Food to go on petrol forecourts is outperforming the overall food to go market, and is set to grow by 3.8% in 2019, according to research from MCA Insight & HIM.

The insight is from MCA and HIM’s UK Food To Go Market Report 2019, which was conducted through over 72,000 online consumer surveys, 20,000 face-to-face shopper interviews and analysis of MCA’s market sizing and company tracking databases.

The results look at the key trends affecting food to go (FTG), the competitive landscape, consumer trends, growth opportunities and the outlook for future development.

According to the report, the value of the UK food to go market is set to be worth £21.2bn in 2019, a growth rate of 3.0% on 2018. Within petrol forecourts, the value of food to go is set to grow to £959m in 2019, from £923m in 2018. This gives petrol forecourts about a 5% share of the total food to go market.

Petrol forecourts are combating the growing threat from FTG specialists, despite their improvements to availability, quality and speed of service. In fact, for some time petrol forecourts have been partnering with FTG specialists to drive footfall, for example Euro Garages with Greggs and Subway with Applegreen.

Val Kirillovs, research and insights director at HIM said: “The food to go market is key to the growth of the forecourt sector and this is evident from the results of this report. Greater partnerships with FTG specialists and high volumes of traffic on the road have placed forecourts in the ideal position to maximise the opportunities Food To Go presents.

“Quality of range, value for money and speed of service are key to success for retailers and operators in the FTG space. Across the forecourt sector we have seen wider ranges, hot and cold options and fresh offerings that are made to order. These are some of the catalysts driving growth in food to go. With the overall food to go sector set to grow by £2bn by 2022, there is a sizable growth opportunity for forecourts to go after.”

For more information and to find out how you can access the MCA & HIM UK Food To Go Market Report 2019, is available through MCA’s website.

Topics