Eating Out Continues UK Boom

A report released this week by Datamonitor reveals that British consumers spend on average £1,224 a year on eating and drinking out, and this figure is likely to increase to £1,335 by the end of the decade.

The study forecasts that 5.2 billion extra breakfasts, lunches, evening meals and snacks in Britain will be consumed outside the home in 2010 compared with 2005.

Within Europe there is a general North-South divide with consumers in the Northern countries most closely replicating the out-of-home eating behaviours of US consumers. In countries such as Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands consumers have a greater propensity to eat breakfast and lunch out-of-home compared to their counterparts in 'Mediterranean' countries.

[Table 1: Annual Out-Of-Home per head food consumption occasions, US and Europe, 2005]


Source: Datamonitor

Only around 5% of European consumers feel the most important reason for eating out is to celebrate a special occasion, suggesting that eating out is now a more affordable option for consumers, and the overall experience is more important as the quality of food served and the variety of menu is largely taken for granted. According to report author and Consumer Market Analyst at Datamonitor, Matthew Adams, 'Eating out is a way for consumers to seek a hassle-free and sociable environment in which to eat'. Catching up with friends is the second most important motivation that consumers have for choosing to eat out.

Sitting around the table as a nuclear family for three core meals a day in the family home is now no longer a reality, and lunch on the run is a fairer reflection of current consumer habits. 'Many consumers are moving away from three core meals because they are skipping meals out of necessity. Some consumers are instead eating only when hungry, and eating more frequent meals of smaller portion size', comments Adams. The demands of daily life are impacting on the consumption of the first two core mealtimes of the day. European consumers increasingly skip breakfast, especially in the UK where almost one third of breakfasts are missed (114 per person per year on average). By 2010 a greater number of working consumers are likely to either skip breakfast altogether or eat out-of-home. Initiatives such as breakfast clubs are likely to increase out-of-home breakfast consumption among schoolchildren and arrest the growth of skipped breakfasts among this demographic group.

In conclusion, Adams comments, 'Eating out-of-home is still driven by a lack of time but consumers now expect more than just convenience. Key trends for marketers to pick up on and serve accurately will be the need for 'easy health wins' by incorporating fortified formulations, more freshness and enhanced ingredients that are at the heart of premium products both in retail and foodservice channels. Retail food and drink products must learn from foodservice operators by providing better variety of tastes and flavours and thereby strengthen the emotional bond between consumers and their food and drinks.'

Datamonitor is online at www.datamonitor.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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