Focus On Lunchbox & Back to School: 28 June

By Rob Brown (rob_j_a_brown@hotmail.com)

Publishing: 28 June 2025

Advertising deadline: 13 June 2025

Submissions deadline: 9 June 2025

Print, digital and sponsorship opportunities

The UK is upping its sandwich game. Just look at the growing spread of gourmet sandwich shops – such as Dom’s Subs in Hackney and elsewhere, Shoreditch’s My Favourite Sandwich (founded by a former chef at the Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen) and Sandwich Sandwich in Bristol and London – for proof. Kantar data suggests such businesses could be onto a winner, with greater numbers of people leaving their lunchboxes at home and eating lunch out in the past year. How can retailers and food and drink brands positioned as lunchbox fillers fight back? What opportunities does the rise of the gourmet sarnie present? And what other trends are whetting the appetites in the adult and kids’ packed lunch market?

Demographics: This feature will play close attention to the demographics of the packed lunch market. Which age groups are most likely to pack lunch and why? What are different age and socioeconomic groups most likely to pack for lunch and how is this changing?

Gourmet sarnies: From sarnies stuffed with smoked chicken, curried mayo and champagne pickled raisins to monster subs containing spicy Thai ground chicken, mayo, coriander and pickled cucumbers and red chilli… sandwiches are getting spruced up. How can brands and retailers cash in on this trend?

Health: This feature will also explore the extent to which health concerns are affecting what people are choosing to put in their packed lunched. What are brands that market their products as being better for people doing to get in the nation’s lunchboxes?

Challengers: We will also be exploring the opportunities that exist for challenger brands to shake up the packed lunch market. Which challengers have been successful in recent years in getting a foothold in the market? Have any fallen by the wayside? What challenges do they face?

Innovation: This feature will pay close attention to the latest trends in lunchboxes and how these are playing out in terms of product innovation. We will profile eight new products or ranges, ideally ones that have not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each.