Five Minutes With

Andy Williams,

Sector

Last year at Creed Foodservice we commissioned a piece of research exploring what care caterers need to consider when it comes to food and drink provision, environmental needs and hospitality demands for the next generation who will soon be needing care. For us as a company, such insights are invaluable – not only do they mean we can plan our own strategy and provision for supplying products and services which meet evolving expectations, but we can also assist our customers in planning for the future too.

Surveying those aged 58-76 across the country who fit into the ‘Baby Boomer’ category showed the importance of food and drink to this generation, whose expectations are very different to those currently living in care facilities.

Our research found a staggering 95% of Baby Boomers said that the food and drink provision is ‘important’ when choosing a care home. Furthermore, eight out of ten said they would pay more for a premium offering if their budget allowed. High quality, varied food and drink provision will no longer just be a nice to have, but instead a fundamental part of the decisionmaking process. Key here is the opportunity for our care customers to grow occupancy rates, revenue and profit if they can respond to the upcoming demands.

More recently KAM Media also released a piece of research which looks at the ‘Golden Years’ generation (65years+) . This research has shown that spending by this age group has increased by 75% between the years of 2001 to 2018, amounting to an average drinking and dining-out spend of £158 per person each month. Sunday lunches were, in particular, identified as a key leisure activity, amongst a raft of other dining occasions. When considering that by 2040, older people will be spending 63p of every pound in the UK economy – also identified by KAM Media – It’s essential we understand how this will look, and how we can meet this demand for top notch hospitality provision in a care setting too.

One of the areas we explored is just how global our tastes have become, with our research showing that the three most popular cuisines for the Baby Boomer generation are Italian, Chinese and Indian. Three quarters of those surveyed even suggested they’d like to see pop-up style cookery stations, featuring meals like barbecues, Indian curries and freshly cooked pizzas, in their future care settings.

At Creed sharing this knowledge and being able to support our customers with planning and implementing best practice is of paramount importance, using our insights to make solid and comprehensive plans for the immediate future. We’ve got a variety of innovation spaces and facilities to assist with this, where we can run menu development sessions, led by our expert team of staff and consultants, from our development chefs, to our insights managers.

To read more about the research we carried out visit www.creedfoodservice.co.uk/ content/sector/care, or to discuss further contact Andy Williams via the Creed office: 01452 858 180.