Europe: 18 percent meals are eaten out of home

Bracknell / UK. (iri) More flexible menus and an increase of meal occasions from breakfast and all day brunch through to dinner has led to a EUR 4.1 billion increase in food service sales in 2017 to EUR 335.9 billion according to a new report launched by IRI GIRA Foodservice.

One in five meals (18 percent of all meals) are consumed outside the home. IRI believes that increasingly fluid families – in particular fewer families with children and more single parent or single occupant homes – and more people working away from home has led to greater demand for convenient meal solutions.

According to to Chief Analyst Virginie Pernin, «Restaurants and other food service outlets have capitalised on these trends by providing options for more meal occasions including breakfast and brunch. It is easier to eat out rather than buy food and cook at home. Food delivery services such as Deliveroo that provide easier ways to order, pay and deliver, are behind the boom in restaurant food at home.

«Despite sales of ready meals and meal kits in supermarkets also catering to the trend for convenient «ready meal» solutions – with sales in Europe* at EUR 8.3 billion in 2017 – it seems many Europeans prefer their «eat out» to be eaten in».

The market research predicts the number of commercial kitchens that are dedicated to food delivery through companies like Just Eat, UberEats, Amazon Restaurants and Deliveroo – which has just launched a global advertising campaign to showcase the breadth of food available on its service – will increase by 2020 with a particular focus on healthier and premium options.

Key findings in numbers

• EUR 335.9 billion – value of European food service market in 2017, an increase of 2.5 percent per year on average since 2015.
• 48.5 billion meals or snacks were sold in 2017, an increase of 1.5 percent since 2016, highlighting a return of consumer confidence across the region. IRI Gira Foodservice predicts this will increase to 50 billion by 2020.
• Over 35 percent of sales in this sector are by big foodservice groups including the top five: McDonalds, Compass, Sodexo, Elior and Burger King.
• The Top 15 food service groups in this market generate 39 percent of turnover.
• Foodservice represents EUR 111 billion of food purchases – 70 percent of these are food with 30 percent being beverages.

Other key trends

• Celebrity chefs drive increase in premium eating occasions.
• Healthy and sustainable eating out – Superfood, green and protein food trends lead to a rise in restaurants sourcing local and healthier food items for their menus. The emphasis is on the origin of the product and additive free.
• Consumers spend more when they order online or through an app. This provides an opportunity for restaurants to capture new customers using technology and packaging without compromising on food quality, which is often the route to increased margins in food service.
• Hot spots – restaurants that have branded themselves with clear and meaningful positioning appeal to consumers.
• Blurring of the boundaries between table service, self-service and quick service restaurants with some concepts offering a mixture of all services.
• Increased demand for «food to go» in service stations and convenience stores.