Food and drink reporT - 'In a world of endless options, the majority feel the need to reimpose boundaries when it comes to family life' - Waitrose
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The
Food and
Drink Report
‘In a world of endless
options, the majority
feel the need to reimpose
boundaries when it
comes to family life’
2| waitrose.com | The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 | waitrose.com |3
2015: what
TRENDS
Going Up
What was in
1. Overwhelmed by choice
we eat now
Today’s ‘open all hours’ culture means that However, our new research has uncovered a fascinating
favour in 2015
FOOD In a world where we can have it all, people are choosing
to redefine their options in an attempt to reclaim control
number crunch
Little waitrose sales are
phenomenon. In this ‘open all hours’ culture, two-thirds of us up 25% as people simplify
traditional ways of doing things are disappearing say we feel overwhelmed by the proliferation of choice
Avocado
UK sales have risen by 24% this In modern life we are bamboozled by options. Thanks to ‘Reimposing boundaries is about their shopping habits and
fast. Latest research from Waitrose has identified available. In a world of countless options, the majority feel year (Nielsen) – and our juice technology, we can connect with everyone, check websites, wanting to retain the essence of opt for convenience
six key trends, with households imposing new the need to reimpose boundaries when it comes to family life. listen to any song or buy any product we want at the swipe family life. People are social
60%
bars recently started selling
Whether it’s having weekly screen-free evenings, a ‘no gadgets avocado smoothies of a screen. As barriers that once limited our behaviour have animals and what they’re saying
boundaries in family life as they navigate at the table’ rule or living by self-imposed health regimes, fallen, we have never had so many options open to us. is: “This is family time for us to
this sea of unlimited choice people are setting their own definable parameters for living. Pre-chopped As a result, life has never been more flexible and informal. connect. If you have a gadget at of
It is their way of navigating this sea of unlimited choice. Six in 10 of us say the amount of choice has increased over the table you’re connecting with
Technology is, of course, the great enabler of our times.
frozen fruit
the past five years. However, almost two-thirds admit to other people instead of family” ’
people have noted
The juicing trend has seen sales
But it seems that in the face of rapid change, people are of these convenient packs soar feeling challenged by it. And, curiously, it’s youngsters aged Clare Gough, waitrose Head of there are more
choosing to limit their personal bandwidth. Our research between 18 and 24, who you might think would be open to Customer Insight choices available
suggests that we all, on occasion, need time to buffer, switch
Bone broth
change, who feel this pressure the most.
‘We launched Pick Your Own to them than
off or recharge. In this report, we outline six key boundaries So how do we cope? According to our research, 65% of
that have evolved and look at how people are, in different This rich, yet healthy flavourful
people say they reimpose boundaries at home to introduce
Offers in June. Customers choose there were
reduction is making its way 10 products they’d like to save five years
ways, replacing them with new ones. control in an age when we can have it all. Of those who do this,
onto trendy restaurant menus money on every time they shop
As society changes, so does the nature of shopping. It is
more informal and flexible than ever before. High streets
six in 10 families ban gadgets at the table and over half make
sure they eat together as a family at certain times, either
at Waitrose. People tell us they
appreciate having fewer decisions
ago
22.5% of the
are seeing significant changes: today you can get a panini Marshmallows informally at home or dining out. Three in 10 families agree but population have
to make – and like knowing their bought a chilled meal
in a newsagent, a newspaper in a coffee shop, have a sit-down Marshmallow recipe downloads to turn devices off for a fixed period before they go to bed.
favourites will always be on
64%
meal in a supermarket and buy your dinner in a petrol have risen by 300% on There is a generational difference between the rules deal this year*
waitrose.com
promotion. So far more than
station. It can be overwhelming. It’s our job at Waitrose to parents choose to enforce, with 74% of parents aged 45-54
850,000 have signed up’ meal deals always
reflect these shifting sands. We carefully curate and develop insisting on no gadgets at the table, compared to 45% of
our products, shops and services to meet the changing Cauliflower parents aged 18-24. Meanwhile, one in seven families arrange
Leigh Rengger, Head of Customer Loyalty say experience a spike in
needs of our customers – wherever, whenever and however Whizzed up in a food processor, one night a week when the children do no organised activity. they always or sales for top TV nights
in – we’re talking the
they wish to shop. We do all this without compromising on cauliflower is increasingly used The rise of the activity-free day or ‘Nothing Tuesday’ culture occasionally feel finals of Strictly or
quality; all food is not equal and the old adage ‘you get what as a healthy substitute for rice perhaps best reflects how we respond to life’s pressures.
you pay for’ still holds true. Old patterns may be vanishing, or even pizza bases
overwhelmed by the X Factor, or big
our enduring values are not. this choice sports events
Almond milk What they’re saying dfam
iryily Of these:
T
Sales at Waitrose have
frmee
hink about life in the second half of the 20th overtaken soya milk for the ‘We’re now seeing some al
century. Households tended to do a weekly food first time restaurants offer a no-choice two-thirds feel the need
or very limited menu with just g to reimpose boundaries
grazin
shop, they watched one of just a handful of TV
channels, they ate together and they connected three or four options per course
Courgettes focused on seasonal ingredients. jtuvndkin around the home
with friends via landline telephone or letter. Seems almost
quaint, doesn’t it?
The spiralizer craze to turn this
The simplified choice can be
fo
noerd
staple vegetable into ‘courgetti’ How do they do this?
