DAWN FARMS TOP 9 | ISSUE 47| 2018

GLOBAL UPDATE ON CONSUMER, MARKET AND MENU INSIGHTS. 

1. TASTE THE SAVINGS ON BLACK FRIDAY

This Black Friday, Burger King USA is letting other brands pay for your Whopper burger with every purchase made on their specially-created website, Whopper-Shopper.com - Find out how it works here >> Burger King has teamed up with around 1,000 brands such as Diesel, Adidas, HP, Walmart and Puma to help savvy shoppers save even more.  For the first time joining in the deals, Just Eat is offering 15% off their takeaways ordered on Black Friday from 9-midnight for their UK customers. The good news keeps coming with KFC UK offering its new and improved fries for free with no minimum purchase but a code on their app.

2. SUBWAY LAUNCHES DRIVE-THRU

Subway launched its first Irish drive-thru in Belfast last week, featuring the new Fresh Forward redesign and new digital menu board - one of eight Fresh Forward stores planned for Northern Ireland over the next six months. The store will provide tight-for-time customers the quickest way to purchase a sub in Ireland. Earlier this month, Bord Bia’s 2018 Irish Foodservice Seminar highlighted key market drivers  2019 as efficiency, innovation, and fresh forward trends, all of which Subway’s new concept taps into. To check out Subway’s new store design click here >>

3.  IKEA LINKS UP WITH UBER EATS

IKEA UK wants to extend Swedish ‘fredagsmys’ (cosy snack-fulled evenings) to UK households. It teamed up with UberEats for a limited time to deliver its Swedish  delicacies right to your door. Shoppers could order a £10 or £20 bundle of  the chain’s Swedish specialities  such as Swedish meatballs, Daim cake, donuts and more. The meal bundles create a whole dining experience by including products from the IKEA range, such as candles, string lights, table runners, or wine glasses for the perfect Instagram. The partnership only lasted a limited time with the Haggerston IKEA kitchen but hopes to test in other locations.  

4.  MCDONALD'S IS #REINDEERREADY

McDonald’s UK has brought back its #ReindeerReady campaign, this time with a new TV ad - watch it here>, as well as carrot snack Reindeer Treats and an interactive Snapchat game with giveaways such as McCafé Keep Cups, chicken McNugget baubles and reindeer Christmas jumpers. This supports its 2018 festive menu launched this week including the Big Tasty Burger in beef and chicken, both available with bacon. Also, on the menu this year are Camembert Cheese Melt Dippers and the Maltesers Reindeer McFlurry along with drinks such as the Millionaire’s Latte on the Christmas McCafé range.

5. DOMINO’S AU 2019 SUMMER SPLASH

Domino’s Australia has announced a new hybrid pizza garlic bread crust coming next summer 2019. The combination of buttery garlic bread and pizza is expected to be the company's best seller. Outside of pizza, garlic bread is the brand’s most ordered menu item and the summer menu launch will reportedly be Domino’s AU biggest initiative ever. New pizza toppings include BBQ steak and bacon, Korean BBQ steak, succulent garlic chicken and bacon ranch, and chipotle steak with other additions to be announced in the coming weeks.  

6.  DOMINO’S CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

Staying with Domino’s, last month its UK team shared news on social media that it was expecting a new ‘royal’ addition to its pizza family and so on November 19th the Cheeseburger Pizza was born. The new creation, which is now on sale in the UK & Ireland, is a hybrid of pizza and a burger and includes all the traditional components of a cheeseburger. This includes mozzarella cheese, a double portion of double ground beef, gherkins and a secret burger sauce, as well as Domino’s vine-ripened tomato sauce. This “match made in heaven” is now available in stores and costs £16.99 for a sharing size. 

7.   ARBY’S BEER-CAN CHICKEN

Arby's has partnered with lager brand Miller to test beer-flavoured chicken sandwiches in select US locations. The chicken in the sandwiches are marinated with Miller High Life beer, but the alcohol is cooked off so the sandwich tastes of beer without containing any alcohol. Arby’s is testing two sandwiches Beer Can Chicken and Tall Boy Sandwich. This new partnership follows Arby’s recent launch of a sous vide duck sandwich for the hunting season, both of which have created a strong social media buzz. 

8.  TACO BELL’S BIG BEN TAKEOVER

Taco Bell is opening its first location in London on November 24th. To attract Londoners’ attention, Taco Bell took over Big Ben on Monday (which hasn’t been rung in over a year due to construction) and blasted a digitalised version of its signature bell sound through speakers in the area around Big Ben. Three more locations are already in the pipeline, 2 in December and a third by early next year. The modern London restaurants will offer US classics (including beer glasses filled from the bottom then sealed with a magnet) as well as UK-specific menu items and specials such as happy hours, Taco Tuesday and a ‘Cravers’ value menu.  

9.  EDIBLE INSECTS: THE WAY FORWARD?

Sainsbury’s is the first mainstream retailer to launch edible insects, in partnership with Eat Grub London, who reports 42% of shoppers are open to trying insects. The BBQ roasted crickets will be on sale from this week in 250 of its stores for £1.50/pack. The global insect market is set to exceed £400mn by 2023 (for context - around 10% sales estimated in Europe and this includes insect feed for fish), with 2 million people already regularly eating insects (Global Market Insights). Insects can be used to garnish soups, salads, tacos and even ice cream as a source of protein. Click here to find out where to eat insects in London>