Europe's 'Winning Formats' for food-to-go operators
RetailAnalysis shared a list of the most impressive formats in recent months.
Many markets are seeing growing activity in the food-to-go and convenience arena as retailers and food-to-go operators focus on taking advantage of shoppers' changing behaviours and priorities.
Standout formats across Europe - Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands for example - are feeding through across a growing range of markets. IGD RetailAnalysis shares some of the most impressive ones below.
Bon app!, Carrefour, France
Bon app! is one of Carrefour's newest convenience formats in France, designed to target urban shoppers on-the-go. Still modest in total store numbers, the 100 sq. m store is dedicated to snacking and food-to-go, with an assortment comprising sandwiches, salads and sushi alongside drinks, frozen food and freshly-baked bread. A standard private label snack range bon app' and premium range bon app' l'envie du jour feature in-store. Bon app! stores provide Carrefour with a format to compete with Casino's Monop' and Monoprix fascias.
Carrefour is also introducing innovative convenience stores in its other markets. Express Eat & Shop opened in Milan this summer and is focused on natural, healthy fresh food and meal solutions for in-store or takeaway consumption. A juice corner serves smoothies, juices, yoghurt and flavoured waters, all selected and prepared on-site.
Urban Deli, Axfood, Sweden
Despite only three Urban Deli stores in operation, RetailAnalysis finds its concept possessing the scope to grow much further: it's right on trend with the evolution of broader food-led spaces, rather than simply being a food retailer or a restaurant. It's a blend between a retailer, restaurant and rooftop bar, with a heavy focus on food-to-go solutions, creating a genuine destination with a distinctive look and feel. Leading Swedish retailer Axfood has also seen the potential, acquiring the business in 2015. What will be really interesting will be to see if it can take learnings from the Urban Deli concept to apply to its broader estate.
Veggie Pret, Pret a Manger, UK
Pret a Manger has been hugely successful in London, targeting a relatively affluent, health-oriented, urban shopper with an operating model designed around speed of service. Others have followed in its stead, and in London there are many who have focused even more strongly on healthy eating with superfoods increasingly integrated into menus at the likes of Pod, Crussh and the supermarket/ food-to-go hybrid Planet Organic. But interestingly, Pret continues to evolve into new territory: it recently opened its first motorway services site, it's been expanding across UK regions and, perhaps highest profile of all, it's opened its first Veggie Pret store in central London.
From being a temporary June-only pop-up, this has become a permanent feature in the Pret estate - there is already talk of adding more Veggie Pret stores. Pret - and Veggie Pret - might not yet have the global expansion plans of say a Starbucks (though Pret already trades in New York, Hong Kong and Paris), but the thinking behind the concept, combining healthy eating, convenience and speed of service with enticing store environments, is becoming increasingly important in more and more markets.