By contrast, life in 2015 is an endless stream of information
and interactions. We can watch any TV show or listen to any
has boosted sales
very attractive to diners happy to
put their faith in the Head Chef’ 57%
song that we want to at the touch of a button. We can buy ‘As society changes, Elizabeth Carter, gluten free
takeaway No gadgets
11%
anything online 24/7. We eat more ‘on the go’. And, due to
social media, emails and texts, we can connect with friends
so does the nature of Saganaki KEFALOTYRI
A rival to halloumi, this lenogdoieut
pati
ea t
at the table
30% Screen-free
shopping. It is more Turn screens nights
and family every waking minute. Today, we are constantly
‘on’. Those old boundaries that existed have, by and large, gone informal and flexible
Greek cheese is delicious
flambéed or fried
‘On Tuesdays we have a
“nothing day”, and the kids 5:2 d5i : 55% Eat off at a
14%
the way of the cathode ray TV: into the dustbin of history. look forward to it’ e2t together as fixed time
Activity-free
than ever before’ Chia Elaine, 43, IT consultant and mother of a family on before bed
night once
This healthy, flowering member three, Harrogate certain a week
Mark Price, managing director nights
of the mint family is grown for
*Kantar Worldpanel
its seeds. Sprinkle over
porridge and smoothies
The facts and figures Rapeseed oil
Has overtaken olive oil as the
fastest-selling oil in the UK*
News bites
Waitrose carried out research – a further All figures are Also featured in January gin, up 29%. Sales of Chase English
February
extensive research into 2,000 people of all compared to
the year’s top food ages were polled on the same period
this report… Cavolo Nero New Year’s Day
Vodka, made from Herefordshire
Valentine’s Day
trends in summer 2015. an extensive range of the previous
Black kale… grown in Tuscany, 1 While Prosecco still ranks as potatoes, are up 28%. 14 Say it with bubbles.
loved in the UK On the table, oysters are up in
We conducted a series food-related topics. year, unless p6: Dunk your way around the fizz of choice to bring in the Champagne and fizz make up
sales by 78%! And not forgetting
of focus groups, asking Our research supports otherwise stated. the UK: biscuit trends New Year, outselling Champagne seven of the 10 bestselling lines in
Burns Night: extra helpings of
people from all over insights from Waitrose’s across the nation by 1.7 bottles to one, local is clearly the week leading up to the big day.
coconut neeps and tatties means sales
the country about retail and food experts, this year’s buzz word. Sales of Source: Waitrose Cellar
A big hit with clean-living of swedes get a boost.
their shopping, eating as well as our sales p11: Shopping all over the Nyetimber Classic Cuvée sparkling
advocates, coconut-related
and cooking habits data and internal For further world: what Waitrose is wine – all the way from the South March Fairtrade
products fly off the shelves 23 Fortnight
*Kantar Worldpanel
(and how they interact customer research. information, exporting and to where Downs – are up 173%, while the
with family members and please contact King’s Ginger liqueur (try it with As the nation relishes the
Getty Images
Getty Images
flatmates in the kitchen!) the Waitrose p12: Our favourite drinks: kimchi tonic) is up 36%. Other homegrown Burns Night prospect of two weeks of feelgood
over the past year. This Press Office on what we’ve been imbibing This fermented Korean spirits proving popular include bonanza indulgence, sales of Green &
pickle is spicing up kitchens Nyetimber – Swedes up
was followed up with 01344 825 080 in 2015 Scotch malt whisky, up 26%; Black’s chocolate are up 175%.
widespread consumer
across the UK
blended Scotch, up 21%; and
Classic
Cuvée – up 9%
173%
4| waitrose.com | The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 | waitrose.com |5
TRENDS
2. Setting our own health boundaries What’s the a world of information at your fingertips
But less sugar doesn’t
mean a compromise on
story with flavour. When we reduced
sugar? the sugar in the jam in our Websites, bloggers and social media are playing an enormous role in
Eight in 10 of us don’t like being told what is healthy and what isn’t. Instead, we The changing habits
pastry range, the clean informing people about healthy eating choices
strawberry and raspberry
seek out information and set our own rules when it comes to healthy living of shoppers show flavours really shone.
that people still crave Overall, customers are as the wellness
something sweet, but sensible when it comes to sensation goes
Is butter bad for us or healthy eaten in moderation? Should What they’re saying number crunch sugar. Increasingly, they mainstream,
they’re making clever Avocado is the
we stop drinking red wine or does the odd glass help lower want a taste of something most pinned food Waitrose virgin
our blood pressure? Not a day seems to go by when we aren’t ‘The request “One dessert, choices to reduce their sweet without over-indulging.
91%
on Pinterest in the cold pressed
given some sort of health advice. two spoons” is now overall sugar intake For example, sales of mini UK, while roasted coconut oil hits
However, a staggering 80% of us say we don’t usually trust commonplace in restaurants’ ice creams have grown by tomato and the shelves
Of people More than a third of people
the advice we receive. Years of claims and counterclaims Elizabeth Carter, editor of the Waitrose 21% this year. avocado toast
36%
Good Food Guide believe in the saying who have set themselves
from specialists have left people tired of being told what to In response to demand for is the fourth most
do. Instead, 60% of people set their own boundaries when it ‘Everything in targets to become healthier
this year have done so by
convenient healthy options, watched recipe on
comes to healthy eating and drinking. Rather than slavishly
following what we’re told, we self-regulate and cross-check
‘We know people don’t want to
be told what to do, so instead we cutting down
moderation’ cutting down on sugar. ‘It’s
we’re introducing packs of
chopped frozen fruit and
the Waitrose TV
almost as if sugar is the new channel on
facts with friends or trusted sources. The result? We might say, “Here’s the outer boundary on sugar vegetables, including YouTube Cauliflower
fat,’ says Jonathan Moore,
cut back on our sugar intake or stop drinking on weeknights. and you can do what you want favourites such as kale and
Nowadays, we are our own health experts. in the middle”. We see it as a No alcohol Waitrose Executive Chef.
beetroot, for people to make crust pizza
during the ‘It’s the ingredient that
This growing distrust of conventional sources of health pick-and-mix approach that has smoothies and juices at is the third most
proved popular with customers ’ week
24% people are really starting
60%
advice has led many to take back control. According to Clare home – with no added sugar. watched recipe on
to focus on.’
