With our increasingly fast-paced lifestyles, food to go has become one of the biggest shopping missions and with a bit of hard work retailers can easily cash in. It doesn’t have to be expensive either – by knowing how to get food to go right, the sector can fulfil consumer needs and drive sales.
by Émer O’Toole
Food to go has seen considerable growth in the convenience sector recently and with the food-to-go shopper accounting for 20% of all shopper visits to convenience, there is huge scope for improving the category. From seating areas within stores, to producing own-brand food to go solutions, it is an essential area.
In terms of the current market, hot food is increasingly popular. The Rustlers Quarter Pounder is bought by two million households in the UK. According to Kepak Convenience Foods, the micro-snacking market is growing at 5% every year within the convenience sector. With people purchasing micro-snacks more frequently, having the right range readily available for customers is essential to maximising sales within this area. So how can retailers encourage customers to buy hot food to go products? Companies such as Kepak have worked with retailers to bring branded shelf trays into the chiller. These draw customers attention to the fixture, help retailers manage stock levels, and increase visibility and availability which ultimately drives sales.
If you don’t have the space or the time to commit to a full food to go section, microwave solutions work particularly well. The Kepak branded Hot Snack Station microwave and stand is ideal placed beside the chiller. It is pre-programmed to cook Rustlers products but it can also cook any hot food to go products and comes with a built-in bin to keep the surrounding area tidy.
John Armstrong, Marketing Director of Kepak Convenience Foods, believes that “people’s lifestyles are changing.” He explains how the traditional three meals a day has been replaced by snacks and smaller meals throughout the day, concluding: “This trend provides a major profit opportunity for retailers to boost their food to go sales.” Baked products are another huge area of growth and changing lifestyles mean there’s now a greater need for foods that can be consumed on the go. Aryzta says nine out of ten adults enjoy sweet biscuits and a third of consumers eat biscuits two to four times a day, so the demand is there.
With this in mind, retailers should stock freshly baked products that can be enjoyed on the move.. IRI 2014 research reveals that for three out of four snackers, taste is the most important factor when it comes to picking a food to go snack. It is therefore crucial to stock brands that are highly regarded when it comes to taste and quality.
Baked products can also include savoury options. For example, Ginsters has extended its range with two new limited edition savouries- a Pulled pork Slice and a Steak & Cornish Blue Cheese Pasty, described as “modern twists on classic favourites.”
New limited edition flavours have proven to drive success for retailers by generating additional interest for the consumer,” says David Wilson, Marketing Director for Yushoi. “There will become a point where the Food to Go fixture becomes saturated with retailers struggling to meet with the complex and diverse needs of conscious shoppers. This is when trends are most important, such as the desire for healthier alternatives.”
For retailers who can’t create dedicated food to go fixtures, it is important to have clear direction through marketing materials such as shelf wobblers, counter display cartons, dump bins, pallet displays or clear marketing on shelf. It is vital that retailers change their fixtures to keep up with seasonality, and avoid missing opportunities to target key consumers. Products in counter display units are ideal as shoppers can grab food in a hurry, while dual-siting individually wrapped products such as biscuits next to the coffee machine places emphasis on the ‘on the go’ nature of products. This taps into the ‘impulse’ shopper mission.
According to research by Kerry Fresh, shoppers lack trust in the price point and range available in convenience stores. Retailers can change this perception with a strong food to go offering and can offer shoppers value for money through initiatives such as price-marked packs. In this year’s him! research, 61% of shoppers said that PMPs make them more likely to visit.
To get it right, retailers should consider the location of their store and the demographic of their shoppers when stocking for the food-to-go occasion, with research showing that 49% of such shoppers are male and 64% are in full time work. However, it is also worth noting that 48% of food-to-go purchases are unplanned so retailers will only be able to make the most of this opportunity by stocking up on likely to encourage impulse purchases.
There has never been more choice in the Food to Go fixture as consumers become increasingly aware of the choices they make. With the expectation of what shoppers expect from a Food to Go fixture on the rise, all retailers can do is ensure that they have a well-stocked food to go range to meet demand.
