DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 43| 2018

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1.  BURGER KING'S BACON BROMANCE

Bacon lovers in France are in for a treat with the launch of the new ‘Bacon Lover’ LTO menu from Burger King - watch a clip here> Choose from the Bacon Lover, Double Bacon Lover or Chicken Bacon Lover.  These burgers come topped with crisp slices of bacon, a creamy smoky bacon sauce, all in a brioche bun with bacon chips.  If that’s not quite enough bacon, you can order a side order of King fries topped with cheese and bacon.  KFC France also has Bacon LTOS on its menu with the BBQ Bacon Boxmaster Max and Bacon & Cheese Double Stack.

2.   CENTENNIALS CHOOSE GLOBAL

Centennials are choosing bigger, international brands over smaller niche brands, perceiving them to be more innovative and offer a superior brand experience (IRI’s European Shopper Survey). Marginally less concerned about product origin and environmental impact according to this survey, younger Millennials are more inclined to buy established international brands, while older generations show a propensity towards purchasing local products. When shopping for groceries, 18 to 24-year-old consumers prioritise in-store technology with more convenient, ready-to-eat food and drink options, while across all age groups, shoppers’ top 3 future expectations include delivering products with less plastic packaging (43%); more local brands instore (43%) and higher product quality (38%). 

3. JUMP ON JACKFRUIT BANDWAGON

Jackfruit is being hailed as the topping of the day for pizzas and burgers. Major supermarkets and trestaurant chains have been scrambling to offer the trendy fruit. Last week Gourmet Burger Kitchen launched a new jackfruit burger, the ’Jack-in-a-bun’ featuring a butternut squash and quinoa patty, beetroot mayo, and Korean pulled jackfruit. Topped with pickled onions and rocket, it is served in a sourdough bun. Recently PizzaExpress topped its Puttanesca pizza with marinated jackfruit in a traditional Puttanesca sauce. Jackfruit is increasingly known for its widespread appeal, offering flexitarian consumers an exotic-tasting alternative to pulled pork. 

4. TURNING UP TECH WITH TRANSPLATER

Barclaycard is trialling a new app – ‘Transplater’ – that helps diners translate unknown ingredients on menus. Diners can snap food pics which the app will then dissect, proving photos and descriptions of ingredients. According to a ‘Food for Thought’ report, some 91% of diners often don’t recognise items on menus while 55% are ‘disappointed’ when dishes look differently than expected. ‘Transplater’ will not only help diners feel more confident in their menu choices but will encourage them to order more adventurous foods in the process. This should keep waiters on their toes... 

5.   BYO TAKEOUT CONTAINERS

Wagamama, the Asian-inspired restaurant franchise, is letting customers in New Zealand locations bring their own takeout containers as part of its progressive sustainability plan, a further step to its already 100% recyclable takeaway containers. The initiative is timely seeing that the EU Parliament just voted to ban single-use plastics by 2021 which will significantly impact the food and drink industry. The ban will be placed on 10 common items such as straws, cutlery, and boxes that already have non-plastic alternatives. Where there are currently no plastic alternatives, such as single-use boxes or food containers, these items are to be reduced by at least 25% by 2025.  

6.    SKIP THE QUEUE AT MCDONALD’S

McDonald’s UK has released a new app which gives customers the option of ordering on the go. The idea is that customers will order ahead and pick it up from the store via the counter, via table service or even through the Drive Thru. By downloading the app, customers have the flexibility of browsing the menu in their own time, customising their “dream order” and saving their favourite meals so they can order even quicker next time. Customer can also pay for their food on the app to save time at the checkout. Check out McDonald’s new ordering app here >> 

7.  CASUAL DINING TAKES ON RETAIL

Italian restaurant chain Bella Italia has launched its first ready meals range exclusive to Tesco.  With prices ranging from £1.50 to £4.00, its Italian menu offers dishes such as Carbonara Pancetta, Conchiglioni Calabrese,  and Beef and Red Wine Ravioli.  Operating in the UK market for 25 years, Bella Italia is part of the Casual Dining Group with over 100 restaurants nationwide and is confident it has scope to explore new channels such as retail. The Latin American-inspired Las Iguanas is another restaurant brand making its retail debut, this time at Sainsbury’s. Look out for dishes like Creamy Lime & Peanut Flavour Chicken Xinxim and Chunky Beef & Black Bean Chilli. 

8.  #ROYALBABYFEVER @DOMINO’S

This Halloween, Domino’s Greece is offering a limited-edition pizza topped with pumpkin, fresh cream, feta cheese, and onion.  This wraps up its October PizzaFest which offered a different menu pizza every day incorporating spicy salami, Fajita chicken, and spicy beef. Last week, newsjacker Domino’s released a similar-styled statement following the Royal Baby announcement about welcoming a new arrival to its pizza family coming out in mid-November. Back in 2015 it released a commemorative pizza box for Twitter fans in honour of Princess Charlotte’s birth. 

9.  MCDONALD’S MAXIMUM MEAT  

Feeling the heat from breakfast competitors, McDonald’s USA is adding 3 new breakfast sandwiches to its morning menu as a push to grow breakfast share in Q4. Said to contain 3 times the amount of meat, each new triple breakfast stack will contain 2 sausage patties, bacon and egg in either a McMuffin, McGriddle or biscuit, great for meat lovers looking for a hearty breakfast on-the-go. Whereas in the UK we gained the Bacon Flatbread, this is reportedly the first time in a decade that McDonald's USA has expanded its breakfast menu which will be available for a limited time in November.