10 fast facts on UK food & drink consumer trends

The UK’s food and drink industry is a fast-moving and dynamic market, driven by both the economics of market forces, and the shifting demands of consumer taste. Here’s what you need to know.

1. The UK food & drink industry is set to reach annual sales of £111 billion. This is made up of £60.1bn in grocery shopping, £24.3bn eating out, and a further £26.5bn spent on takeaways and deliveries.
2. The UK’s weekly household grocery spending has risen 7.7% since the Office for National Statistics last published survey in March 2016, from £56.80 a week to £61.14.
3. 21% of consumers have already switched from their favourite grocery brands due to price rises. However 28% of shoppers will accept a 10% price rise in order to keep buying the brands they love.
4. The traditional supermarket weekly shop retains its hold; 50% visit stores, 14% go online and 36% spend sporadically on an ‘as needed’ basis with different grocers.
5. 22% of consumers say they are actively considering switching to AmazonFresh; although a third were not aware of the offering and 15% had no intention of using it.
6. Although 27% of consumers never eat out, an easy-to-order takeaway beats all other forms of convenience food; 59% order takeaways once a week, 17% order twice
7. Nationwide, 56% will go elsewhere if a takeaway is unable to deliver, rising to 61% for millennials, representing a huge (£15 billion) opportunity still remaining for delivery start-ups.
8. 41% of Brits typically eating lunch at their desks.
9. The Mojito came out on top as the cocktail most Brits are able to make without needing to look up the recipe.
10. 31% of those surveyed said they could make all manner of exotic cocktails with no recipe, but only 23% were able to correctly identify a bulb of fennel.

Download the full 59-page food and drink consumer trends report here.