Gough, Waitrose Head of Customer Insight, ‘People have Moira Howie, Waitrose Nutrition Manager ‘Sugar will continue to be Cacao bars the Waitrose
Sales of white granulated
37%
much more trust in information they find out for themselves a headline for some time,’ up YouTube channel
sugar are decreasing.
and from peer groups.’ ‘I love butter. But, no, we were says Moira Howie, Waitrose this year, while
Our attitudes to healthy cooking have also changed. Rather always told to use margarine. of ‘Instead, we’re seeing
Nutrition Manager. The (HEALTHY EATING Dishes such as
customers experiment with
than removing all indulgent ingredients from food, or feel And, now, from what I’ve read, people say they set great British sugar intake GURUS USE them FOR cauliflower
naturally sweet ingredients,
we’re missing out, we’re more likely to add healthy ingredients that’s nonsense’ their own ‘health’ such as date nectar and
reduction, it seems, has A CHOCOLATE HIT IN
CAKES AND DESSERTS)
couscous or
such as the brightest, most nutrient-dense vegetables. At only just begun.
Waitrose Cookery Schools, customers are always asking
Norman, 66, works in training, father of
one, bracknell boundaries when it maple syrup – which they
cauliflower risotto
have started to make
about health and ingredients when it comes to baking, comes to eating need less of, because of the
their way on to top
added flavour,’ says Tim
prompting our chefs to launch new Healthy Baking and ‘When looking at annual sales and drinking Juicing restaurant menus
Gluten Free courses this year. The chefs worked with
Waitrose nutritionists to give baking courses a makeover.
patterns, we’re noting a
significant move towards dry
6% Shaw, Waitrose Sugar and
Home Baking Buyer. Others
are cutting out sugar
‘People still want to enjoy baking, but with a healthy twist,’ January for many people – more
Eight-hour altogether, inspired by
so than in previous years’
4%
says Waitrose Nutrition Manager Moira Howie. Raw-food diet
diet books such as Davina
This new approach is particularly popular with young John Vine, Waitrose Spirits Buyer
5.5% McCall’s bestselling Medjool dates
16%
people, who see healthy eating as common sense. We live in up
5 Weeks to Sugar-Free.
an era of health and abundance, so why take the unhealthy ‘Today, it’s about pulling
Limiting carb 5:2 diet People are also looking for
route? People are starting to eat in a simpler way – the information together from
18%
7.5%
help from retailers to cut (championed by
attitude is ‘less is more’. Waitrose executive chef Jonathan different sites and trusted intake
clean-eating writer
their sugar intake, so
Moore cites bone broth as a prime example of this. ‘It’s peers. People hear what they’re and blogger
Waitrose has been working
everywhere at the moment,’ he says, ‘which to me is a really told but they sense-check it Ella woodward)
to remove it where we can.
good example of people being on a health kick but still with multiple sources and As the growth of
For example, the sugar we’ve ‘gluten-free’ and ‘dairy-free’ are
wanting to eat something that’s rich and unctuous.’ their peer group’ free-foods surges, The
removed from our yogurts
20%
Clare Gough, Waitrose Head of among the most popular topics
Waitrose Good Food
Customer Insight Do you usually Yes means there have been on our social media platforms.
Guide starts to see chefs
No! 80%
trust ‘experts’ 62 million fewer calories
20%
And sales of these ranges are
who tell you consumed from across the become less fazed by
up this year
what’s healthy range this year, while we’ve requests for gluten-free
and what isn’t? cut the amount of sugar in or dairy-free dishes
our muffins by 20%. in restaurants
Getty Images
Sparkling
wine up
57%
March April May June July
Mothering Easter Sunday Gluten-free: RHS Chelsea Father’s Day Family favourites Life’s a picnic
15 Sunday 5 We won’t tell if you don’t, but Hot-cross buns
19 - 23 Flower Show 23 - 31 21 This year, dads are We clearly love to tuck into Sunday Picnic season is well and
What a lot of
thoroughly spoilt
not all of those Easter eggs end up
at the intended destination. In fact,
up
124% It’s all about the great
British outdoors. Lupins
English
Wine Week
mostly drinking port: sales are
up 81%, while traditional
roasts and comfort foods, whatever
the season: Yorkshire puds up 17%
truly upon us and mini
bottles of wine are up 82%.
