Food-to-go sector predicted to rise to £22.8 billion by 2023, IGD says
The said sector is said to grow twice the rate of the overall grocery retail.
The UK’s food-to-go sector will reach a value of £22.8 billion by 2023, a study by IGD revealed.
Divided into five segments, food-to-go specialists such as Pret A Manger, Greggs, Subway, Leon and Chipotle is to have the fastest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% as its value from £4.9 billion in 2018 is said to reach £6.4 billion in the next five years.
IGD also added that coffee specialists, such as Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero, is predicted to have a 5.3% CAGR from £3.1 billion to £4.0 billion while QSRs which includes the likes of McDonalds, Burger King and KFC will grow from £5.6 billion to £6.9 billion with a 4.3% CAGR from 2018 to 2023.
“The food-to-go market remains a strong growth opportunity that continues to provide a great source of inspiration and innovation. We’re forecasting solid growth across each of the five segments, but this will become harder to come by for operators, retailers and suppliers amid an increasingly competitive landscape,” Gavin Rothwell, head of food-to-go at IGD, said.
Other segments include convenience, forecourt & other retailers and supermarkets & hypermarkets with CAGR of 4.9% and 5.3% respectively.
(Also read: Food-to-go sector to reach £17.8 billion in 2018, IGD forecasts)
IGD mentioned that the growth of the food-to-go market is due to its rising number of consumers and operators targeting different types of locations and new capabilities.
“While online ordering and delivery is one aspect of this, perhaps in its current form the online opportunity will only be transformational for a select few. More widely however, getting into new, different types of locations, including forecourts and other travel locations, is likely to be an increasingly significant route to growth for a growing number of players in food-to-go,” Rothwell added.
He also mentioned that there is a growing trend in collaboration between brands across the food-to-go market. Retail stores undergoing remodelling is said to offer opportunities for the partnerships between retailers and food-to-go partners.
“The best food-to-go operators are highly attuned to the wider mindset of their shoppers. They have responded to shape their wider propositions accordingly. Increasingly this will become expected by food-to-go consumers, and those that don’t keep up will stand out."
