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THE FUTURE OF FOOD TO GO

THE END OF VOLUME EATING: LESS, BUT BETTER

• ABOUT SIMPLY LUNCH

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & MARKET OVERVIEW

• THE SHIFT TO INTENTIONAL EATING

• KEY TRENDS 2026–2027

• THE APPETITE RESET

• SMART NUTRITION

• EVERYDAY FUNCTIONALITY

• FLAVOUR WITH PROVENANCE

• THE ERASURE OF DAYPARTS

• SECTOR & MARKET CONTEXT

• PRODUCT & FORMAT OPPORTUNITIES

• DECLINING TRENDS

• STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY & SUMMARY

ABOUT SIMPLY LUNCH

At Simply Lunch, we do more than deliver food. We create food with purpose. Founded in 1979, we’re a proud second-generation family business with a simple mission: to make food that not only tastes great but does good. As a national food to go manufacturer, we combine quality, sustainability and innovation to create products that reﬂect the evolving values of today’s conscious consumer.

We specialise in fresh, handmade food to go from sandwiches, wraps and salads to workplace hospitality. Produced daily in our BRCGS AA+ accredited facility, everything we do is rooted in transparency, traceability and care. With nationwide distribution and a scalable operation, we deliver fresh products with consistency, ﬂexibility and speed.

Through our award-winning brands and strategic partnerships, we help our customers grow their categories, drive footfall and meet every consumer mission. Our purpose-led approach guides every decision we make from reducing our carbon footprint to supporting communities and embracing innovation. Together, we can create food that tastes good, does good and helps your business thrive.

DATA-LED DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AT OUR CORE

Collaborative and transparent, we are committed to NPD driven by data and insights.

NUTRITIOUS, INNOVATION.

Simply Lunch is your agile partner, supporting you to maximise your opportunity in the food to go category.

As a company, we’re dedicated to driving meaningful change in UK communities through our charity initiatives.

founded by Terry Page.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & MARKET OVERVIEW

This report outlines the key shifts shaping the food to go market through 2026–2027. The category is undergoing a structural transformation driven by health awareness, economic pressure and behavioural change.

Food to go is entering a period of structural reset. Historically, growth has been driven by increasing frequency, accessibility and portion size. However, this model is now under pressure as consumer behaviour fundamentally shifts.

40%

OVER of consumers cite cost as a barrier to food to go purchases (Vypr, 2026), yet over 60% actively prioritise healthier options (Mintel, 2026). This contradiction highlights a key shift: consumers are not simply trading down, but becoming more selective, reducing frequency, whilst expectations have increased.

Kantar (2025) highlights a decline in out-of-home eating frequency, while Lumina Intelligence (2025) identiﬁes fewer but more purposeful visits.

The data suggests a consistent shift: consumers are purchasing fewer items, but placing greater importance on quality, nutritional value and overall satisfaction. Growth is no longer driven by volume, but by value, quality and purpose.

Consumers are eating less, but expecting more. This shift is driven by:

• Health as a lifestyle priority

• Economic pressure and selective spending

• Appetite awareness and GLP-1 behaviours

• Growing rejection of ultra-processed foods

Value in food to go is also being fundamentally redeﬁned. Consumers are no longer evaluating food by size or price alone, but by satiety per calorie, nutrition per gram, emotional reward per occasion and overall consumption e ciency.

Brand loyalty is becoming increasingly fragile. Purchasing behaviour is more promotional-led, digitally inﬂuenced and ﬂuid than ever before. Operators are responding through app ecosystems, loyalty schemes, personalised o ers and membership-driven value propositions, shifting the category from static loyalty to dynamic, incentive-led engagement.

Simply Lunch is strongly positioned within this evolving landscape. Today, its range already supports customers with convenient, balanced and reliable food to go solutions across all sectors. However, the opportunity is expanding signiﬁcantly.

New product development will enable customers to drive long-term growth by aligning with structural shifts in the market, including smaller, high-satiety formats, ﬁbre-led and functional nutrition innovation, authentic global ﬂavours with provenance storytelling, modular eating solutions for fragmented consumption occasions, and cleaner labels with reduced ultra-processed ingredients.

