Festive ghtback

With last year’s festive season having been subject to lockdown and travel restrictions which hit the hospitality sector hard, customers and food to go retailing operators alike are hoping for a much better time of it this year, but there’s a range of signi cant challenges to contend with, and the government’s ‘Plan B’ still represents the possibility of further lockdowns.

New data has shown that the UK started preparing for Christmas signi cantly earlier than usual this year. People began researching their Christmas purchases online as early as mid-July, a good ve to six weeks ahead of the traditional uptick in seasonal interest identi ed in previous years.

During the period 31 July to 21 October 2021, online searches for ‘Christmas turkey’ almost doubled (up 88%) compared to the same period in 2020, a signal both of earlier and increased interest, triggered by headlines warning of severe shortages. Searches for ‘frozen turkey crown’ jumped 294% while ‘vegetarian Christmas dinner’ was up 210% and ‘vegan Christmas dinner’ up by 150%. And as for what people do with those birds… Searches for ‘turkey cook time’ went up a colossal 2,300% compared to the same period last year.

Clothing was another area that has seen a huge jump in online interest over the same period, as people get ready for a Christmas they may once again spend with friends and family. Searches for ‘Christmas dresses for women’ jumped a massive 628% compared to 2020, while ‘Christmas jumpers’ was up by 69%.

This analysis was carried out by online search expert MediaVision, using its proprietary Digital Demand Tracker tool that analyses search data from AdWords and Google Trends. It also found that searches during 31 July to 21 October for ‘Christmas cards’ were up 14% (with ‘Dogs Trust Christmas cards’ up a colossal 968%) and ‘Christmas decorations’ searches rising by a quarter (27%). Searches for ‘Christmas trees’ were up 10% and ‘outdoor Christmas lights’ went up by 37%. The nation’s love a air with man’s best friend shows no sign of abating with searches for ‘dog Christmas gift’ up 196% and ‘Christmas dog toys’ up a massive 275%, they found.

Meanwhile, searches for ‘advent calendars’ were up by 17% - while speci c searches for ‘Hotel Chocolat advent calendar’ more than tripled (up 214%), signalling the rise in popularity of food-related advent calendars and chocolate in particular.

An increasingly seasonal popular xture is the Christmas market and after the disappointment of seeing many of them cancelled last year, searches were found to be up across the board. Leading the pack was ‘Bath Christmas market’, up 290% on last year and with more search results than any other named market. Vienna came next, following by Prague, London, Edinburgh and York in the online popularity stakes, the researchers found.

Louis Venter, CEO at MediaVision, comments: “Our analysis of the numbers shows that the UK started thinking about Christmas this year a lot earlier than in 2020 and with more intent, both of which drove online search volumes. There’s no doubt this has been driven in part by the news stories about HGV driver shortages and emptying supermarket shelves.

“Unlike 2020, when Christmas was cancelled for many families, this year is a chance to once again go out and visit friends and family. It looks like a lot of the country is leaving nothing to chance and started its Christmas preparations and shopping earlier than ever and with greater enthusiasm.”

With people once again able to go out and socialise in the run-up to Christmas, the data also showed that many are keen to plan their Christmas parties earlier than ever - ‘O ce Christmas Party’ searches were not surprisingly up 275% compared to the same period in 2020, ‘Secret Santa’ was up by 126% and searches for ‘Christmas party food’ jumped by up 147%.

However, the October 2021 Shopper Con dence Index, from IGD’s

H. Smith Food Group plc 24 Easter Industrial Park Ferry Lane South Rainham RM13 9BP

ShopperVista - which provides category, insight and commercial professionals with trusted shopper insights – has fallen to its second lowest level since it was rst measured, and following a decline seen in ve out of the last six months, they report.

Concerns around food price in ation are at elevated levels; 84% of shoppers expect food and grocery prices to increase in the year ahead and a record 28% expect them to get “much more” expensive, the researchers found.

Their October 2021 results revealed that shopper con dence fell to -11 versus -9 in September. Overall nancial con dence has declined with 34% of shoppers expecting to be worse o in the year ahead, up 3% on last month. Con dence has declined across all income groups but particularly amongst lower income households.

