Food to Go Market Trends UK: What Brands Need to Know in 2026

Consumer confidence has been stuck between -23 and -17 since the summer of 2024. Job security worries are growing. And yet the UK food to go market has not just held its ground. It has grown.

That is the headline finding from Lumina Intelligence’s brand-new Food to Go Report. Penetration is up year on year. Visit frequency is up. Food to go now accounts for nearly 24% of all eating and drinking out occasions in the UK. The resilience is real. But the shifts beneath it are where the real story is.

The market is growing, driven by office return and 25 to 34s

Lumina Intelligence forecasts food to go growth of around 3.4% for 2026, easing slightly in subsequent years. The return to office is the biggest tailwind. Monday is now a genuine food to go occasion, up one percentage point in occasion share year on year. London is leading, with food to go share running nearly 20 percentage points above the regional average.

The 25 to 34 age group is driving the growth. Higher disposable incomes, greater appetite for experimentation, and an increasing preference for solo occasions. Me time, with good food. Travel is the subchannel to watch most closely, with forecourts and service stations evolving into genuine destination hubs. Brunch is also worth noting: it has seen significant growth over the past two years and is no longer a weekend-only occasion, with creative and health-led options pulling it into weekday visits.

Quality has overtaken value. For the first time.

Write this one down. For the first time in Lumina Intelligence’s tracking, quality is the primary driver of food to go decisions. 78% of eating and drinking out consumers are quality-led, up 5.7 percentage points over two years. 74% remain value-led. Both are high. But the direction is clear.

Brand trust and health credentials are rising fast alongside quality. Convenience alone no longer cuts it. Pret’s new £7 meal deal shows how to play this: sitting just above the supermarket £5 price point, standing for quality, brand and health, and taking on the grocery threat directly. For food and drink brands, the foodservice narrative needs to follow the same logic. Quality ingredients, provenance, trust. These are what move purchasing decisions now.

Fibre is about to become the dominant functional claim

Protein is settled. Fibre is next. It has already overtaken omega-3s and collagen as the top desired functional claim among UK consumers, and Lumina Intelligence expects it to become the dominant claim on packaging and menus in the coming years. On TikTok, “fibre maxing” content has clocked over 150 million views.

Two things are accelerating this. Around 5% of UK consumers are already using GLP-1 appetite-suppressant medications, with a further 10% considering them. Smaller, more nutrient-dense, higher-fibre portions are becoming a genuine product requirement. M&S Simply Food and Itsu are already responding. Alongside this, 52% of UK consumers now view ultra-processed food less favourably than before.

Three growth drivers operators are building around right now

Customisation. The number of customisable items across QSR, sandwich shops and coffee chains has risen sharply. Wagamama’s 2025 menu put build-your-own at its centre. Their kids’ bento boxes allow upwards of 1,000 possible combinations. Domino’s Chick ‘n Dip concept pairs three chicken options with nine globally inspired dips. Mix and match, perceived premium, no significant cost increase.

Texture in drinks and desserts. Operators are using drinks to satisfy the treat impulse, which still accounts for 13% of food to go occasions. Starbucks is leaning into velvety foams and creamy mousses. McDonald’s launched a donut crumble latte. Black Sheep Coffee has gone with a pancake syrup bladder. Dessert in a cup.

Global flavours. This leads menu NPD trends in Q1 2026. The aim is to reframe an everyday sandwich or wrap from a functional transaction into a discovery. Tortilla partnered with Tubby Tom’s on a pork belly LTO. Manchester’s House of Social puts Punjabi, Chinese and Mexican alongside burgers and pizza. High social buzz, new customers, incremental spend.

What does this mean for your brand?

The food to go market is still a great opportunity, outperforming the wider foodservice market, but it is becoming more selective. Operators are under margin pressure and consumer expectations have moved on. The brands most likely to win in this space are those arriving with a clear story around quality, health credentials, global flavour and customisation.

At jellybean, we have been helping food and drink brands cut through in foodservice for nearly four decades. If this data raises questions about where your brand sits, or how your foodservice marketing strategy needs to evolve for 2026, get in touch. We would be glad to talk it through.

Source: Lumina Intelligence Food to Go Report 2025/2026 For more information click here.