Food to go is no longer deﬁned by convenience alone, but by how e ectively it ﬁts into a more intentional, performance-led consumer lifestyle.

THE SHIFT TO INTENTIONAL EATING

To understand how macro forces are reshaping food to go, it is essential to examine how consumer behaviour is evolving at an individual level.

The structural reset in the market is being driven by a fundamental shift in how consumers think about eating, value and consumption occasions.

This is leading to a new model of consumption: intentional eating.

Consumer behaviour is shifting from habitual to intentional.

Where food to go was once driven by routine, convenience and repetition, it is now increasingly shaped by conscious decision-making, evaluation and trade-o s.

IGD (2025) highlights increasing focus on portion control and waste reduction. Mintel (2026) shows over 70% of consumers are actively trying to eat more healthily, while Deloitte (2025) highlights growing evaluation of both health and ﬁnancial e ciency.

At the same time, GLP-1 adoption and wider appetite awareness are reshaping how consumers think about food volume, driving reduced snacking and increased focus on satiety.

This is not a short-term behavioural adjustment, it reﬂects a deeper shift in consumption logic:

• Reduced snacking frequency

• Greater awareness of appetite and portion size

• Increased scrutiny of nutritional value per occasion

• Stronger expectation that food delivers functional beneﬁt

Consumers are moving from passive consumption to active decision-making. They are no longer simply responding to availability, they are actively assessing need, value, and outcome before purchase.

Every product must now justify its role within the consumer’s day through:

• Functional value

• Nutritional value

• Emotional value

This shift in intentionality is the behavioural foundation behind all emerging category trends.

THE APPETITE RESET 1

IN THE MARKET NOW SUPPORTING DATA

69% 48% 68% of GLP-1 users are eating fewer snacks (IGD 2026). eating fewer meals overall (IGD 2026). of UK consumers are more careful with food spending (IGD 2025–2026).

RESPONSE: SIMPLY LUNCH

Smaller pots, lighter options

“Balanced for You” range (controlled portions, calorie-aware, vitamins & minerals)

Maximum nutrition in controlled formats Lighter, portion-conscious Asian-inspired meals

Consumers are reassessing how much they need to eat, driving a shift toward smaller portions and fewer eating occasions.

OVER

of consumers say cost limits food to go purchases (Vypr, 2026), while IGD highlights growing demand for portion control. Kantar shows reduced basket sizes but increased spend per item.

This reﬂects a move away from volume-led value. Consumers no longer equate size with value, instead they are looking for e ciency: food that delivers satiety, nutrition and satisfaction in smaller formats.

OPPORTUNITY

Smaller, high-satiety formats

Nutrient-dense meals

Snackable but complete options

Deliver “more per bite”, maximising satiety, nutrition and ﬂavour in smaller portions, e.g. our Tandoori Chickpea & Egg Snack Pot.

2

SMART NUTRITION

BEYOND PROTEIN

The Association of UK Dietitians states that a range of dietary ﬁbre can:

• Improve microbiota diversity.

• Improve constipation and lactose tolerance.

• Enhance immunity.

• Reduce gut inﬂammation.

• Consumers are increasingly informed and expect food to go to reﬂect this understanding.

IN THE MARKET NOW

RESPONSE: SIMPLY LUNCH

Fibre-ﬁrst positioning

Functional plant-based nutrition

Hard-boiled eggs #1 Tesco meal deal snack (Clubcard Unpacked 2025)

High ﬁbre, wholegrain, balanced SKUs

Nutrition is evolving beyond protein into a more holistic understanding of health.

OVER

of consumers recognise ﬁbre as being essential to health of (Mintel 2026), while McKinsey (2025) highlights growing demand for minimally processed, whole foods.

Fibre is emerging as a key nutrient and “ﬁbermaxxing” is becoming a major menu trend. UK adults are recommended 30g of ﬁbre per day, yet average intake is around 60% below this level.

INSIGHT: Health is no longer a di erentiator; it is a baseline expectation.

OPPORTUNITY

Fibre-rich ingredients (fruit, nuts, seeds, grains, pulses & vegetables)

Gut health positioning Balanced macro meals

Lead with balanced nutrition, focusing on whole ingredients, ﬁbre and natural functionality.

