IGD expects on-the-go snacks and drinks to hit £16bn
FOOD to go is one of the fastest-growing categories in food and drink retailing – in everything from convenience stores and forecourts to hypermarkets and specialist food-to-go outlets, a new analysis has found.
Latest figures from grocery and food industry education and research charity IGD suggest changing shopper behaviour will see the market’s value hit £16.1bn in 2016, up 6.8% from 2015.
The group’s study reports that many convenience, forecourt and other retailers (with combined food-to-go sales worth £2.5bn) have introduced specialist food-to-go counters in their stores and focus on the different times of day shoppers purchase food to go.
But it also says that supermarkets and hypermarkets (with food-to-go sales worth £1.2bn) have been testing new formats and ideas in stores, beyond traditional sandwich, snack and drink deals.
Lunch is the most popular time to buy food on the go – 70% of shoppers bought something to go for lunch in the last month. 28% bought something on the go for breakfast. And 45% bought a snack on the go in the last month.
Supermarkets (with 30% of instances) followed by convenience stores (23%) are the most popular places to purchase drinks on the go.
