Packaging considerations:
Catering to the rising hot
food-to-go movement
By Andrew Grimbaldeston, The recent announcement from Greggs
Commercial Director for Colpac that 1 in 4 of the bakery giant’s stores
will now be opening for longer and
According to research, the UK’s food-to- selling a range of hot take-away options
go sector is set to grow at twice the rate is testament to the rising number of
of overall grocery retail to £22.8bn by consumers reaching for hot food-to-
2023, up from £17.8bn in 2018.* go alternatives. It also signifies the
emergence of hot food-to-go being
The booming sector is fuelling today’s popular throughout the entire day,
busy lives and it isn’t just limited to rather than just a lunchtime option.
lunchtime take out. Consumers want
food-to-go at all hours of the day PACKAGING SOLUTIONS TO SATISFY
and the pressure is on retailers and HFTG APPETITES
foodservice operators to innovate their For some time, retailers and food service
offerings. operators have been catering to the
burgeoning food-to-go market, creating
Central to this growth is the rising a multitude of innovative dishes and
demand for ‘hot’ food-to-go (HFTG) flavours to appeal to the customer.
with 45% of food-to-go shoppers now
However, given that hot food-to-go
demanding a larger range of hot dishes are increasing their hot food-to-go to take-away.** offering and duplicate hot deli counters with an average basket value of £5.61,
are popping up which not only cater compared with £4.73 for chilled food
No longer the sole domain of street to the growing demand, but create a to go,*** dishes have had to become
food vendors and take-away outlets, simple, cost effective way to attract new increasingly sophisticated.
major restaurant brands and chains shoppers and increase basket spend.
18 FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk
tends to be more valuable to retailers,