The same, but
DIFFERENT… BSA director, Jim Winship, chaired a lunch! show discussion canvassing the opinions of a market researcher (Nick Blake of MealTrak), independent operator (Marc Faulkner of Dentons Deli in St Helens) and chain operator (Amy James, category manager at Greggs). A SLOW RECOVERY In what in his opinion had been a dire time for the industry as a whole, Jim Winship asked panellists how they saw the sector recovering after Covid, it having “pretty much flawed our industry”, he suggested. From a market researcher’s perspective, Nick Blake said that things will recover, but that the pace of recovery is likely to remain very slow, with pre-Covid levels of trading unlikely to be experienced again until the end of 2022 or even early 2023, with a likelihood of differing performance in various channels behind that (QSRs having performed better than others, such as more specialist operators, and likely to continue as such). It would, however, no longer be the same market; that was the critical aspect to take note of in his opinion (namely, different opportunities and different challenges along the way). There had been a much stronger consumer focus on things such as sweet treats, and sharing, he reported, compared to pre-Covid, coupled
with a move from city centre to suburb purchasing which will change consumer need and their decisionmaking process, he proposed. Thus, there was a need to plan for this and for operators to get their portfolio of appropriately targeted products positioned to take advantage of that demand as it comes back. THE WHEN AND WHERE From Greggs’ point of view, Amy James echoed what Nick Blake had said, referencing a changing, but combining, dynamic of time of day, location and working patterns (not least from home) with people increasingly likely to pop out at the end of their working from home day, when they had free time, in order to indulge in their OOH treat. Therefore, being able to be more convenient to people as locations change is important. Large city centres and travel hubs had been struggling, she said, but then anything being accessed by cars had been performing well and in demand. People’s ideas about convenience was
18 November 2021 www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk
changing, with the safety element being seen as part of convenience now, she reported – this was still a key, environmental consideration for many, and the nature of the delivery channel associated with it (click and collect, for instance). There had been a marked shift from the meal occasion to the ‘shoulder periods’, which could explain the move to sweet treats, felt Nick Blake, and getting out of the home for the purely breakfast or lunch occasion, and what Amy James termed “more purposeful visits” and “what else do I need while I’m there?” in the form of a ‘mission’ that was bigger than usual and likely involved more people. Marc Faulkner, whose business is located outside of the traditional city centre, said that commuter towns had become characterised by people mostly working from home, with an uptake in order levels accordingly, to which they had adapted quickly. They had removed tables and chairs and focused on takeaway, people having not yet returned to the office, with a greater spend on drinks and snacks.