At the cool bags
106%
mums. Luxury one-third of us sneakily eat one Easter eggs are big at Chelsea We don’t half spirits get a 21% boost. and pies up 12%. And it’s a lovely time of year
890%
merest up
smellies are up we’ve bought for someone up and sales triple at make a decent for afternoon tea.
hint of
56%, frozen else (perhaps they Waitrose, while drop these days. Glastonbury Wimbledon fortnight Sales of cucumber
croissants and received a card instead Simnel cake grow-your-own Waitrose now has
24 - 28 Forty-five years down 29 And that can only mean one warmer barbecue meats,
(for the most
130%
weather, kebabs and
pains au chocolat of an egg – sales are up up fruit and veg are more than 100 the track, the love affair with this thing: British strawberries are up classic of summer
sales of burgers
82%
go up 16%, while 10%), while another up more than 100%. different English grande dame of British music 11%, cream is up 9% and Pimm’s sandwiches) rise
summer up
sparkling wine third buy ourselves an Top sellers include wines and 60% festivals continues. Little rockets 25%. This year, Wimbledon by 30%, Victoria
favourites
sees a fizzy spike. Easter egg. It’s called sweetcorn, cherry market share, Waitrose shops at Welcome announces it will be serving English sponge by 40%
start to halloumi
56%
‘self-gifting’… tomatoes and while sales are Break service stations in the fizz for the first time, prompting a and rosé wine
sizzle up
cucumber plants. up 177%. area see sales up 12%. 107% sales surge in English wine. by 43%.
6| waitrose.com | The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 | waitrose.com |7
Dunk your way
TRENDS
3. Moveable feasts
around the UK Physical boundaries are changing within the home – a new informality around
mealtimes means that traditional ‘eating spaces’ are being replaced by new ones
Scotland
Could your biscuit of choice be related to your postcode?
While Scots, unsurprisingly,
are rather partial to shortbread, We’ve done the calculations and it seems the answer is yes! Where do you eat your meals? Our less-structured lifestyles What they’re saying
mean traditional rules governing where and when we eat no
Tunnock’s Tea Cakes are a big Why not take a tour using our biscuit map and make longer apply. Formal dinners around the dining room table ‘We’re seeing a big increase ‘We’ve seen an increase in
hit, too, and always appear in
the top 10 in our Stirling branch
up your own mind… belong to a bygone era. A quarter of people tell us they eat in outside dining space at “grazing” foods. It wouldn’t
outside more than they used to. This rises to one in three among restaurants – some pubs are be unusual these days to have
18- to 24-year-olds. Meanwhile, 15% of those with a dining room even converting their car parks six, seven or eight dishes on
say they use it less than they did five years ago. to cater for the added demand’ the table and people select
The new watchwords when it comes to eating in the evening Elizabeth Carter, what they want, whether
are flexibility and informality, says Jonathan Moore, Waitrose editor of the Waitrose Good Food Guide it’s Greek meze or Spanish
Executive Chef. ‘There is definitely a move towards people tapas. It’s the style in which
‘We don’t use the dining room.
grazing and eating lighter meals, as well as people eating people tend to eat now –
It has a beautiful table in it, demand for
outdoors. It’s flexible, it’s social and, of course, there’s also little and often’
North East loads of sharing,’ he says.
which probably hasn’t been
Jonathan Moore, Waitrose grazing options
used for five years’
Chocolate biscuit Bowled over Fragmented lifestyles mean that family members are no
ELIZABETH, 55, fASHION MANAGER and
Executive Chef is soaring in
waitrose stores
bars and ginger longer bound together by one mealtime. Different meals can
nuts come top
by Botham’s be consumed in the same household on the same evening. ‘Four
mother of three, CHERTSEY
with in-store wine
Yorkshire of the list here In our Leeds Meanwood people can have four different cuisines at four different times bars, juice bars
‘Our dining room is now the and bakeries.
Custard or branch, local Botham’s of the evening under the same roof. Dinner has to fit around
office. We eat in the kitchen’ sales of food in
Bourbon Creams of Whitby biscuits are
rule supreme the top seller, beating
the big dip people’s lifestyles,’ Jonathan adds.
This new informality is reflected in how people cook. A third
christopher, 72, architect and father this style are up
23%
Our recent survey on the nation’s of three, sunningdale
all the big brands! say their cooking is less formal when they entertain friends or this year
dunking habits produced some
Lancs & They’re delivered direct
surprising results. The slowest
family. One in five 18- to 24-year-olds ask friends to ‘muck in’
English to the branch by the
dunkers, it seems, are those in the
and bring dishes when they come round for dinner. But
family-run company the declining popularity of the dining room doesn’t mean
Borders
27%
North East, where 65% wait for the
we’ve become a nation of couch potatoes.
biscuit to go soft before tucking in.
Everyone loves
chocolate digestives,
but those in the
In the South West, however, half of us
choose to take it slow and half opt for
About 30% of us say the invention of
televisions that you can pause and the rise
of ‘anytime’ streaming or catch-up services,
of households
eat outdoors
82 Waitrose
shops have installed
a quick dip. But no matter how you more than they
Lancs & English such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer, have led to Outside dining
dunk, there’s a great selection of did five years ago
Borders love them fewer TV dinners in our homes. number crunch areas in response
biscuits out there to choose from.
a bit more than to demand from
you’d expect East of England One in seven families customers to eat
Central Healthier biscuits edge
Dodge this
Jammie Dodgers are the bestselling 30% of people say use their dining room outdoors
30%
England ahead in the East children’s biscuits at Waitrose. the meals they cook for less than they used to
family and friends are
A Malted Keen on shortbread? less formal than they
Milk goes Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread is used to be of people
down nicely our fastest-growing biscuit. Could this say that pausable TVs,
Oxford vs be the start of a shortbread revival? Netflix and BBC iPlayer
Cambridge You heard it here first.
