In Focus

Founded in 2008, Seattle-grown MOD Pizza allows customers to customize their pizzas according to their taste. Their unique business model eventually paved the way for 135 sites across the US. In June 2016, the chain opened their doors to their first UK site in Leeds. Recently, the chain revealed plans for new locations, raising MOD Pizza's number of planned UK sites to five.

QSR Media spoke with Taco Bell about the brand's tenth UK outlet at Cleethorpes and their future plans in the U.K.

Casual dining brands in the UK with under 25 sites have grown by 39% over the past three years, opening a combined 489 new outlets across the UK, according to the recent ‘Casual Dining in the UK’ report by Savills. David Bell, head of leisure at Savills, said: “The significant growth by the smaller brands emphasises the development we’ve seen in new concepts. These smaller chains have provided consumers with more choice and offered a point of difference in the market, and with this success it is driving them to open more sites around the country. Furthermore with the investment from private equity we could see more brands with the capital to grow.” The research revealed that smaller brands such as Wahaca, Franco Manca and Cau have grown faster than established large brands, adding 489 outlets (+39%) since the end of 2012, compared to brands such as Pizza Express, Prezzo and Nando’s, which have opened 297 (+13%). Savills highlighted that 80% of the casual dining market is made up of brands with fewer than 25 restaurants. In the report Savills research also showed the growth in different cuisines, with North American, Caribbean and Thai cuisines restaurants having the greatest growth over the past four years. The report noted that 66% of all North American restaurants opened after 2012, compared to 11% of all pizza restaurants, showing a cultural shift in the UK dining market. Tom Whittington, research director at Savills, said: “Post recession we saw a real boom in the leisure market and that meant the demand for new cuisines from the consumer saw a number of new chains emerging such as Turtle Bay, which is Caribbean, and north American causal dining restaurant Red’s.”

In the 12 months to March 2016, there have been 5.8 Billion visits to QSRs in Great Britain. Visits have grown by 7% over the past 6 years, while the rest of the market was losing -7% of traffic.

At the Breakfast Briefing hosted by Prestige Purchasing, the company predicted that food and drink prices are going to rise in the event of a Leave victory in tomorrow's Referendum.

Boparan Restaurants Holdings (“BRH”) acquired the restaurant group Giraffe from current owners Tesco, who acquired the group in 2013.

The brand has launched its Little Veggie Pop Up in Broadwick Street, Soho and its doors will be open until the end of June.

Global packaging company Huhtamaki released the latest study from its ‘Consumer Insights’ series, researching food to go consumption within the UK. The company also released a new ‘Food To Go’ Market Factsheets.

Data from the NPD Group has revealed that London accounts for 17% of all visits and 20% of all spend to Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in Great Britain. These figures of 17% and 20% are much higher than the 13% of the UK population living in London.

The bakery chain announced that muffin sales rose for more than 25% thanks to the launch of its innovative Muffin Lab range. The increase was achieved in the first four months of 2016 and is equivalent to a 28% increase year on year.

New research from UK coffee provider rijo42 has analysed the habits of 1,000 British workers, finding that over 95% of professionals have access to a cup of coffee in the workplace.

American-themed barbecue pits, smokehouses, burger bars, and diners could replace Mexican outlets as the biggest growth area on the UK’s eating out scene over the next few years, according to Horizons’ latest Ones To Watch research.

Data from the NPD Group has revealed that the use and availability of meal deals in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) is in long-term growth, growing by 22% between YE December 2010 and YE December 2015. This equates to 185 million more QSR visits in which a meal deal is used.

Following the successful launch of a new pilot concept in Vienna in 2015, Café Nespresso will also be piloted in London in 2016. Nespresso expects to have the café open by summer 2016 and the location has been confirmed in Cheapside, in the City of London.

The NPD Group has revealed how women represent more than half of the QSR overall traffic. In real terms, this equates to 3 billion visits for the year ending December 2015. Fiscally, female eaters generated 10 billion pounds.

New research from Aimia, the data-driven marketing and loyalty analytics company, revealed that millennials (18-24 year olds) are the most loyal customer group for restaurants and coffee shops.