DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 02| 2019

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1.  RECORD-BREAKING FESTIVE SALES

Festive results were topical this week in the media. Asda and Tesco outperformed Sainsbury’s and Morrisons over the festive period, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco highlighted the challenging retail environment, recognising that savvy consumers "know what good value is”. Overall, consumers spent an additional £450m on groceries during the 12 weeks to 30th December 2018, thanks in large part to premium own label sales which increased by 3.7%. Asda’s ‘Extra Special’ range was the fastest growing own label premium line. Aldi and Lidl remained the fastest growing retailers with two-thirds of all households shopping at either over the 12-week period resulting in a combined market share of 12.8%. 

2. CHEFS’ PERSPECTIVE: 11 TRENDS

Food & Wine asked global chefs for their predictions on emerging restaurant trends, which ranged from cooking techniques to restaurant format – click here to view>> One of the main recurring themes is ‘fast-casual everything’ with gourmet blending with simplicity. So-called activist chefs and sourcing transparency is also becoming more popular as consumers wish to see positive impact in their communities. Expect more Latin American-inspired menus as well as new ingredient heroes such as kelp. Smaller-format restaurants with more counter-dining, open kitchens, and lounge spaces are expected to pop up globally as well as an increase in phone-free dining tactics to encourage greater diner interaction (with their food and each other!). 

3. BURGER CREATIVITY

The trend for creative sandwich and burger combinations looks set to continue in 2019. UK-based burger chain, Honest Burgers has launched a limited time Chipotle Guac Burger for January. It’s interesting because it incorporates one of the hot ingredient trends of the moment, pulled chipotle jackfruit, as a beef burger topping along with smoked bacon. An expanding chain throughout Australia, Betty’s Burgers, showcases its best-selling Betty’s Classic, includes crispy pork belly, Southern fried chicken and fried mushrooms.

4. NOW THAT'S DELIVERING

Pizza Hut UK is keen to drive home its delivery message. Its latest digital campaign ‘Now that’s delivering’ launched on Facebook and Youtube, promoting a 30 minute speed guarantee for delivery, the Huts Rewards loyalty scheme, its £5 value proposition and its taste credentials. All this and tongue-in-cheek references to rival chain Domino’s throughout. 

5. DOMINO’S DELIGHTS DIETERS

Domino’s has kickstarted the calorie-conscious New Year with a range of Delight Pizzas showing clearly marked calorie-content. At under 650kcal, the Delight small pizzas with thin & crispy bases are strong competition for lunchtime occasions. Initially available in chicken and veggie versions or create your own with reduced fat mozzarella cheese. Meanwhile Papa John’s has introduced a controversial new side – Marmite and Cheese Scrolls, an Australian success story and available in the UK for a limited time.

6. PEPSICO HELLO GOODNESS SNACKBOT

First, we saw meal kits, now snack giants are targeting consumers directly in innovative ways. Pepsico has developed a robot fleet to deliver snacks and drinks to students at the University of the Pacific in California. Not just any snacks – Hello Goodness snacks. The six-wheeled snackbots will cover the 175-acre campus where students can order from the Hello Goodness range using the smartphone app. The robots, which can travel up to 20 miles on a single charge, will liaise with students at 50 designated drop-off areas to deliver the snacks. Products in the Hello Goodness range include Baked Lay’s, SunChips, LIFEWTR and Starbucks Cold Brew.

7. FOCUS ON PALM OIL

Discount frozen foods retailer Iceland tapped into rising eco-consumer consciousness with its ‘banned’ Christmas ad (70 million views), highlighting its goal to be palm oil-free by the end of 2018. Ocado has now added a ‘palm oil-free' aisle to its website, containing over 5,000 products for customers to browse. Products include cereal, bread, pizza, crisps and toiletries. This offers a consumer shortcut following a 28% increase in searches for palm oil free products in 2018.

8. STARBUCKS VS LUCKIN COFFEE

Established in 2017, coffee chain Luckin Coffee represents growing competition for Starbucks in China.  With 55% share Starbucks has been comfortably ahead of other rivals such as McDonald’s and Costa, and aims to double its 3,400 stores storecount by 2022. However rapid growth has seen Luckin step up its competitive presence, now close to 2,000 stores in 21 major cities across the country, valuing it at $2.2 billion already. It has added sandwiches, muffins, and salads to its menus and will offer a 50% discount on delivery and pick-up food items. It vows to continue this aggressive market share tactic. It’s also planning a tie-up with on-demand giant Meituan for delivery service.

9. JUST EAT FRANCE

Just Eat France’s latest marketing campaign captures the accessibility of food delivery - anyone, anywhere – watch it here>> It features Max, a zany character who travels back in time to the Middle Ages. In front of a trio of knights in armour, Max explains what the future holds in two words: Just Eat! The new launch supports the previous campaign unveiled last January, which strengthened the position of the brand as leader in home delivery in France. There are more than 2,000 cities in France already covered by Just Eat. Online food delivery in France rose by an estimated 18% in 2018 to reach approximately 1.5bn (Statista 2019).