DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 45| 2019

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1. CHRISTMAS PIZZA OFFERINGS 

The most festive time of the year is fast approaching, with Christmas ads and menus boosting anticipation for the holiday season. Papa John’s have released its ‘Christmas is Better Shared’ ad, which features a variety of characters coming together to enjoy their festive feast. The ad supports the brand’s partnership with Crisis, a charity working to eradicate homelessness. Papa John’s Christmas menu includes pigs in blankets, mince pie scrolls and a Christmas dinner pizza decorated with turkey meatballs, red wine gravy, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, mozzarella and cranberry drizzle on top. While indulging is inevitable during the holiday season, Pizza Express extended its low-calorie “Leggera” pizza range for guilt-free eating. This week, Homeslice also revealed its festive Christmas Pizza, extravagantly topped with goose leg, goat’s cheese, Fior Di Latte mozzarella, shaved Brussels sprouts, blackberries and redcurrants, lightly drizzled with gravy.

2. WAGAMAMA STAYS AHEAD

Wagamama is rounding out the year on a high. The brand launched its first spin-off food to-go restaurant, Mamago, in London this week which focuses on convenience. The new restaurant concept will provide grab-and-go options ranging from breakfast to dinner needs. Mamago’s menu consists of variations of Wagamama favourites like katsu chicken wraps and laksa soups. The company's turnover increased by 11% to £93.5M in Q2 of this year which can be attributed to the brand’s ongoing expansion despite market pressures. Greencore is also excelling in their food-to-go category with sales jumping 3.6% in the 12-month period. Their salads, sandwiches and chilled snacks remain big sellers in grocery and convenience channels.   

3. CRISPIER, CHEESIER, TASTIER

Taco Bell has driven some interesting menu expansions recently. The latest launch is a new Grilled Cheese Burrito being tested in Tennessee. The burrito features a layer of melted cheese on the outside of the tortilla with a melted three-cheese blend on the inside with seasoned beef, rice, tortilla strips, chipotle sauce and sour cream. Taco Bell is also joining the chicken sandwich wars with their own Crispy Tortilla Chicken, offered as chicken strips or stuffed in a taco in specific U.S. locations. The chicken is marinated in a jalapeno buttermilk-flavoured seasoning then rolled in a crunchy tortilla chip coating and served with a zingy chili pepper sauce. 

4. MILLENNIALS & GEN Z DINING HABITS

Lightspeed’s recent dining habits survey highlighted insights on the future direction of foodservice. Out of 1,000 UK-based diners, 82% reported spending at least £100 every month. Research revealed that those under 35 years old are most likely to reach for their wallets, with 49% spending over £250 per month. Millennials and Generation Z are opting to dine out once a week, with 63% flocking to food markets and 48% of all surveyed saying pubs are their most coveted choice for dining. Half of the respondents agree that ‘good food’ is the greatest deciding factor in their dining experience, while a combination of customer service, price and speed followed with roughly 30%.  

5. MODERN SANDWICHES 

Innovation in the sandwich category answers consumer demand for craveability, while promising familiarity. Three categories hold potential for pipeline menu development; meat-centric, croque-inspired and arepas. A spike in meat-centric sandwiches is perhaps a counter movement to veg-centricity, including use of prime steak with modern iterations such as the Rueben. Many chefs are also testing a twist of the French classic Croque Monsieur, such as the Croque Madame with a fried egg on top. The Venezuelan arepa is appearing more frequently on menus offering suitability for a wider audience as it’s gluten-free. 

6. TIMEOUT MARKET CHICAGO 

TimeOut Market opens its fifth North American food hall this year, the largest to date. The three story, 50,000 square foot space features 18 eateries, 3 bars, a rooftop terrace and a demo kitchen, which will host renowned chefs, similar to its Miami counterpart. TimeOut Market Chicago will host many of the city’s restaurant hotspots, allowing guests to taste the city’s best all under one roof. The Chicago location has focused on features to draw footfall to an evening and late-night audience, with entertainment and exclusive ‘speakeasy-type’ bars offering the ideal setting for those looking to linger for a late night drink and tasty nibbles.  

7. TRENDS TO WATCH  

Research and insight specialist, Savanta, highlight notable trends to watch in 2020. In the dining out market, spontaneous dining, awareness for dietary needs, delivery and the growing importance of coffee are all pinned as future trends. Spontaneous dining is a trend to watch, with 40% of visits and orders planned within the last few minutes. Three of the top four drivers on eating out was “service”, while “atmosphere” followed. Restaurants with “non-usual” cuisines, such as Itsu, LEON and Wasabi are on the rise as well. Gregg’s and McDonald’s have done a great job at pairing coffee occasions with other offerings. Asian style bubble tea and coffee are an offering that may surface in 2020 to shake up current preconceptions.  

8. RISE OF THE MICROMARKET 

Swiss company, Selecta, one of Europe’s leading providers of self-service catering stations has recently launched Foodie's Micro Market in Frankfurt. Foodie’s Micro Market is an unattended self-service shop offering food and drinks in various spaces around the clock. The ability to offer fresh meals at any time of day is a growing need in workplaces and public places. There are currently Micro Market concepts available across Europe in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Click here to see how the Micro Market works >>  

9. DEMAND FOR PORK

As stated by the Guardian, the cost of living in China has outstripped the 3% government target for the first time in a decade, and a big part of the problem is the soaring price of pork, which is being driven up by a widespread outbreak of African Swine Fever. Rupert Claxton of Girafood said, "the producer price has risen 125% since July". That increase has helped drive up China's inflation rate, which in October broke through the government target of 3% to hit 3.8%. Pork prices are rising outside China too; Europe has seen a jump of at least 35% since the beginning of the year. Claxton said, "the problem is that total global pork exports in 2018 were 8 million tonnes, and China is short 24 million. There just isn't enough pork in the world to fill the gap." 

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