July 2026: Food to go
The meal deal has evolved from a convenience offer into a key driver of footfall, innovation, and competition across retail and food-to-go.
This feature will explore the evolution and take a closer look at what items are included now.
Key topics this feature will explore:
- How important are meal deals in food to go?
- How have the items in meal deals changed over the past few years and why?
- What does this tell us about their role?
- What does this tell us about consumer needs and priorities out of home?
- What makes a successful meal deal today?
- Are customers still motivated by value, or is convenience/quality more important now?
- How is this reflected in the cost of meal deals today vs a few years ago?
- Meal deals were previously just for lunchtime with the classic sandwich + drink + crisps combination dominating. How are they playing out at other occasions, such as breakfast?
- What new formats are emerging (e.g. hot meal deals, breakfast bundles, subscriptions)?
- How important is personalisation or digital targeting in meal deals?
- How are other operators, such as coffee shops and bakeries, competing?
- What will the UK meal deal look like in five years’ time?