Dining room usage
has fallen the most have led to a
The great digestive debate
Nuts about essential ginger in London, the East reduction in TV
– while scholars in Oxford Midlands and
prefer their digestives topped
Our bestselling essential Waitrose
Northern Ireland
dinners
biscuit is essential Waitrose Ginger
with dark chocolate, those
Nuts. We sold enough last year for
residing in Cambridge prefer
everyone in Scotland to tuck into at
to take a punt on a digestive
Getty Images
least two with a cuppa.
topped with milk chocolate
Breakfast on the go
London Our most popular breakfast biscuit
The return of the
Ashes sees cricket
On-the-go is BelVita, providing almost 1.5 million
fans stock up on
Londoners eat breakfasts on-the-go to Waitrose
bottled ales –
September
35%
breakfast biscuits shoppers over the past year.
more than most
August up
Digest this Hot on the trail of the Great British
Festival-shoppers and ingredients
McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestives Bake Off’s gluten-free technical
Wales & are the number one biscuit of choice
buy prepared cans
of spirits and
for cricket teas,
including tea
challenge, our free from… range
South West for Waitrose shoppers.
mixers – pushing sales up by and coffee –
of products enjoys an 18% sales
40%
increase, while demand for our
They’re rather fond 29%. Favourites include gin and UP
Easter treats range of baking parchments, bags
of a classic Rich Tea City wafers Our bestselling biscuit over Easter
tonic and Jack Daniel’s and cola.
and wraps climbed by 10%.
Have a break Canary Wharf was Bahlsen’s Choco Leibniz.
Typical British weather plays a all-butter
After a summer of treats, healthy
school’s
Brighton part in a hike in sales of three scones increase back, and
21%
shoppers like to snacks for lunchboxes are in
festival essentials: sun lotion by laundry
nibble on Caprice demand. Soft fruit sales jump
Line up the amount of sales go up by 28%, while the liquid sales
Classic Wafers by 12% and snack salads by 28%.
KitKat fingers Brightonians number of rain ponchos and while cake sales rise by
And the back-to-school rush sees
Based on data from Waitrose sales, the
latest Waitrose survey data and Nielsen
get through in six months
and they’d reach to the end
umbrellas sold is double that
of last year.
rise by
25%
parents everywhere reach for the
laundry liquid.
62%
Scantrack data for United Biscuits of Brighton Pier and back
8| waitrose.com | The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 | waitrose.com |9
TRENDS TRENDS
4. Kitchen clashes 5. Every day’s a holiday
We all love to cook. But straying into other people’s territory in the kitchen The rise of convenience and online shopping has given people the freedom to
can lead to tension, which is when new tactics come into play choose how they shop. Today, we shop like we’re on holiday – little and often
40%
The idea that mum cooks for the entire household became Changing shopping habits means we’re no longer bound
BECAUSE… ‘I hate all the unpacking that
outdated decades ago. But with the rise of multi-generational What they’re saying by the constraints of the weekly shop. We’re becoming far
comes with a big shop. The
households, kitchens are getting very crowded. We all like more relaxed about when we buy our food. Half of us now say
little supermarkets stock
4%
to show off our culinary skills, but this can lead to clashes. ‘My husband is a brilliant cook, our shopping habits are similar to when on holiday: we shop of Waitrose sales
everything you need’
Fighting over space can be a recipe for disaster. but he likes pots. I cook in one little and often, we shop locally and we focus on buying fresh in London are
Elaine, 43, IT consultant and mother
The shape of British households is changing. Due to one of you pot – he’ll have six’ food for that evening. of three, Harrogate after 5pm
soaring property prices, many grown-up children, the is too ELIZABETH, 55, FASHION MANAGER and mother We’re planning ahead less, too. With the rise in convenience
so-called ‘boomerang generation’, have moved back of Three, CHERTSEY stores – 1,000 new small supermarkets have opened in the Online shoppers
experimental
in with their parents. The number of cohabiting UK in the past year alone – we buy food as and when we need ‘There are so many shops you can are twice as
13%
‘I don’t want them coming in –
couples with dependent children grew by 29.7% it. Waitrose convenience sales have increased by 25% so far go to. When I was younger there likely to stock
it’s my space’
between 2004 and 2014, according to this year. The ‘top-up shop’ is now worth £16.1 billion each wasn’t as much choice and you up on cleaning,
One person is Tina, 55, senior academic and mother
official figures. of two, Leeds year, with growth being driven by planned top-up shops. would go and do one big shop’ household and
Almost one in three people say slower than ‘It used to be that “topping up” in a convenience store was Chloe, 41, loss adjustor and mother storecupboard
that a housemate’s messiness is the other(s) unplanned and not particularly desired,’ says Waitrose Head of two, Leeds items
‘I have a secret cereal packet.
the main reason for tension in
he y ’ re 6% It’s the one the kids don’t like
of Operations and Trading, Convenience, Jon Arnold. ‘But
Why tng in
the kitchen, while one in six now shoppers deliberately work it into their weekly routine. ‘Our stores offer a much greater
and I hide the chocolate
say intr usion into their one of you They buy bulky food online, or all in one go, and then nip out variety of pack sizes now – people whereas
biscuits in there’
personal space is the main in the week to buy dinner for that night. Alternatively, they’re want the option to buy what suits in-store
arguitchen
can’t cook Chloe, 41, loss adjustor and mother
cause of kitchen clashes. In inspired to cook a particular meal and then shop just for the them. In general, people don’t
customers
17%
of two, Leeds
the meantime, bossiness is ingredients they need.’ want to hoard food’
have more
the ki
the third most common Three in 10 people tell us they shop in a supermarket Jonathan Moore, waitrose Executive Chef
One person ‘I don’t mind her coming in,
source of friction.
