DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 9| 2019

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1. BURGER KING TAKES ON KFC

No stranger to controversial media tactics, Burger King USA has this week been playing a ‘game of chicken’ with KFC after introducing its new grilled chicken sandwich with honey mustard. In its online campaign, the white-suited "K.F.G." (King of Flame Grilling) claims “The King always Outranks the Colonel’ - watch it here >> Special edition K.F.G. sandwich wrappers will be available this week at select US Burger King locations.  

2.  CHOPPED EXPANDS TO THE UK

Irish salad bar chain Freshly Chopped ‘The Healthy Food Company’ has opened its first UK store in Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester. With 59 stores already in Ireland and Cyprus, this expansion into the UK marks the franchise’s 60th store opening. Freshly Chopped’s mission is to bring healthy fast food to the masses – check out its Love Me Tender Meal deal featuring Coconut and Chilli Chicken, Feta and Strawberry Salad along with a Strawberry Supreme Smoothie. Don’t confuse Chopped with London-centric Chop’d which currently has around 16 UK stores in total.   

3. A HEALTHY SPAIN

Spain has been ranked the healthiest country in the world by the 2019 Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index. Factors taken into consideration range from life expectancy, tobacco use, clean water access, to obesity and overdose/suicide rates across 169 countries. By 2040, Spain is expected to have the highest average lifespan of 86 years in part due to its Mediterranean diet. Spain has overtaken Italy to first place - other European countries in the top ten are Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway; France falls just outside. The US has dropped to 35th place while the UK and Ireland have both risen up the ranks slightly to 19 and 20 respectively. 

4. DELIVEROO “CLICK & COLLECT”

Six years have passed since Deliveroo served its first order in London. With 20,000 partners in the UK to date and plans to launch in 40+ new towns this year, Deliveroo wants to give consumers options at every occasion. To celebrate its 6th birthday, it has announced a new  ‘Click & Collect’ service in 2019. The ‘Click & Collect’ proposition has proven to work in supermarkets where consumers can collect at their convenience, most likely quicker and with relatively lower costs than delivery. 

5. PIZZA HUT’S MELTING MENU

Pizza Hut Restaurants UK launched its brand-new menu this week. Set to hit over 250 Pizza Hut restaurants across the UK & Ireland, the new menu features newcomers such as 5 new pizzas, a brand-new American Main and sides such as mini Jackfruit Rolls with sweet chilli. The American Mains are whole flattened chicken breasts topped with its triple cheese blend and other toppings such as pepperoni, bacon and garlic mushroom.  

6. DOMINO’S GO BIG & STAY HOME 

Domino’s recent innovations in Australia include a ‘huge’ pizza pie and fun new flavours. Steak is firmly on Australian menus – Domino’s new pizzas include a Korean BBQ Steak pizza featuring BBQ sauce, steak, onions, peppers, hot chilli flakes, sesame seeds and glazed with a sweet Smokey Korean sauce. Also check out the Big Philly Cheesesteak and the Reef, Steak and Bacon. ‘The Big One’ is Domino’s biggest pizza ever ($49.95) - so large that it cannot be delivered and each location can only make two per day. It has four fully loaded quarters: Pepperoni, Supreme, BBQ Meatlovers & Hawaiian to suit the whole group’s needs.  

7. RAMPING UP CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

The Global Restaurant Investment Forum took place in Amsterdam this week. Four major consumer experience trends were discussed. 1) Consumers want to play and engage with technology. This overlaps with 2) virtual experiences are becoming more popular where guests can experience 3D events at the tables or in smaller spaces. 3) Consumers want wholesome, abundant experiences without guilt. Many restaurants and hotels are turning towards zero waste, locally sourced, and plant-based options to limit their impact on the environment. 4) Lastly, consumers crave a strengthening of community in this age of digital connections - this means welcoming non-hotel guests into contemporary communal areas. 

8. US TOP 500 IMPROVES

In the US, sales at the top 500 restaurant chains were up 3.3% in 2018 vs 2017, on the back of an improving economy (Technomic Top 500). Consumers are trading up (steak chains up 6%) yet gravitating towards limited-service chains over full-service concepts. Chick-fil-A leapfrogged Burger King and Wendy's to become the fifth-largest chain while Panera Bread joined the Top 10 (the first fast-casual chain to do so). Much of the growth came from the top - leading chains remain McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway and Taco Bell whereas casual dining was said to be struggling.  

9. GLASGOW’S TOP (BURGER) DOG

The UK National Burger Award 2019 finals took place last week in London, featuring 16 of the best burger artisans from across the country.  The top award went to the ‘Top Dog’ from El Perro Negro in Glasgow - beef patty, bone marrow and Roquefort butter, double bacon, caramelised onions and black truffle mayonnaise.  The bone marrow butter seems to be favourite on the El Perro Negro menu as it features on several of their burgers. Other awards in the competition went to Alex Hayes from Squeezed who won Burger Chef of the year, while the Bloggers Choice Award was won by Libertine Burger. Watch the burger contest in action here >> 

THE BUZZ | BIG STORIES IN FEBRUARY

Here are the articles which received the most attention from you, the readers, last month in February.