range for some consumers, pushed closer to the poverty line. However, the line pushes down and others will embrace ‘to go’ items as a new option that falls within their price range.


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