hogs space but she will dither. You can’t
between three and four times a week, up from a quarter of fresh food
Overcrowding in the kitchen ) customers five years ago. Nearly one in 10 of us shop at a in their
ro u p s dither when you’re cooking’ ‘People don’t want to be tied down
has led to people creating l age g supermarket between five and six times a week. The ‘open
boundaries to protect themselves. (amon
g a l Women are Norman, 66, works in training, father
all hours’ culture – combined with the ease of online shopping
to structure – this meal on Monday baskets
more likely of one, bracknell and this meal on Tuesday. They
14%
In the focus groups we conducted this – negates the need to stock up. Customers tell us that the
than men to want to think, “I’ve been inspired
summer, some said they resort to fear of running out of food is declining.
complain that ‘He [my retired husband] is there by something and I’ll nip out to
hiding treats where no one can find them. Clare Gough, Waitrose Head of Customer Insight, says A third of 18- to 24-year-olds visit a
their partner all the time, driving me mad’ the shops and buy it now” ’
One mum fixed a lock on the door of her many people now shop daily. She has seen a seismic change supermarket three to four times a week,
takes up too Marie, 67, semi-retired and mother Moira Howie, waitrose Nutrition Manager
utility room so she could have some peace and One of you is much space of two, Egham in shopping habits: ‘It used to be that people would do one compared to a quarter of people over 55
quiet. Other households opt for tag-team big shop, but it is now spread across many more smaller shops.
cooking. ‘We take turns in the kitchen. I can’t do it
bossier than when cooking
If you look to the younger generation, that’s their norm.’
How many times a week do you
when he’s there,’ said Georgina, a retired grandmother the other(s) Young people We may shop more frequently, but budget is still of the
shop at a supermarket?
27%
from Staines, about her partner. are almost essence: 50% of shoppers write a list and stick to it, 25% say
The younger the housemates, the more tension ensues. ‘We see a lot of recently that buying online helps them keep track of money and one 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8
However, retirees’ kitchens are hardly free from conflict.
three times
retired men on courses in our in eight monitor spending with handheld scanners.
Are your normal times times times times
as likely to
According to our survey, almost a quarter of those with accuse a Cookery Schools. They’re one shopping habits 56% 30% 9% 2%
recently retired partners say their other halves do more One person housemate or of our fastest-growing student What they’re saying similar to those you
groups, so we’ve started adopt when on
50% of us use shopping lists to help keep the
cooking than they used to. And in 40% of these cases,
is messier than partner of
this has led to greater tension. trialling courses aimed ‘That traditional “go out and do a
the other(s) bossiness in holiday?
48%
the kitchen specifically at them’ megashop” has been replaced by food bill down
people’s ability to do what they Yes
than someone
over 45
Claire Lanza, Head chef, Waitrose Cookery
school, Salisbury want, when they want’ while 25% say that shopping online helps them
Clare Gough, Waitrose Head of Customer Insight keep track of money
Getty Images
Pick of the kitchen cabinet Most popular gadgets by age
It may forever be associated Nutribullet
6%
Slow courgette sales rise 18- to 24-year olds: 24- to 34- year-olds: Parents are twice as ‘I have a Nutribullet –
with the 1980s, but the
microwave still reigns
Which cooker by 10% as ‘courgetti’ juicer magimix/food likely to choose it’s fantastic. I’ve
supreme in the kitchen gadget, if 12% becomes the nation’s
answer to starchy carbs
(18% have bought
one in the past year)
processor, their slow cooker
as their favourite
started buying frozen
berries. Whizz them
– 50% of people surveyed any, have Juicer
10% or juicer kitchen gadget up and you have
a healthy drink’
11%
use it more than any other (each bought by 14%
you bought Microwave
11%
of people in the Marie, 67, semi-retired,
gadget. When it comes to
new purchases, however, in the past 35 years and over:
Past year) mother of two, Egham
slow cookers and juicers year? Breadmaker
Food
processor slow cookers
18- to 24-year-olds
are twice as likely
waitrose now
sells more
are gaining in popularity…
8% 10%
were the most
popular in all 35+
as over-55s to
have bought a
frozen chopped
fruit than
Steamer categories (35-44,
breadmaker
8%
frozen pizza
45-54 and 55+)
Other/none
34% in the past year
10 | waitrose.com | The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015 | waitrose.com | 11
TRENDS
6. What’s your food age? Shopping all over the world
Traditional barriers are breaking down. Today, someone in their 60s is more likely to Waitrose exports products to retailers in more than 50 countries. From our Thick Seville Orange Marmalade
experiment in the kitchen than someone in their 20s. Just don’t mention junk food to Cream of Tomato Soup and Liquorice Allsorts, check out some of our most popular must-haves overseas
Think older people are unadventurous and set in their ways number crunch Waitrose has been exporting
our bestselling
when it comes to food? Think again. The assumed barriers food to retailers around the world
cookbook of
between different age groups are breaking down. Having since 1996. Foreign retailers choose
grown up in the post-war years, people over 55 are keen to cut
Almost a third of over-55s Do you Google the year is…
their own range of Waitrose
eat healthily because
loose and experiment with their cooking. recipes more now products to import and sell,
‘it tastes better’, Deliciously Ella
Our survey found over-55s are more than twice as likely to than you did five responding to what they know Sark Belgium Malta Cyprus Greece Switzerland
compared to one in
be inventive in the kitchen as they are to follow a recipe. years ago? The clean-eating blogger their customers will like.
