Uber Eats

Source: Unsplash

Focus On World Cuisine, by Megan Tatum (wordsbymegantatum@gmail.com)

Publishing: 14 November

Advertising deadline: 5 November

Download the synopsis

Submissions deadline: 2 November

The story

Covid-19 has changed many things. One of them is that more of us are getting takeaway meals delivered. Nearly half (46%) of all households have ordered in – using services such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats – in the past year, up from 30% in the previous year. Restaurant closures, concerns over social distancing and the need for a treat are all likely drivers. But what are we eating? How is our taste in takeaways – long dominated by Indian and Chinese – changing? And what challenges and opportunities does all this present to grocery suppliers?

Key themes

Changing tastes: This feature will explore how demand for different cuisines in food cooked at home and ordered in is changing and the likely reasons for this. For example, burgers, chicken and other meat centred meals are stealing share of the delivered takeaway meals. Why? Are consumers moving away from more far flung cuisines such as Indian or Chinese or is this simply the result of McDonald’s teaming up with Uber Eats?

Ready meals: Ready meal sales are down, presumably as a result of the greater amount of time we’ve all had to spend cooking at home. Which cuisines have been hit hardest? Despite the decline in ready meals, brands are in growth. Why? What are they doing to maintain their growth?

The future: What will be the next big cuisines? In recent years, Korean and Japanese cuisines have become far more mainstream. Now, some are tipping Middle Eastern, West African and Persian food as ones to watch. So, are these going to be the next big thing? What other cuisines are gaining popularity? Or, with no deal Brexit just around the corner, are we going to become more insular in our food tastes and go back to suet puddings and custard?

Kantar: Using Kantar data we sum up how the category has performed in the past year.

Innovations: We identify four new products or product ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before including launch date, rsp, a hi-res picture of each.

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