As Meal Delivery continues to attract more and more shoppers, how are different channels satisfying different demand moments?
Maybe it’s a treat for a special occasion? Or perhaps it’s as simple as being the most convenient option at the time? There’s a reason behind every Meal Delivery.
As Meal Delivery buyers grow in number, we’ve taken another look at why people order. And there’s been an interesting shift in the last twelve months.
In 2020, 59% of Meal Delivery buyers used the service for a treat, with the rest using it for convenience. But this year the split has become 50/50 - with convenience growing everywhere, with a particular spike in Europe as ordering for convenience becomes more normal.
If we dig a little deeper into the demand behind each moment, we can see that Meal Delivery is made up of four different types of occasions:
In 2019, 50% of occasions were for Shared Enjoyment, 25% Table for One, 15% Away from Home and 10% Convenient Lunch.
When we compare this to the last 12 months, we see that Shared Enjoyment has dropped to 35%, while Convenient Lunches have doubled to make up 20% of Meal Delivery occasions. Table for One occasions also increased, now making up 30% of occasions.
And this shift significantly impacts menu choices. Certain foods do particularly well for different occasions, and other products such as drinks or desserts tend to be more present depending on the Meal Delivery demand space. For example, the Convenient Lunch occasion has a strong over index with salads compared to Shared Enjoyment, where consumers are more prone to choose pizza, burger or sushi – and perhaps enjoy a savoury snack or ice cream on the side.
Understanding the demand moments behind a specific Meal Delivery occasion is key. As On-premise consumption continues its recovery, FMCG manufacturers have an opportunity to look to add drinks, snacks or desserts to these occasions.
The different channels which consumers can use for Meal Delivery all have their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the four different demand moments.
Full Service Chain Restaurants and Quick Service Restaurants both perform well for the Shared Enjoyment and Convenient Lunch occasions, while being comparatively weaker for the Table for One occasions.
In contrast, Full Service Independent Restaurants are strongest for the Away from Home occasions, while Hot Counters within grocery retailers have a significant over-index for the Table for One occasions.
By capitalising on specific demand within each type of occasion, each channel has an opportunity to develop and win more occasions based on these strengths and weaknesses.
Watch the webinar with the main findings of this report in English or in Spanish
There are only so many potential lunch and dinner occasions in a week. On average in Spain and the UK, three and a half occasions take place OOH, with the rest taking place in-home. And of these remaining occasions, seven are home-made meals, three are ready-made meals, and the remaining ½ is a delivery.
And if we also consider that half of consumers are using Meal Delivery for convenience, we can see that this service isn’t just competing with the On-premise meal occasion - but more and more with the traditional FMCG food brands as consumers perceptions steadily shift to see it as the ultimate level of convenience.
Tiger Bang Chilli Sauce – the ultimate meal delivery accompaniment
Founded in 2015 in the Chinese Mainland, Tiger Bang is a chilli sauce brand that came into being as online meal delivery started to boom.
The Chinese Mainland chilli sauce market was already dominated by The Godmother’s (Lao gan ma) with 50% market share. However, with tastes and eating habits differing significantly by region, there was no clear #2 nationally - and Tiger Bang wanted to seize this opportunity.
To avoid direct competition with The Godmother, Tiger Bang leveraged the online meal delivery growth and started working with a host of restaurants. Instead of selling their products in retailers, Tiger Bang positioned itself as an accompaniment in meal delivery at a price point low enough to entice consumers to ‘try before they buy’.
And it’s thanks to this route that the brand is now the second biggest chilli sauce brand in the Chinese Mainland and serves as a great example of how an FMCG brand can win via focussing on the meal delivery sector.