58%
six 18- to 24-year-olds, essential Waitrose Waitrose Baking essential Waitrose essential Waitrose Waitrose Crunchy essential Waitrose
Meanwhile 18- to 24-year-olds, who are perhaps still finding Ella Woodward proves a hit ‘We find the food we export
their feet, are less inclined to improvise than use a recipe.
who prefer to say that Yes with young and old alike abroad is bought by a mix of
Chopped Tomatoes Powder Plain Flour and
Waitrose Wine Gums
Sugar Free Indian
Tonic Water
& Tangy Blueberry
& Cranberry Granola
English Mustard and
Waitrose Lemon Curd
healthy eating ‘makes
For the older generation, food is exciting where it was once them feel good’ expats and locals,’ says David
functional. ‘Old is the new young,’ says Clare Gough, Waitrose Morton, International Director at
Head of Customer Insight. Given that they grew up in an era Waitrose. ‘It’s always interesting
of food austerity, it is perhaps unsurprising that two-thirds of to see what tops each country’s
over-55s claim to be more adventurous in the kitchen than Despite our shopping list when we start
their parents were. However, this figure falls to just 36% among kitchens supplying somewhere new.’
18- to 24-year-olds. being full of Portugal Spain Gibraltar
But there seems to be one area into which over-55s won’t cookbooks,
33%
Waitrose Duchy Waitrose Liquorice essential Waitrose
stray: junk food – 84% of over-55s claim they eat healthily, Organic Smooth Allsorts and Waitrose Cheese and
compared to 67% of 18- to 24-year-olds. Indeed, when they set Peanut Butter Wine Gums Onion Crisps South Korea Japan
themselves health boundaries, over-55s are almost twice as
likely to use a juicer as 18- to 24-year-olds. They’re also more of us admit essential Waitrose Waitrose Sweet &
likely to try a trendy ‘raw food’ diet than teenagers. Strawberry Jam Nutty Raisin, Almond
to never & Honey Granola,
Retired people in our focus groups told us they love using them … And the Top recipe and Waitrose Three-
experimenting. Having grown up in an era that lacked searches in 2015 on year-old Blended
abundance, it seems older people are making up for lost time. waitrose.com Scotch Whisky
What they’re saying l
Roast pork with perfect
Bermuda
crackling and apple sauce
‘I eat pesto with virtually everything. I didn’t even essential Waitrose
Organic Chopped
know it existed a few years ago. I was a meat-and- l
The perfect Pimm’s
Tomatoes in Juice
two-veg man. But my daughter is a vegetarian, so and essential
I’m eating a lot of vegetables now that I wouldn’t l
Victoria sponge with Waitrose Cream of
have back then’ raspberry jam and Tomato Soup
Peter, 70, retired, father of two, Virginia water, Surrey When you cook, are you more likely to use buttercream
a recipe or improvise?
‘I find things online. I have the iPad right by l
Heston’s rich chilli con
the cooker’ carne with spiced butter
Marie, 67, semi-retired, mother of two, Egham use recipe improvise
l
Honey-glazed roast carrots Brunei
‘Most people are old-school and have a library
26% 17% 31% 37%
and parsnips Caribbean essential Waitrose
of books. However, they Google a lot more than Cola
18- TO 24- Over-55s 18- TO 24- Over-55s
they used to’ l
Speedy jacket potatoes with Waitrose Sweet &
year olds year olds crispy bacon and salmon Nutty Raisin, Almond
Jonathan Moore, Waitrose Executive Chef
& Honey Granola,
and Waitrose Fine
Crystal Sea Salt
Best of British
Singapore
Waitrose Organic
Plum Tomatoes
Ghana
This year’s mild winter and early spring gave us a bumper crop of many seasonal favourites. We look back on 2015’s growing highlights... essential Waitrose
Petit Pois
February Golden daffodils April Plump and juicy English July As the British plum season October It’s not all about the
burst into bloom. Spring has tomatoes are the next to make a gets underway, we’re treated to a sunny weather. Unexpected rain
arrived ahead of schedule and welcome early arrival, adding taste sweeter-than-ever crop – perfect and hailstorms in the late summer
we can all look forward to the and texture to a wealth of spring for picnics, pies and crumbles. resulted in an excess of weather-
sunny months ahead. and summer recipes. There’s also a plentiful harvest of blemished pears from British
home-grown sweetcorn cobs, just farms. It’s only the skin that’s been
March The British strawberry June Because all that lovely in time for the barbecue season. scarred, though. The fruit is still as
Chile Falklands South Africa Kuwait UAE New Zealand
season gets off to an early start, spring sunshine produced delicious as ever. Ugly-on-the-
thanks to the milder temperatures plenty of picture-perfect cherry August It’s not just plums that outside produce like this is still Waitrose Colombian essential Waitrose Waitrose Green essential Waitrose Waitrose Pet Food, essential Waitrose
and spring sunshine. These blossom, there are now 20% are significantly sweeter than sold in Waitrose to support UK Freeze Dried Coffee Long Life Semi- Basil Pesto No Added Sugar Waitrose Fine Thick Seville Orange
Getty Images
perfect growing conditions more ripe-for-the-picking cherries usual. Near-perfect growing farmers and prevent food waste. (we sell more of Skimmed Milk Apple & Blackcurrant Crystal Sea Salt and Marmalade and
this in Chile than Squash Waitrose Organic Waitrose Crunchy
mean Waitrose is also able to on the trees than you’d normally conditions have also led to a huge in our UK shops!) Unsweetened & Tangy Blueberry
sell British raspberries in March find at this time of year. harvest of home-grown apricots Soya Milk & Cranberry Granola
for the first time ever. that are soft, juicy and sweet.
