Aggregators' growth, veganism among the eating out trends in 2019, NPD says

The out-of-home foodservice industry is now valued at £56 billion.

Food delivery aggregators, virtual restaurants, transparency, veganism and slimmer menus will be the five trends that can shape the out-of-home foodservice industry in the year 2019, according to the NPD Group.

Delivery aggregators are expected to grow further as consumer spend could see a 10% increase in 2019 to £5 billion. This is said to be due to the rise of in-home entertainment such as Netflix and Amazon Prime that drives consumers to stay inside their homes.

Aggregators have also been expanding their virtual restaurants, riding on the growing demand for delivery. Restaurant operators are also said to find the concept appealing as it is cheap and flexible to run, reducing the need for retail premises and staff.

“Britain’s delivery market will see a new phase in 2019. As consumers eat more meals at home, they’ll have more complex requirements, and this will strengthen the role of delivery aggregators,” Dominic Allport, insights director with The NPD Group, said.

Meanwhile, customers’ rising awareness of the food they eat are said to be setting the transparency trend in the QSR industry. Customers are not only asking about the allergies and nutrition of their food but are also interested in the environmental impact it brings.

NPD also said that there are more people calling themselves flexitarian or occasional vegetarians. Out-of-home (OOH) flexitarian visits have increased at twice the rate of overall market growth over the last three years.

“Veganism and vegetarianism are not just passing fads and are working their way onto menus,” Allport added.

Lastly, as consumers doesn’t want to waste time on looking at the menu, NPD noted that crowded menus will not work with them anymore. Crowded menus are said to be the result of the growing competition making operators launch more offerings.

They also mentioned that slimmer menus are likely to bring less complexity in the kitchen, leaner supply chain, lower food costs and less food waste as well. 

*Article and image courtesy of our partner QSR Media.