Cheese CHOICES
After 18 months of working and studying from home, things are finally getting back to some kind of normality and many consumers are rediscovering the joy of having lunch out. But what consumers wanted from their sandwich retailer back in 2020 is changing, and the food to go sector needs to adapt if they are to thrive in a more competitive marketplace.
CHANGE UP Sector supplier, Bridge Cheese’s (www. bridgecheese.com) managing director, Michael Harte, has some ideas. “It’s been a hard year and a half for sandwich and food to go retailers and even as all the restrictions lift and we are finally ‘free’, there are still plenty of challenges left to negotiate,” Michael Harte acknowledges, feeling that some clever cheese choices can play a part in winning over post-pandemic lunchers. “Office workers – the staple income for many retailers – are slowly returning to the office but many aren’t doing it every day, putting a dent in the Monday to Friday footfall which used to be the industry’s bread and butter, so to speak. “Then of course some workplaces have closed altogether, either because they have shifted to permanent homeworking or they have gone out of business, further reducing the revenue
streams that food to go retailers used to rely on.” But there are still reasons to be optimistic, Bridge Cheese emphasise, pointing to a recent survey of Guardian readers that found that workers were keen to ditch their homemade efforts for lunch on the go, and that the UK’s sandwich shops were now seeing more customers and higher spends. Some recent Kantar data would also suggest that there’s now evidence that “people have re-engaged – they have gone back to eating out where they can.” And food providers in residential areas are starting to attract the business of local homeworkers. However, to win over new and returning customers, retailers need to offer something a little different, feel Bridge Cheese (an opinion poll commissioned by Allinson’s Bread revealing that some 59% of consumers are keen to try new things when it comes to their lunchtime meals). “It’s time to get creative,” Michael Harte continues. “And one way to do this is by changing up your cheese selection with simple swaps that offer tasty new sandwich and food to go options. These clever cheese choices can also elevate your offer, and help you join some of the big hitters like M&S in the premiumisation of lunchtime food.”
38 September 2021 www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk
FLAVOUR Cheese is such a versatile product that the only limit to its flavour potential is your imagination, point out Bridge Cheese. Chilli cheese for Mexicaninfluenced sandwiches and fajitas is a popular swap, as is the use of a subtle smoked cheese which offers a barbecueinspired flavour note for Tex-Mex products, they propose, and chilli or garlic cheese work well for hot food to go, like toasties. “But it’s not just more adventurous and interesting flavoured cheeses that we are seeing growing demand for. We are currently seeing customers wanting to ‘grade’ their own mature Cheddars,” adds Michael Harte. “Bridge Cheese offers a range of standard mature cheeses, but now more of our customers want to tailor the cheddar to their exact specifications. “We can offer multiple flavour profiles of mature cheese, from a smooth mature cheddar to more traditional earthy farmhouse matures. This extra attention to detail for the choice of cheese is helping our customers to deliver exciting new flavour combinations.” DIET OPTIONS If we’re honest, there were two distinct camps during lockdown when it came to diet and keeping fit – those who used
