DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 14 | 2018

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1. MCDONALD’S PROMOTES DAIRY (& GARLIC)

McDonald’s USA has collaborated with the Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) to launch new menu items including 3 sandwiches topped with garlic white cheddar under its Signature Crafted Range (options are Burger, Artisan Grilled Chicken & Buttermilk Crispy Chicken). The new Garlic White Cheddar Sandwiches incorporate 30% larger cheese slices and also come topped with crunchy garlic chips, garlic aioli, iceberg lettuce and tomato on an artisan roll.

2. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

April Fool’s Day is a perfect opportunity for global brands to catch us out whilst also testing how open food fans are to novelty ideas. Burger King created shockwaves with its Chocolate Whopper as well as a new Beef‘n ChicKing Sandwich. Realgood Food had a Pizza Protein bar giveaway while Disney launched Kale Churros. Or how about Pasta Water – made with chickpea pasta – for these and more click here>> Meanwhile Subway also tried to catch people out with its Scratch & Lick menu feature “a revolutionary piece of mobile tech that alters your tongue's perception of taste through micro-vibrations” – watch how to Scratch & Lick Subway’s Chicken Tikka here>> 

3.  6-YEAR-HIGH FOR EU GROCERY SPEND

Europeans spent an additional 4.4% on groceries in Q4 2017 – the highest rise since early 2012, according to Nielsen. On average, across 21 countries, shoppers are buying 1.8% more items and paying 2.6% more per item than they did a year ago. This is driven by inflation but also consumers trading up to more expensive items. Spain’s growth rate (+5.3%) was the highest among the big 5 western European markets, followed by the UK (+4.0%), while France had the lowest growth among this group (+2.8%). The IMF forecasts 2% GDP growth in 2018, which will help sustain grocery sales this year, with specific growth areas being e-commerce and private label.

4. BE INSPIRED BY MEXICAN TRADE SHOW

Mexican food is capturing the imagination of consumers across Europe – and in terms of food trends, there is a lot more to explore. The recent 35th Expo ANTAD & Alimentaria in Guadalajara, Mexico showcased a vast choice of unique products from different Mexican region, from liquid salt to chili peppers with spirulina – click here to see Mintel’s top 12 selection>> One new meal solution which caught our interest was ready to ‘heat and eat’ Mexican corn quesadillas from Del Sartén Quesadita, whose microwaveable packaging means its guaranteed not to get soggy. Fillings include Chihuahua cheese, Mexican chorizo, beans, poblano chillies.   

5. COSTA COFFEE PLUS MENU

Representing a third of US foodservice traffic (NPD Group) and slightly less in the UK (MCA), lunchtime is a core eating out occasion. With competition becoming increasingly fierce on the high street, coupled with struggling footfall, brands such as Starbucks and Costa are challenged by how to differentiate themselves. Starbucks US is said to be taking on Panera with its Italian bakery brand Princi partnership; it’s also rolling out its ‘Inspired Eats’ range called Mercato across 1,000 stores. In the UK, Costa Coffee is appealing to the value conscious and tapping into the growing hot food trend with its new £4.95 Coffee Plus Menu (toastie, hot drink and snack) available from 11-2pm.

6. LIMELIGHT SHIFTS TO OVER-50S

As the focus turns to Gen Z (slightly away from Millennials), it’s worth just recognising how diets have changed. Some 2,000 adults aged 60+ surveyed revealed a third have been made a meal by their children containing ingredients they didn’t even recognise, with two thirds saying food is too varied now. However, the impact of generational change already sees over-50s boosting delivery sales (NPD Group). The over 50s currently account for 14% of all delivery visits (rising to 17% by 2022), boosted by the availability of more lighter and diet-specific options. Closing the ‘frequency gap’ between young and old is said to be key.

7. GLOBALLY-INSPIRED FRENCH MCWRAPS

Let’s Wrap the World. New wraps are said to be in the pipeline for McDonald's France. Next week there are rumours of 4 new wraps being launched, each representing a global destination. Recipes are inspired by the New York, Italy, Thailand and Mexico including the McWrap Chicken & Spicy Thai and McWrap Tortilla Chips & Mexico.

8. FOOD-FOR-LATER OPPORTUNITY

Six out of ten UK food-to-go shoppers (61%) have bought food-to-go for an evening meal over the last four weeks, with hot items featuring in nearly half of these purchases (IGD, March 2018). Evening FTG shoppers are also spending £5.83 on average; offering scope for more premium or substantial (filling) products. IGD highlights Jumbo City’s Foodmart concept as a European leader in developing food-to-go. Also, Deli de Luca in Norway – a convenience-deli hybrid whose recent development of new forecourt sites targets evening meal occasions with new ranges including burgers and pizza. At the FDIN FTG conference, Kantar spoke about the need to fight for growth, click here for more info>>

9.  RISE OF PIZZA CONNOISSEURS

The rise of pizza connoisseurs is driving an interest in unique toppings and ingredients, according to Technomic in the US, where sales of pizza have risen by 3.7% and competition is intensifying. Trends show consumers are eating pizza more often and choosing from a growing number of options. This is fuelling higher expectations of authenticity (eg niche, specialised areas such as Roman-style, Detroit-style) as well as convenience concepts. A slightly different take on pizza convenience is this new pizza-inspired jerky - the brainchild of Youtuber Harley Morenstein (Epic Meal Time) who has teamed up with Walmart to launch Pizza in a Bag in 3 flavours -  pepperoni Pizza, Supreme & Buffalo.