DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 33| 2018

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1. FRENCH TOAST MCGRIDDLES

For the first time in 18 years, McDonald’s has added a new item to its US breakfast menu. The McGriddles French Toast Breakfast sandwich is being tested in 200 Minnesota locations during breakfast hours with bacon, sausage, American cheese, and a fried egg inside 2 slices of sweet, toasted brioche “with a hint of syrup”. This is positioned as McDonald’s version of an indulgent all-in-one breakfast and claims are high “You get savory and smoky flavors from the sausage and bacon,” McDonald's Chef Mike Lingo “Creaminess, cheddar flavors and salt from the American cheese; sweet cinnamon, spice and vanilla flavors from the French toast. It tastes like homemade French toast.”

2. COSTA CHATTY CAFÉ

It’s a lonely social-media desert out there – apparently 6 in 10 adults have less conversations a day compared to 10 years ago. To combat this and reinforce their cafés as ’stay and dwell destinations’, Costa Coffee has joined the Chatty Café scheme. This involves ‘chatter & natter’ tables to be set up in coffee shops to combat loneliness and encourage customers to engage in conversations. Some 75% of people admit they wish to have more social interactions, but the majority are hesitant to talk to a stranger. Costa believes their cafés have always played an important role in communities, acting as a hub for people to meet up, and this initiative is another way for people to spend time together.

3. PREMIUM EL PASO

Old El Paso is expanding its UK meal kit range to tap into the growing convenient, restaurant-quality meals at home market. Currently Old El Paso controls over half (57%) value share of the retail Mexican market. UK household penetration of Mexican cuisine has doubled over the past decade (currently 54%). Three new premium meal kits are exclusive to Tesco at £3.99: Smoky Chipotle Taco with a cool mango drizzle, Habanero And Lime Taco with a coco ancho drizzle, and Ancho Chili And Honey Fajita with zesty drizzle. The drizzle sauce is a first in the Mexican aisle and complements the flavour while improving the appearance of the meal.

4. ROBOTICS IN FOODSERVICE

CaliBurger (42 locations worldwide) has recruited a robotic kitchen assistant in their Pasadena, California kitchen. Flippy gives kitchen staff an extra set of ‘hands’ to save time and be more efficient. They plan to add 50 more Flippy robots by the end of 2019 after making improvements to the original. Currently, a Pizza Hut location in South Korea is trialling use of robots in its restaurants to take orders and perform short-distance deliveries. While there are teething problems, it seems the successful integration of robotics is a race companies want to win in order to stand out to consumers and promise quick, innovative solutions to their fast-food needs. 

5. EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH BACON

Staying with a Mexican theme, Chipotle’s New York City test kitchen revealed the insight consumers like to add bacon to their traditional bowls, burritos, tacos, and nachos while also enjoying new items such as the BLT quesadilla. Bacon is only currently available in their NYC test kitchen but will be tested in various regions before being launched worldwide. Chipotle’s nachos are sporting a revamped “genuine” queso which consumers have been waiting for.

6. WEIGHING UP SANDWICH VALUE

With Brexit uncertainty showing no sign of easing, the question of value is as pertinent as ever to UK consumers. The NFU recently highlighted the vulnerability of Britain’s food supplies post-Brexit. Changing eating habits over the past 3 decades have helped fuel the increasing reliance on imported goods such as bacon - the UK relies heavily on imports from Denmark. When it comes to value – for sandwich consumers is it about the meal deal, the overall sandwich size or amount of filling? A recent survey unveiled a detailed study of supermarket sandwich fillings. Co-op came first with the most filling in a BLT sandwich whereas Sainsburys was the overall winner with most filling (84.5g) on average, across its lunch items.

7. SUBWAY EXPANDS TO KENYA

Subway’s African horizons are broadening in light of demand from Kenyan consumers in particular. The chain is opening 4 new stores in Nairobi giving it a total of 12 locations. Expanding in Kenya is part of Subway’s growth strategy as the market is characterized by increasing disposable income. ‘Local’ global fast food competition has also picked up momentum with market entry by brands such as Ocean Basket, Cold Stone, Domino’s, Naked Pizza, Spurs and KFC. High footfall locations go hand in hand with consumer security – the aim is to open outlets outside shopping malls and petrol stations.

8. GEN Z FREEBIES

Getting into the spirit of A Level result celebrations (August 16th), many brands such as KFC, Nando’s and Pizza Express are keen to share the occasion with students.  Note numerous free deals on popular menu items eg KFC’s offer of a free Mini Fillet Snackbox with the purchase of a Krushem milkshake. Students had to download the Colonel’s Club App in order to receive the special student scan code. At Pizza Express, students could receive complimentary dough balls upon presenting their ID card and results letter in addition to a 30% discount on the entire bill. No matter if the results were good or bad, students got to enjoy the end of an era with these sweet deals.

9. BURGER KING BRINGS THE HEAT

The King of jalapenos is spicing up its UK menu further with new additions; the Jalapeno King and Spicy Crispy Jalapeno Chicken Sandwich – fiery versions of their King Burger and Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Both feature jalapeno peppers and green chili aioli sauce. Watch Burger King video launch here> Qdoba has also a new devilishly-spicy nacho option to its menu. Their Chicken Diablo Nachos will be their spiciest yet using in-house pickled jalapeños, extra spicy habanero salsa, and Qdoba’s signature Queso Diablo.