With UK food inflation at a 45-year high (BBC) and total out-of-home eating occasions falling by 7% compared to 2022 (TWC), value for money is high on the agenda for consumers.
A 2022 BBC Good Food survey also revealed that more children are opting for packed lunches over paying for school dinners, and families are also cutting back on what items they include in lunchboxes.
Neil Stewart, Head of Marketing for Cathedral City at Saputo Dairy UK, comments: “Easy to make, relatively cheap to prepare, versatile, portable and requiring neither plate nor utensils to eat, the humble sandwich still remains a go-to lunchbox staple for many UK families.
“When it comes to fillings, Cathedral City cheese and sandwiches go hand in hand. A perennial favourite for consumers, cheese features in the upper echelons of ‘favourite sandwich filling’ polls year after year and, as the Nation’s favourite cheddar brand (IRI), Cathedral City is a reliable choice for families. And, when every penny counts, unlike other popular sandwich fillings such as bacon, ham or chicken, cheese has a longer use-by date which helps with fridge management and can offer consumers better value for money during the week.
“With more people choosing to make their lunch at home though, quality is going to be key for them. For some consumers, this will mean spending a bit more on quality fillings, such as Cathedral City cheddar, as a cost-efficient way of elevating the everyday and ‘trading up’ on their budget-friendly packed lunches.”
When it comes to cheese, stocking top brands that consumers know and love, like Cathedral City, is an absolute must for retailers and their supplying wholesalers. Bought by 42% of all UK households (Kantar), and valued at over £298m (IRI), Saputo Dairy UK’s Cathedral City brand has continued to dominate the pre-packed cheese category and remains the Nation’s favourite cheddar brand (IRI).
But there’s more to sandwiches than just the filling, with butters & spreads acting as a natural choice as a sandwich base. Brands such as Saputo Dairy UK’s Clover spread and Country Life butter are both performing well in their relevant categories with broad reach and appeal.
] Georgina Thomas, Head of Marketing for Butters, Spreads & Oils at Saputo Dairy UK, comments: “Clover is a firm family favourite bought by more than a fifth of UK households (Kantar). Although we are still living in a time of economic uncertainty, Clover continues to win with consumers, retaining its No. 1 volume position in the spreads category within the convenience channel (IRI). This is testimony to the strength of the Clover brand and the connection it has with UK households.”
“Meanwhile, Utterly Butterly is seeing a significant overtrade through convenience retailers thanks to its value offering, price marked packs and heritage in helping busy families create care-free moments (IRI). it’s a great option for those households looking for outstanding value and trusted brand quality.”
Lorraine Rothwell, Head of Marketing at Weetabix Food Company, comments: “Back to school is a hugely important time of the year for the cereal category. There is a notable uptick in cereal sales as families get back to routine, seeking good breakfasts to enhance learning. Last year, September registered the highest volume sales of the last 12 months, with a 4% increase in sales versus the summer months. Buyer numbers for cereal also peaked in this period, as did total number of trips (Kantar).”
Research has found that over half of shoppers are concerned about the cost of back-to-school shopping (IGD). Shoppers have on average £88 less to spend per week than this time last year. Shoppers will actively be looking for the best deals, so brands must clearly communicate value across the various touchpoints.
Sarah Fordy, Head of Marketing – Cereal Partners UK, comments: “According to Kantar research, cereals remain the most consumed breakfast choice – so it’s no surprise, given the volume of cereal that’s eaten, trust is a huge priority for consumers when it comes to choosing a breakfast option. At Nestlé® Cereals, our much-loved brands with a long-standing UK legacy such as Shreddies®, Cheerios®, Shredded Wheat® and Nesquik®, continue to be our best performing products and remain firm favourites – especially during the Back-to-School period when families are looking for tasty and convenient options.”
To add even more colour to the Back-to-School experience, Cereal Partners UK is also thrilled to be partnering with Crayola on its latest on-pack promotion. Running from the 1st of August to 25th September, the promotion offers UK families the chance to win coveted Crayola Bundles worth £100 and featuring cult classics such as the Signature Double Tip Markers, Colours of the World Pencils sets, Inspiration Art Case and much more. The promotion will be running across some of Cereal Partners’ best-selling brands and variants including Cheerios® Multigrain and Cheerios® Honey, Shreddies® Original, Coco, Honey and Frosted variants as well as some of our Nesquik® and Go Free® products.
