There have been unprecedented levels of grocery spending in recent weeks, including the highest ever single week of sales ever recorded. Our consumption expert, Gren Wall, uncovers what this means for what we're actually eating in the home.
What goes up...
In line with the saying ‘what goes up, must come down', after the spike in grocery sales as the country prepared for lockdown, we've started to see sales levelling out and a corresponding rise in food and drink consumed in the home.
On the minds of many manufacturers and retailers will be how to forecast demand and replenishment both during and after the current period of home confinement. Put simply, what will ‘the new normal’ shopper purchasing look like? What will demand look like once lockdown is lifted?
Changing consumption in lockdown
Taking a look at current consumer demand, what can we learn from this to provide an evidence-based answer some of these questions? We know that out of home occasions will shift in-home, but what's the magnitude of this shift?
We estimate just over 500 million more meals will be eaten in the home every week now that we're eating fewer meals at work, in cafes and restaurants, or on the move.
Lunching al-desko sparks demand
The majority of these 500 million meals are lunches and snacks. This will mean more demand for many categories, not least for the ingredients required for the 50 million more sandwiches that will be eaten at lunchtime every week, and 12 million more everyday biscuits eaten as snacks, often alongside a hot cup of tea or coffee.
We also expect to see an increase of 9% in breakfasts eaten at home - despite most already being eaten at home - and evening meals to rise by 23%.
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