EVERYDAY FUNCTIONALITY

Consumers expect food and drink to actively support how they feel physically and mentally.

Functionality is moving from niche to mainstream.

Key functional ingredients:

Fermented foods (kimchi, keﬁr).

ON THE MARKET

Adaptogens (matcha, ashwagandha).

SIMPLY LUNCH

RESPONSE:

Matcha-based energy

Functional smoothies & drinks

Complete nutrition / performance

Brain food range (smoothies, salads, bars)

Functional canned drinks focused on calm and stress reduction

Mintel (2026) highlights rising demand for foods that support energy and cognitive performance, while Deloitte (2025) highlights wellbeing-led consumption.

There is a clear shift towards functional, better-for-you beverages, with Mordor Intelligence (2026) forecasting the functional beverage market to grow at a CAGR of 7.93% between 2026 and 2031. This reﬂects growing demand for drinks that deliver tangible beneﬁts such as improved gut health, increased energy, stress reduction and enhanced mental alertness.

INSIGHT: Food and drinks are becoming tools for performance.

OPPORTUNITY

Energy-supporting snacks

Functional beverages

Mood and focus-led products

Embed functional beneﬁts into core ranges without overcomplicating messaging, while expanding the o ering through partnerships such as Flawsome!, introducing low-sugar & fruit-led beverages.

FLAVOUR WITH PROVENANCE

Consumers want adventure, but within trusted frameworks.

ON THE MARKET

Globally inspired menus

Strong storytelling & authenticity

RESPONSE: SIMPLY LUNCH

Ingredient-led

Globally inspired menus

Korean kimchi innovation eg. MADE Korean Style Salad

Flavour remains a key driver of choice, but expectations are evolving toward both discovery and reassurance.

OVER 50%

of consumers seek global ﬂavours (Mintel, 2026). IGD (2025) highlights growing importance of provenance and transparency.

51% of UK consumers say they would be likely to try Korean cuisine in the next 1-2 years.

OPPORTUNITY

Global ﬂavour proﬁles

Regional authenticity Story-led ingredients

Combine familiar formats with bold global ﬂavours and strong provenance storytelling.

THE ERASURE OF DAYPARTS

ANYTIME EATING SYSTEMS

THIS SHIFT IS DRIVEN BY:

• Hybrid working removing ﬁxed mealtimes where traditional meal deﬁnitions no longer apply.

• Declining relevance of structured meal occasions.

• Energy-based rather than time-based eating.

• Growth of grazing and multi-item consumption.

ON THE MARKET

SIMPLY LUNCH

RESPONSE:

All-day food o erings

Meal deal used across multiple occasions

Breakfast options available all day

Evolving into all-day food providers

Traditional meal structures are breaking down as consumers move toward continuous, time-independent eating.

Food is increasingly decoupled from ﬁxed dayparts, with breakfast, lunch and dinner no longer acting as rigid consumption anchors.

Instead, consumers are eating based on need-state, energy and convenience, creating “anytime eating” occasions where traditional meal deﬁnitions no longer apply.

Lumina Intelligence (2025) highlights growth in snacking-led missions, while Kantar shows increasing frequency of smaller, ﬂexible eating occasions. 71% of Gen Z prefer on-the-go snacks over traditional meals (Bidfood 2026).

OPPORTUNITY

Anytime positioning vs meal-speciﬁc SKUs

Breakfast/lunch formats repositioned as universal fuel

Modular, cross-occasion product systems

Removal of rigid day part architecture

Develop ﬂexible food to go solutions that operate independently of traditional dayparts, enabling consumption across any time of day.

SECTOR & MARKET CONTEXT

CAFÉS

• Premiumisation driven by demand for experience-led food.

• Expansion of functional, health-led o erings.

• Greater customisation and ﬂexibility in ordering.

RETAIL

This section translates the key consumer and category trends into real-world channel impacts, showing how di erent food to go environments are being reshaped in practice.

These macro consumer shifts are reshaping how food to go performs across key channels, driving structural change in how di erent sectors deﬁne value, format and experience.