TO GO MARKET


Food to go market to grow 32% in 2021


The UK food-to-go (FTG) market suffered a -45.5% decline in 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions, but things are expected to turn for the better this year according to the new Lumina Intelligence UK FTG Market Report 2021.


Grab your opportunities


Nicola Knight, senior FTG analyst at the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has some insight on how retailers and suppliers can navigate the future challenges in FTG. She says: “Changes in consumer behaviour throughout this period


offer up opportunities but FTG businesses need to be quick to grab them. Never has it been more important to know your customers, understand them and engage with them. “Picnic sets for outdoor socialising, lunch boxes for home workers and


meals to be heated at home are all examples of rapid deployment of new ranges adapted to current consumer needs. Responding to this quickly requires staying close to customers, building strong partnerships with suppliers and an internal structure designed for fast decision-making. “Well-developed digital loyalty, communications and ordering systems


have a real role to play for businesses looking for an edge here. Engaging with customers in this way should also help to understand where the demand has moved to if city centres and transport hubs continue to lose footfall.”


W


ith restrictions easing and the vaccination programme moving swiftly, Lumina’s report forecasts growth of 31.6% to £15.3bn in 2021, representing 72% of its 2019 value. Further recovery and


growth is expected to see the channel reaching a value of £22.6bn in 2024. Channels with a lesser impact from restrictions as well as low-ticket channels


are said to be best placed to recover with convenience store grab and go, supermarket grab and go, sandwich & bakery and travel all expected to recover more swiftly, to over 74% of their pre-pandemic value in 2021. The report identifies that some of the shorter-term challenges for the sector


will evolve into longer term opportunities, spearheaded by shifts in the way that consumers interact with FTG.


OutdOOr sOcialising


In the next few months as social restrictions ease, FTG is well placed to capitalise on the outdoor socialising occasion. A total of 21% of consumers say they are likely to purchase FTG and eat it in a park in the future and this figure rises to 38% for 18 to 24 year olds.


Hybrid wOrking patterns


As many as 34% of consumers are planning to work from home in the future, with over half of this number bullish in their preference for a high proportion of their workdays to be spent at home.


18 | vendinginternational-online.com


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