Highlights of the report included the fact that shoppers are increasingly focusing on saving money; 26% (versus 11% April ’21) expect to focus more on saving money in the year ahead, which is the highest level recorded in six years. Shopper con dence is declining across most age groups, but particularly amongst 25-34s and 45+, and more high-income households believe they will be worse o (31%), than better o (20%) in the year ahead. Lower income households are increasingly believing they will be worse o in the year ahead with 43% expecting to be worse o in the next 12 months, compared to 26% in August.

“It comes as no surprise that shopper con dence has decreased once again, following the steady decline we’ve seen in recent months. It paints a bleak picture for the winter and shoppers will remain highly sensitive to price rises and news relating to availability. With labour supply stretched thin and declining con dence, the Christmas trading period is likely to be a challenging time,” says Simon Wainwright, director of Global Insight at IGD.

“This further decline in con dence comes at a time when the O ce for Budget Responsibility predicts that growth of household incomes, after taking account of in ation, will e ectively stall over the next two years.

“While some households will look for ways to trade-up this Christmas to compensate missing out on last year, ‘savvy shopping’ will become increasingly prevalent. People will shop around to get the best deals and private label products will grow in popularity. Value will be top of shoppers’ minds for the foreseeable future.”

Sta ng and supply chain issues are the main challenges ahead of perhaps the most critical Christmas ever with one in ve hospitality businesses predicting a stressful and challenging Christmas period due to the combined impact of Covid and Brexit.

As the festive season edges ever closer, the next few weeks have never been more important to the hospitality sector as a whole as it looks to maximise the most business-critical Christmas ever.

Ordamo (www.ordamo.com) - which o ers a way of helping out with sta ng issues via its digital order and pay technology systems - decided to survey the sector to gauge the impact of some of the sizeable challenges currently facing the industry (the survey was of 395 hospitality professionals and was undertaken between 18-22 October 2021). In the run up to Christmas, almost a quarter of people working in hospitality (23% of respondents) said that they are worried about what the festive season holds, with one in every 33 (3%) saying it’s causing them to lose sleep. The study by Ordamo (who say they are champions of technology as a facilitator of more e cient customer service), also found that over a third (39.2%) are more optimistic and excited for what’s set to be the busiest business period for the sector for almost two years. One in every 20 (4.8%) hospitality industry professionals are anticipating a loss-making Christmas, with almost a quarter (22.8%) saying they believe they’ll see takings of less than previous festive seasons. Meanwhile, one in three (36.5%) think they’ll see similar to usual levels of business and just over a third (35.5%) are predicting a better than usual festive period this year. “The hospitality sector has taken such a huge battering over the past 20 months, we felt it important to reach out a helpful hand. It’s no surprise that sta ng is currently causing the most worry and in speaking to so many of our clients and contacts, it is clear what an impact it is having on people’s stress levels,” says Rupert Gutteridge, Ordamo CEO. “Hospitality is a people business after all and we feel a responsibility, as a team with such close ties to the sector, to give the professionals in this space a voice. This ensures that the real issues that teams are facing are used to develop the essential technology solutions to ensure smooth running of day-to-day business as well as enabling growth.” Jane Pendlebury, HOSPA CEO, adds: “The forthcoming festive season is much anticipated by the hospitality industry having e ectively missed out on it last year. However, sta ng issues are having a major impact. Industries across the country are struggling to recruit the necessary numbers and hospitality is one of the foremost amongst those. “The knock-on e ect of being understa ed is enormous, with disappointed guests leading to reputational issues, while overstretched sta struggling to hold the fort

can lead to burnout, running the risk of yet more people leaving the industry. We’re still very much hopeful of a successful Christmas period but with many pressures bearing down on the industry – not to mention the supply chain issues – it’s certainly a nervous time.” Lee Skinner, CEO at award-winning, interactive Asian fusion food operator, Inamo, says: “Everyone knows it’s been such a tough time for the hospitality sector over the past couple of years. At Inamo we’ve been in the business of introducing and harnessing technology to improve guest experience and pro tability since our inception, and never has that concept been more valuable for our sector as a whole.

“Our technology systems have been fundamental in supporting our positive results. This platform enables us to dynamically alter menus and pricing to smooth over supply chain issues and changing market conditions, resulting in less stress for our team, especially ahead of what can already be a chaotic period.”