“As part of our Back-to-School activity, consumers will also be able to discover top tips on how to make the Back-to-School morning routine exciting and stress free on the Nestlé Breakfast Cereals website,” adds Fordy. “All these initiatives align with our purpose to Make Breakfast Better – showing families nationwide how to maximise their mornings and prepare for the day!”
Matt Collins, Trading Director at KP Snacks, comments: “As the summer holidays draw to a close, retailers should be ready to boost sales by capitalising on back to school opportunities. Bagged snacks are a staple in children’s lunchboxes making the back to school occasion a critical opportunity for retailers to drive CSN sales.”
Health remains a top priority for consumers, with parents seeking out healthier options for their children’s lunchboxes and after-school snacks.
“At KP Snacks, we offer a broad portfolio of tasty and permissible snacks, including over 100 non-HFSS SKUs, the equivalent of a quarter of our portfolio,” adds Collins. “We believe that snacks can be enjoyed as part of a balanced lifestyle, and we are continuously working to provide snacks that are both delicious and permissible.”
KP’s non-HFSS products include Hula Hoops Puft. Worth £9.1m (NielsenIQ), Hula Hoops Puft is a deliciously light, low-calorie snack. Coming in at just 72 calories per pack, Hula Hoops Puft offers a great option for a healthier lunchbox snack in tasty flavours: Salt & Vinegar, Salted and Grilled Beef.
Worth £29.7m RSV and growing in value +24% (NielsenIQ), POM-BEAR is the perfect choice for family shoppers. With 15% of households avoiding gluten and wheat (Mintel), the light and crispy melt-in-the-mouth crisp is a perfect gluten and guilt-free snack for lunchboxes. POM-BEAR contains fewer than 100 calories per pack, with 5.7m households consuming the brand every year (Kantar). Household names like POM-BEAR reassure parents that they are providing their children with a healthy and great tasting product from a trusted brand.
Andrew Bradshaw, UK Sales Director at Dole Sunshine Company, comments: “A recent survey on attitudes to healthy eating revealed that 32% (Mintel) of people admit that money concerns cause them to eat less healthily. For many consumers who are shopping on a budget, fresh fruit and vegetables can be one of the first things to come off the shopping list, which really highlights the importance of retailers and brands who are committed to supporting healthier choices for their customers, and specifically helping people to eat healthily on a budget.”
However, healthier choices don’t have to be more expensive, as consumers can buy a four pack of Dole’s fruit in juice cups for just £2.19 which offers them a great tasting and healthy product at a price most can afford which are perfect for lunchboxes.
“I think in general; shoppers now understand that ambient goods increasingly have a role to play as they not only offer good value and have longer shelf lives, but in the case of our Dole packaged fruit range, can also be one of your five-a-day and a healthy part of their overall diet,” adds Bradshaw. “This knowledge may well translate into lunchbox selections with parents looking for healthy ambient products which offer good value and limit risk of wastage.”
There’s nothing new about the desire for many parents to want to give their children a healthy lunch, but this has come into even sharper focus since the start of the pandemic with most consumers becoming even more health aware and unsurprisingly this has translated into being more health conscious with their food choices. This was backed up by a recent survey (Kantar) of parents on what they felt was the most important factor for their child’s diet, which revealed nearly half (47%) felt it was getting their five-a-day.
“So many children miss this daily target so perhaps packaged fruit snacks like ours in lunchboxes can be part of the solution,” says Bradshaw. “In addition, many schools now have rules about what can be included in children’s lunchboxes due to health and / or allergy concerns, which is another factor for parents to consider.”
Alistair Gaunt, Commercial Director at Hovis, comments: “As households across the country grapple with rising prices, shoppers are looking to make cost-savings wherever they can. As a result, homemade lunchboxes will be the ‘go-to’ solution for many parents looking to save money this year. Recent research (Perspectus Global) has shown that 72% of consumers believe that a home-made sandwich for lunch is unbeatable. With sandwiches often a core component of any lunchbox, stocking a range of quality wrapped bread should be a focus for any retailers looking to cater for the back to school occasion.”
