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Global Update on Consumer,

Market & Menu Insights

Top Nine Issue 16 | 2024

01 Trending on Social Media This Month

One of the latest trending meals on social media is the Chopped BEC Bagel, which is a combination of meltable cheese, fluffy eggs, and crispy bacon on a fresh bagel. For something more substantial, consumers are raving about marinated pork skewers in a flatbread, accompanied by fries and all the toppings. Next is the expertly seasoned and slow-smoked Memphis-flavoured Baby Back Ribs. With the current fixation on the Olympics in Paris, the famous French dish, Croque Madame, is all over TikTok. Protein-rich breakfast burritos are also trending as being perfect for fulfilling comfort food cravings. Italian classics remain a consumer favourite such as the timeless Carbonara which is Insta-worthy everytime.

02 ChainFEST Comes To NYC

ChainFEST, the world’s largest festival dedicated to chain restaurants, is set to debut in New York City in September. Organized by actor B.J. Novak and chef Tim Hollingsworth, the foodie event will showcase gourmet chef-driven takes on iconic chain restaurant dishes from popular chains like KFC, Panda Express, Red Robin and Portillo's. Attendees can enjoy immersive experiences, live entertainment and experience their favourite brands in all-new ways. The festival aims to celebrate the cultural impact of chain restaurants through a mix of nostalgia and culinary innovation.

03 thefoodpeople's Street Food report

Thefoodpeople’s Street Food 2024 menuwatching report explores the latest flavour and format innovations found across street food markets, pop-ups, trucks, festivals and more. The report highlights the appeal of street food's stripped-back nature, as the restaurant industry faces increasing costs. Bold mashups of different cuisines and formats, like pizzadillas and deep-fried sushi dogs, are becoming popular, alongside crossovers such as Greco-Mex, Italo-Korean and Anglo-Japanese. Chefs are also experimenting with pairing beloved favourites, with indulgent additions such as loaded fries with breaded lasagna bites and Korean fried chicken Caesar salad bao. 

04 Greggs' Pizza Deals & Evening Sales

Greggs experienced a 13.8% increase in sales for the first half of 2024, reaching £960.6 million. This growth was driven by new products, pizza deals, evening sales and 51 new units opened, bringing the total estate to 2,524 locations. The evening day part is growing, ahead of the average like-for-like growth trajectory and delivery sales account for 6.7% versus 5.3% in the first half of 2023. The dedicated pizza deals are driving later trade, including a ‘Late Trade Pizza Deal’ offering a slice of pizza and a cold drink from £2.85 after 4pm and its ‘Pizza Box Deal’, which consists of a new four-slice pizza sharing box from £6.50.

05 Breakfast is Thriving

The breakfast market is thriving, with a significant rise in on-the-go breakfast consumption in the UK, driven by the need for convenience and nutritious options. The demand for functional health benefits is boosting the popularity of gut health, high-protein and HFSS-compliant breakfast items. The boundary between traditional meals and snacks is becoming less distinct, with consumers opting for portable options as opposed to a sit-down occasion. It’s not only in retail and QSRs that breakfast is booming, street food vendors are also capitalizing on morning trends by offering unique, globally inspired dishes. 

06 Meatball Inspiration & Innovation

Meatballs offer versatility and appeal to a wide range of consumers, be it traditional or innovative, simple or complex, bold or subtle, they remain a familiar favourite in an ever-evolving consumer landscape. Globally, we see this staple appearing in various formats like sandwiches or skewers with local seasoning influences. From Italian polpette to Dutch bitterballen, Mexican albondigas to Japanese Tsukune, Vietnamese Xíu Mái to Middle Eastern kofta, and not forgetting the infamous Swedish meatballs. Each type of meatball offers unique characteristics and flavours, presenting opportunities for chefs to bring innovation and inspiration to the table in any setting. Talk to us today about our range of Meat, Meat+, Plant-based and Plant-forward Meatballs. 

07 Sandwich-inspired Crisps

Walkers has introduced three new limited-edition sandwich-inspired flavours. These new flavours are created to complement popular sandwich combinations, including Sausage Sarnie with Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Cheese Toastie with Heinz Baked Beanz, and Roast Chicken with Heinz Mayonnaise. The partnership with Heinz aims to provide retailers with innovative products that appeal to a wide range of consumers. Walkers continues to offer new products, such as HFSS-compliant crisps, new spicy varieties, and plant-based options. The new sandwich-inspired crisps will be available in UK retailers later this month.

08 New Pizza Brand: Slice & Dice

Elangeni Hospitality Group (EHG) will be opening their first Slice & Dice restaurant in Oxford, next to sister brand, Benito’s Mexican. Slice & Dice serves New York-style pizza, as individual slices or a 20” pie. The idea behind the brand was inspired by a trip to Las Vegas by restaurateur Amit Joshi and EHG CEO Michael Pearson, where they realised the extent of pizza-by-the-slice operations. The “dice” is a reference to Las Vegas and the new brand also sells a selection of salads, cheesecakes, cocktails and American beers to round out the customer experience.

09 New Environmental Scoring System

Foundation Earth, a non-profit organization focusing on environmental impact, has been integrated into EIT Food, the world's largest food innovation community, supported by the European Union. This integration aims to develop internationally recognized standards for assessing the environmental impact of food through the International Alliance for Food Impact Data. The Alliance will work on creating standards for environmental scoring, starting with EU policies. This initiative will provide a common standard for companies and supply chains to comply with regulations globally. Foundation Earth's expertise in environmental scoring labelling will contribute to transforming the food industry to meet Net Zero commitments. 

Dawn Farms, The Maudlins, Naas, County Kildare, Ireland

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