Food and drink SMEs face a new wave of opportunities as home cooking is on the rise amongst shoppers, says a new analysis.
Curated recipe subscriptions are sparking a growing interest in UK shoppers, which also presents financial possibilities for merchants. In fact, the majority (75%) of polled UK shoppers are subscribing to home and drinks services, and 25% of the remaining participants say that they’re “considering” or “likely” to sign up.
Overall, consumers stay signed up to food and drink subscription services for an average of seven months which stands higher than the average of six months for all subscription boxes, suggest new research by Royal Mail.
Some 2,000 of UK shoppers were surveyed in conjunction with a bespoke B2B poll of 53 directors and senior managers including 32 from the retail/FMCG sector and 21 from the healthcare sector.
Health-led food and drink SMEs also have a chance to ‘grab a bite’ of a monetary opportunity, with 6.5% of the surveyed UK shoppers are signed up to recipe box subscriptions. These target health-conscious consumers with a supply of curated ingredients and instructions on how to make a range of dishes. The recipe box and meal kit market is a strong example of the rise in popularity of healthy subscription box schemes.
“Food and drink boxes are very popular in the subscription box economy. In particular, boxes which cater to particular dietary requirements or simply help customers plan healthier meals offer further growth opportunities. Leading players in the market are also extending their offers to include fine dining with gourmet ingredients and other meals, such as breakfast. With the UK’s biggest by far “Feet on the Street” network covering 90.000 postmen and women, Royal Mail is playing a key role in keeping carbon emissions low. The vast majority of subscription items are ‘letterboxable’ and so are ideally suited for on-foot delivery by Royal Mail and do not require a van delivery.”
-a spokesperson from Royal Mail“We are entering a renaissance in food and drink. More and more, consumers are looking for high-quality products whose provenance is clear. At the same time, though, consumers have less time than ever before to seek out high-quality products. And as our lives have changed, so has the British high street: quality, local butchers have gone out of business and we plan our lives around “the weekly shop”, conducted in sprawling supermarkets, which seem a more efficient way of conducting our eating lives. Although this need for convenience means that quality can sometimes take second place.”
-Alessandro Savelli, founder of Pasta Evangelists
Our view: The rise of a health-conscious consumer gives alike food and drink SMEs a chance to mirror their strategies according to their core-audiences’ needs. As I consumer myself when I want to find a healthy option and the time is limited, I’d find it convenient having my meal ingredients delivered to my home. This allows me to see every component that goes into my meal and avoid preservatives-packed pre-made meals.
One Response
It is amazing what you can design to fit through a standard size letter box to keep delivery costs down and make life as convenient as possible for customers. With meal kits (Simply Cook), letterbox shaped wine boxes (see Garcon wines), washing capsules (Smol), Razors (Harry’s Dollar Shave, Corberstone etc), Dental kits (Ordo, Ubersonic etc.) and even chocolate greetings and Christmas cards (Funky Pigeon) we are getting to the point where you don’t need to go pout to the shops and don’t need to be in to take delivery either.
For those out there who like the technical detail the minimum aperture size for a standard UK letter box is 3cm High x23cm wide. If you want to pay Large Letter rates for delivery and make life as convenient as possible for as many customers as possible you need to keep the box size to a maxim of 2.5cm High x23cm Wide.