As 2021 comes to a close, Lumina has announced what they believe will be the top 3 megatrends to shape 2022 and beyond. As a leading food and drink agency we wanted to hear the latest from this trusted insight specialist, so without further ado, here we go…
The UK obesity crisis is costing the NHS £6bn a year, so in July 2020 the government launched its strategy to tackle obesity. Part of this strategy is to stem the rise in children living with obesity, and with 80 % of all food advertising expenditure in children’s airtime on terrestrial channels focused on HFSS foods, the promotion of such products has become a focal point.
There’s been a nice rumbling around the office in recent weeks. A new energy and excitement that comes from one thing only – live events. As we’ve gone through September, the office has been full of colleagues planning events, attending functions and swapping stories.
As a proud Hospitality Action Ambassador, I thought I knew all there was to know about Hospitality Action, but in the inaugural Ambassadors Briefing even I came away having learnt a thing or two.
Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain and chair of the National Food Strategy, was commissioned by government to execute an independent review on how to achieve a sustainable and fair food system. The terrible health crisis that took over the world in 2020 has shown with alarming clarity the damage being done to our health by the modern food system. Diet related illness is one of the top three risk factors for dying of Covid-19 and has cemented the need for the UK government and businesses to take bold action and revamp its National Food Strategy Plan.
Along with the disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us – including myself – have had our own disasters in the kitchen (Let’s not talk about the time I tried to make mozzarella sticks with Babybels). With all the free time we’ve had, many of us have turned out attention to the kitchen and thought…’let’s try and learn some new cooking skills.’
The pandemic has already had many far-reaching repercussions and will undoubtedly continue to shake up the landscape of the foodservice industry as we know it. Yet one positive we can take is the increased uptake of new technology which is estimated to have been accelerated by three to four years in a few short months.¹
It’s been a long road, but despite the threat of a third wave, the roll out of vaccinations does mean there is light at the end of the tunnel for the hospitality sector, which has been devastated by the past 16 months. 2020 saw 11 weeks of normal trading and 41 weeks of restrictions, not to mention the joys of Brexit uncertainty. This led to a total market decline of -47.8%, with an outlet percentage decline of 1.2% in 2020. However, as we head towards the second half of 2021 hopefully things are looking up.
It is estimated that almost 1 in 5 people in the UK suffer from an allergy and that 10 deaths a year are caused by people not knowing what ingredients are in the food they are eating. In the wake of the death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse from an allergic reaction and her parents subsequent lobbying, new legislation is being introduced to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence when buying pre-packaged food.
On the 17th May we were finally allowed to dine-in in British pubs and restaurants. No more hunkering under heaters or shielding our plates from hail stones – Hurrah! As foodies through-and-through the bean team were delighted to be able to finally eat inside and enjoy some old favourites and even try some new experiences.
Here at jellybean we pride ourselves on our ability to offer clients our expertise across a vast number of specialist subjects. With 25 beans across five divisions, there’s scope to have our fingers in lots of pies and hone our crafts at the same time. Whilst some of us get giddy with excitement at the thought of planning a face to face press launch, others get their kicks from activating shopper marketing solutions, creating video animations and even getting to the heart of a brand with a complete redesign and repositioning project. We’re a close-knit bunch of beans – thanks Microsoft Teams for helping us keep it that way during the past year – and as well as sharing gossip from our out of office lives we make it a priority to regularly share our professional learnings, latest insights, new tools and platforms which we and our clients would benefit from knowing about.
As a leading food and drink agency we make sure we stay ahead of the game when it comes to the latest foodie trends. So we always look forward to see what trends The Food People predict will be shaping menus and shopping baskets. We may be nearly half way through 2021, but with a rather stuttering start to the year due to Covid, now seems as good a time as any to take a look at what they are tipping to be the next big foodie trends. So, here we go…
There are currently over 10,000 fish & chip shops in the UK with a market value estimated at a staggering £1.2bn. They serve around 382 million meals a year of which 167 million are just fish & chips. That’s six servings for everyone in the UK. In fact, 80% of people visit at least once a year and 22% of people visit every week! Whether enjoyed on a harbour-side dodging pesky seagulls, or impatiently snaffled from under the paper on the way home – it’s fair to say Brits love fish & chips, especially when covered in salt & vinegar.
In April last year we sadly lost a convenience retail legend and all-round top bloke Raj Aggarwal who was taken all too soon by Covid 19. He was just 51. The following day Raj’s father also sadly died.
Thank you to #AskArena for another fascinating virtual event, discussing the road to recovery for Wholesale. Here are some of my take outs from the session:
Hosted by Public Sector Catering Magazine, as part of their PS100 Club, this webinar focused on how the public sector can ensure the government listen when it comes to key issues around public sector catering, food and farming.
The second session of the Lumina Food Strategy Forum focused on a more informal panel discussion around some of the key topics around reopening hospitality with Vita Mojo, MCA & Lumina. Here are our top take-outs:
As the leading foodservice agency, we are proud members of the Lumina Food Strategy Forum, and as such regularly attend their insight debriefs to ensure we are up-to-the-minute when it comes to foodservice trends. The first of two sessions this week looked at the post lockdown landscape in the wake of Covid and how both industry and consumer behaviour will be affected moving forward with a specific look at the restaurant sector.
The MCA Restaurant Conference is always a great event, and despite the current times, this year was no exception. Indeed, more than ever there feels a real need for the industry to come together to share learnings and insights in order to help navigate the choppy seas ahead. As most are currently closed or operating only take-away or delivery boxes, I suspect the virtual conference attracted even more attendees than in normal times. The line-up featured a who’s who of the restaurant world and tackled head-on the current issues and concerns about the future. As a leading foodservice agency, we were there to hear the latest, from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
It is unquestionable that hospitality and foodservice are amongst the industries that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Yet many pubs, restaurants and cafes have adjusted with an ‘adapt or die’ mentality of gritty determination that has seen them through two lockdowns and everything in between.
