Supermarkets Are Offering Meal Kits, Fakeaways and More to Help Recreate the Restaurant Dining Experience at Home
Supermarkets Are Offering Meal Kits, Fakeaways and More to Help Recreate the Restaurant Dining Experience at Home
A combination of high inflation, online delivery and home eating has added yet another constraint in the battle for consumers’ cash. But supermarkets are coming up with offers and ideas to manage this shift from eating out to eating at home.
Lessons from lockdowns
One of the many lessons lockdowns have taught us was that our love for restaurants is true and endearing. When separated from our usual lives by factors outside of our control, we of course missed our family and friends, but a close second factor pulling at our heart strings? Restaurants. We missed the joy of eating food someone else has taken the time and care to prepare and cook. We began to look for ways to recreate our favourite dishes from the comfort of our own homes, including dim sum, bao buns, sushi, pasta and more.
Supermarkets offer solutions
Supermarkets are amping up ranges that pull together solutions to help customers recreate the dining out experience in the home. The offer of having a meal made just for you and served by someone else, even if only for an evening, is one which will never go away. Dining-in offers supermarket users an opportunity to get together with friends, family or colleagues for an informal meal, and can be a good way of looking after those who may struggle to cook for themselves or find it difficult to eat alone.
Looking to the next generation of shoppers
It’s also worth considering what the latest Generation Z shoppers have said about their long-term food preferences. These are people who are now coming of age as consumers and spending their own income on meals; they have quite different attitudes towards food than any earlier generation. Connectedness and convenience play a much bigger part in their decision making than previous generations. There is something happening with younger people’s attitudes towards food in general, and that trend very well may extend into their entertaining habits.
At home dining is the new dining out
These meal kits and enablers for at-home dining can be clearly seen as a response to the popularity of “fakeaway” meal kits. These are restaurant meals that you can make at home, with all the convenience of a kit. All you need to do is add your own protein (or not) and follow the instructions.
Kits by mail
Mail-order meal kits are a great way to enjoy the experience of dining out at home. The kits, which have everything you need to make a complete meal, usually take about 30 minutes to prepare – Mindful Chef arguable the most famous of these providers have set the category bar in many ways. Most have fresh ingredients and sauces, although some may require cooking from scratch.
Supermarket kits
Supermarket chains now offer their own premium range of meal kits which they sell alongside other products in their stores. The kits are often designed to be cooked in one pan, making them quick and easy to prepare. The ingredients are usually pre-chopped and ready to go, so all you need to do is add them to the pan and cook according to the instructions.
A growing market
The meal kit market has been growing, with consumers enticed by the idea of replicating their favourite dishes from familiar or new-found venues at home. Meal kits, such as the Jamie Oliver and Hello Fresh boxes, have had a surge in demand during the pandemic as people look for restaurant-quality food without having to go out. The trend is being driven by a number of factors, including the desire for restaurant-quality meals, inflationary pressures and a close eye on household budgets, and an increased focus on health and wellness, and the need for convenience.
Control over healthier options
Meal kits are a great choice for those who want to eat healthy at home but don’t have time to shop or cook everything from scratch. They’re also great for busy people who never seem to have enough time for themselves. Not only do they make cooking easy—they allow you more time to spend with friends and family while still eating well.
Opportunities for home dining will continue to grow
In the end, these strategies are just one more way supermarkets and retailers are looking to stand out. It’s not hard to see how restaurant DIY kits fit into this picture. They offer the consumer something they want—the restaurant experience at home—and they do it in a way that is convenient and easy to use. For retailers, it’s an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competition and win over new customers. And with the restaurant industry in a state of flux, it’s an opportunity that is likely to continue to grow.
Interested to learn more?
To learn more about fakeaway trends and restaurant DIY offers, and the underlying drivers of this new trend, get in touch with our Head of Client Relationships, Roseanna Evans at roseanna@hra-global.com