12 | waitrose.com | The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2015
Our favourite drinks
Prosecco may be this year’s runaway hit, but we’ve also become
Going Up
more experimental in our choices and more health aware, says What was in
Pierpaolo Petrassi MW, Head of Buying, Beers, Wines and Spirits favour in 2015
drink
Provenance and discovery have been
key drink trends this year. Sales of craft
Ma r tini, or buy ing Aperol to tur n
Prosecco into an Aperol Spritz, they’re
Gin sales are up by 300%
on
WaitroseCellar.com and gin
beers have g row n by a third a s we keen to try new combinations. courses at the Waitrose Cookery Dry, pale rosé
appreciate the stories behind our myriad Health remains important. This year School always sell out Sales of Provence-style light
niche brands. In spirits, gin continues to we’ve seen customers adopt what I call and crisp rosé are up 19%
fascinate: every distillery has a unique
heritage and no two gins taste the same.
the ‘credit-debit’ system: when it comes
to drinking, they’ll balance every treat 25% of WaitroseCellar gin sales
are to Londoners
People have discovered new wines and with something healthy. For example, if Speciality beer
fallen back in love with old ones. English
wine is seeing huge growth while crisp
rosés flew off the shelves this summer.
they have a couple of glasses of wine, they
might have a salad for lunch the next day,
with a soft drink. Drinking is becoming
‘Perfect Pimm’s’ is the
on Waitrose.com #2 recipe The craft beer revolution shows
no sign of slowing. Sales up
34% year-on-year
We have also seen the rise of Rhône reds, more about quality, not volume.
such as Côte-du-Rhône Villages. It’s appropriate that this report is Vermouth
this year more
While Champagne sales are still on the about bounda ries fa lling, because
diners are
1 in 4 people With a new Bond film on the
up, Prosecco continues its seemingly they ’re tumbling when it comes to have set way and Mad Men still popular,
*William Grant Loyalty Data
ordering wine
unstoppable march. In fact, it’s fast drinking habits. Take spirits. A third of themselves this cocktail staple is seeing
by the glass – sales up 24%
becoming the drink of choice: Waitrose women now enjoy whisky, up from a a target of
either to cut
Cellar has seen an increase in purchases quarter just two years ago.* Old ways of
down the amount drinking no English sparkling
for weddings over the traditional choice doing things are being subverted. Think
they drink, or to alcohol on wine
of fizz, Champagne. that dark rum is for mixing into a long
try more than weekdays within Now our number three
People are experimenting more, as drink? Think again – we predict that dark sparkling wine, after Prosecco
one variety the past yeaR
seen by our spirits team. Whether they’re rum is about to take a place at the high and Cava
during a meal
buying vermouth to turn a gin into a table of spirits that you can sip.
Rosé Champagne
Fresh and different, and always
a treat. Sales up 46%
PROSECCO
Size
The continued rise of this Italian
This year we’ve seen While beautiful fizz saw fears of a shortage of
soaring demand for things do come in small supply earlier this year. Don’t
single-serve bottles, packages, a magnum worry, we have plenty
matters as customers look for
something they can
of Prosecco makes a
perfect centrepiece or
drink on the move, gift for a host. ‘It’s a Premium tequila
while picnicking or really impressive bottle Sip, don’t slam. Sales up 20%
all
Sales of sm celebrating in a modest to take to a party – and
bottles of fashion. That’s why our customers have
p
wine are u when it comes to drinks jumped at the chance
by
26% such as Prosecco we’ve
launched an array of
to buy something
that’s a bit special,’
Argentinian Malbec
This wine is fast becoming
bottle sizes to suit says Cat Lomax, our a gluggable favourite
all occasions. Sparkling Wine Buyer.
As our lifestyles and
more magnums shopping habits become
Champagne
are being ordered more informal, we’re
A perennial favourite.
Waitrose se
in restaurants prosecco
ll s likely to see even more Sales up 14%
by migration away from
this year† the magnu
m traditional 75cl wine
†
The Waitrose Good Food Guide for the firs
t bottle in the future.
time ever English still wine
Any lingering snobbery about
English wine has disappeared
as it’s so good. Sales up 95%
Predictions for 2016 King’s Ginger
This little-known liqueur was
joints while enjoying next year. We’ll be invented for King Edward VII, or
Goldenberries spiced stews, will be selling a seed
the classic Brazilian smoking everything ‘Bertie’, in 1903. Sales are
This relatively succulent lamb sprouter kit for growing in double digits
cocktail, caipirinha. from cocktails and
unknown nutrient- dishes and lush budding fans.
vegetables to butter
packed fruit (in salads. Persian Brazilian Con-fusion food and eggs – and that’s
fact, they’re dried cooking courses barbecue Take a traditional Rhône reds
just for starters.
physalises) will only at Waitrose Cookery dish and alter it in an Sales have overtaken Bordeaux
We’ll be in party
gain in popularity. Schools regularly unusual way – but reds for the first time this year
mode in 2016 with For more
Great in baking. sell out. with great results.
the Rio Olympics information on
Sewing the seed Street food vendors
Persian cooking and The Queen’s
lead the way here.
key trends for Amarula
Getty Images
Already trending Sprouting seeds is 90th birthday. 2016, contact A Great British Bake Off
this year, but set a great way to add Brazilian barbecue Homey smoke! the Waitrose contestant laces her crème
to go mainstream nutrient-rich crunch is a new trend – grill Home-smoking kits Press Office on brûlée with the cream liqueur,
in 2016. Think to a salad. Waitrose large (picanha) will be, well, red hot 01344 825 080. and sales soar by 23%
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