According to research from the MCA and HIM Food To Go Market Report 2020, the UK food-to-go (FTG) market will continue to outperform the total eating out market and grow 2.7% in 2020 to a value of £21.7bn.
Within convenience retail, the sector is forecast to grow £475m over the next three years, from £6.2bn in 2019 to £6.7bn in 2023. However, this represents a fall in share of the total market: to 28.3% by 2023 as convenience retail fails to keep up with its FTG rivals.
Convenience retail remains the number one channel for lunch and snack occasions, although the sector’s share is slipping at snack occasions – a part of the day that is traditionally vital for convenience store retailers. Although still accounting for one-third of snack visits, the report highlights that c-store/supermarkets-to-go are losing share to coffee shops/cafés.
Amongst the leading FTG brands, the top foodservice operators are outperforming their grocery counterparts. Foodservice players in the top 10 FTG brands grew sales by 5.6% in 2019; while grocery retail operators in the top 10 grew FTG sales by only 0.7%.
Blonnie Walsh, Head of Insight at MCA Insight & HIM commented: “Convenience retail continues to be the biggest shareholder of the UK food to go market, highlighting strong demand from consumers and considerable growth opportunities for retailers – particularly with the £475m growth forecast over the next three years. However, frequency is declining and with participation arguably reaching its peak, retailers are under pressure to find ways of increasing spend to mitigate a drop in FTG footfall.”
“Value for money continues to grow in importance and is an area that is considered synonymous with convenience retail in the context of food-to-go. In particular, meal deals are the number one mechanic for promotions. However, foodservice specialists are using innovation and technology to improve their offer beyond the traditional meal deal that has remained a staple within a c-store offering.
“Offering a wider variety of products within an FTG range is critical to success. Health has changed the landscape of FTG, with growth in vegetarian and vegan options, as well as other dietary requirements. In fact, 15% of FTG visitors have dietary requirements, so failure to offer a wider, more diverse range will see frequency continue to fall.”