In other ndings from their survey, Ordamo found that one in nine (11.7%) cite Brexit as having the biggest impact on business recently, with over three quarters (76.9%) naming Covid as having had the most signi cant impact. When it comes to most common areas of business concern for those in hospitality, sta ng, the supply chain and customer service are the three most cited (by 61.2%, 47.2% and 18.6% of respondents respectively).

For this Christmas, Simply Lunch have announced the launch of six brand new festive products (main picture) as part of their ‘Give the planet a gift this Christmas’ campaign (which started on the 5 November 2021).

The message of their campaign is to encourage consumers to purchase their new Vegan Boxing Day Sandwich and in return Simply Lunch will be planting a much-needed tree on their behalf.

The campaign comes as an attempt to combat the continuing global warming crisis that the planet is facing, say the company, who add that the planting of trees absorbs carbon dioxide which in turn aids in the reduction of global warming. Providing customers with delicious and sustainable food is one of the main goals at Simply Lunch and this campaign focuses on just that, they emphasise. Their festive range this year boasts traditional Christmas avours such as turkey, brie, pulled pork, sage, onion, and cranberry sauce, but also caters for everyone with the addition of the Vegan Boxing Day Sandwich. Their much-anticipated line-up for this year’s festivities comes in the form of two hot eats (Turkey Ciabatta and Brie & Cranberry Croque) and four cold eats (Hog Roast Sandwich, Ultimate Festive Feast, Vegan Boxing Day Sandwich and Turkey Mayonnaise Sandwich). The lead product for this year’s campaign is the Vegan Boxing Day Sandwich which is lled with scrumptious vegan chicken style pieces, a Christmas favourite, sage and onion stu ng, coleslaw, and fruity cranberry sauce bringing it all together on some soft poppy seed bread, say the company. It meets the growing trend in vegan food whilst o ering traditional avours, textures, and sense of indulgence, but without the turkey, point out the company, and this sandwich will be a staple in the diet of any vegan looking for that festive food to fuel their hunger on the go this winter, they suggest (Simply Lunch’s Christmas range will remain available right up until 27 December 2021).

Country Choice has announced that it will be o ering a range of delicious sweet and savoury food aimed at delighting consumers heading to their local convenience store this Christmas.

New to the Christmas confectionery range are Festive Friends Reindeer and Polar Bear biscuits, Gingerbread Reindeer, White Chocolate Orange Funtime Donuts, which join established favourites such as Gingerbread Mu ns, Chocolate Mallow Puddings, Snowman Cupcakes, Christmas Jammy Shortcakes, Chocolate Yule Log, and Crumble Topped Mince Pie.

Their savoury pastries feature a new Brie and Cranberry Turnover, a Turkey, Stu ng, Cranberry and Ham Bake, a Chicken and Stu ng Bake, and Steak and Cheese bar. The company is also o ering two bite-sized savoury options in the form of Sausage Rolls and Cheese and Onion Rolls, and their Christmas sweet pastry selection includes a Cranberry twist and new, ready to bake, Mulled Fruit Lattice.

As you might also expect, there is also an extensive range of mince pies to cater for all requirements, including ready to bake Mince Pies, thaw and serve Shortcrust Mince Pies, Luxury Mince Pies, Catering Mince Pies, Mini Mince Pies and Wrights Shallow Mince Pie.

For those retailers who want to provide a taste of Christmas ‘on the go’ there is a Turkey, Stu ng and Cranberry sandwich lling to enable them to give their food-to-go o er a festive twist, say Country Choice, and last, but by no means least, there is a selection of gluten free options - including Mince Pies, Iced Fruit Cakes and Chocolate Orange Tarts - to ensure that retailers have something for everyone this Christmas.

We produce a great range of Hams from our slow maturing British Wiltshire, to our tender Farmhouse and Famous Kent Honey Baked Ham. We also have a range of premium hams, 100% no added water and 80% classic hams all natural full muscle.

A popular solution for a perfect fi t sandwich, and ideal for cheese and ham toasties, is our sliced square ham.

We produce a great range of Cooked Beef, we use quality Beef to produce our fl avoursome and succulent Cooked Silverside, Salt Beef and Peppered Pastrami.

Turkey New honey roast cooked turkey saddle, from whole and half 100% turkey breasts, expertly prepared and cooked slow and low.