While many shoppers may be looking to save money, there is still a huge desire for quality bakery products from recognised brands like Hovis® that consumers know and trust. Hovis is one of the Nation’s best loved bread brands and is consistently recognised by consumers as “better quality” (Walnut). With its extensive range, it continues to offer shoppers a wide array of choices, with products to suit all tastes and budgets.
Sales of white bread currently account for over 55% of pre-packaged bread units sold (NIQ).
“Given the current economic climate, many shoppers are buying fewer different types of bread for their households and are increasingly moving towards pre-packaged white bread, which is most likely to satisfy the needs of multiple people (NIQ),” adds Gaunt. “It is therefore clearly important for retailers to stock white bread as it is a potential “crowd-pleaser” for everyone in the household.”
Health and wellness, as well as great taste, continue to play a key role in helping shoppers decide what to eat, especially when it comes to children’s lunchboxes. Hovis® Best of Both® combines the great taste of white bread with wholemeal flour and delivers a source of fibre.
“It is also rich in calcium and, as supported by recent research, almost half of those surveyed agreed that Hovis Best of Both is something that everyone in the family would eat (Zinklar), adds Gaunt. “Therefore, stocking both Hovis® Best of Both, as well as Hovis® Wholemeal should be key as part of a lunchbox-oriented range of bread.”
“Creating a back to school occasion display can really help to drive impact in depot,” suggests Gaunt. “For example, displaying a range of lunchbox essentials, such as pre-packaged bread, sandwich fillers and fruit, next to or close to each other and offering cross-category promotions can help to boost sales. Where running promotions, using PoS in store can also help build retailer awareness of the different offers available and encourage them to buy more items in one shop.”
Unitas Wholesale has launched a new Plan for Profit Focus On guide, to help its members’ retail customers prepare for the busy ‘back to school’ and ‘back to higher education’ period in August and September. The guide will be available online and from selected Unitas Wholesale member depots from 7 August.
Focus On: Back to Routine contains exclusive insight on snacking and confectionery from category experts at Swizzels, Haribo, PepsiCo and KP Snacks. As well as tips from Independent Achievers Academy Top 100 retailer Asiyah Javed of Day-Today Alloa Road, Stenhousemuir, Falkirk.
Tracey Redfearn, Plan for Profit Category Controller at Unitas Wholesale, said: “The ‘back to routine’ period is one of great upheaval for the UK’s 19 million families and 3 million students. We’re delighted to offer such a comprehensive guide for retailers to maximise their sales and profits during this crucial time.”
Highlights in the issue include a breakdown of the 35 must-stock kids confectionery lines, top 15 snacking SKUs and top five sweet bags. Retailers will also find advice on food to go, healthier choices and merchandising.
The launch of Focus On: Back to Routine follows a report on Ice Cream earlier in the year. Additional editions this period are Confectionery Autumn & Winter Seasons (includes Halloween and Christmas) and Ciders.
“The back-to-school period is very busy for us,” said Asiyah Javed of Day-Today Alloa Road, Stenhousemuir, Falkirk. “We’ll hand out free goody bags to children in the first week back. The bags will contain a bottle of flavoured water, fruit, and snacks. They don’t cost us very much to make, but the loyalty it fosters makes it invaluable.”
“During the back-to-school period, we find retailers have more success when stocking sugar singles such as Chew Bars, to cater for those consumers who have a smaller amount to spend,” said Ben Cooper, national account controller at Swizzels. “Keeping price points at less than £1 ensures that products are still affordable for those who are working with a pocket-money budget.”
The driving force behind the growth in sweet bags is medium-size sharing bags, which are not only the biggest segment in terms of sales but delivering the most growth too – £33m in the past year (IRI). “Stocking the £1.25 price-marked format drives sales by clearly communicating the price to customers and reassuring them of value for money,” said Adam Williams, national accounts manager at Haribo.
Health remains a significant purchase driver for customers, and this becomes even more important in the back-to-school period, as parents and guardians seek to embed healthy habits. “At KP Snacks, we offer a broad portfolio of tasty and permissible snacks, including more than 100 non-HFSS SKUs, the equivalent of a quarter of our portfolio,” says Andy Staley, business account manager at KP Snacks.
PepsiCo points to the 100 million lunchboxes in September that do not contain snacks, describing it is a “great opportunity” for convenience retailers to drive sales in 2023 (BOLT).
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