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For years, we have been poking fun at the British for their lack of culinary
flair. Now, London boasts more Michelin-starred restaurants than any place
outside of France. The London dining scene is diverse and booming, throwing off
the previous notions of poorly cooked food, dull surroundings and bad service.
The city's restaurants have become a major attraction for real estate investors
who parlay them into big bucks; fashion designers who compete to dress the
serving staff; and architects and interior designers who gain fame by creating
the ambiance.
London is a melting pot of cultures. Over 25% of the people working in London
were born elsewhere. There are over 300 languages spoken and 1.8 million
overseas nationals live in London.
The city now boasts food from more than 60 different countries and regions.
These are available in over 12,000 restaurants and cafes.
"In most developed countries around the world there is no population growth and
what growth there is, if at all, comes from immigration. That has an
interesting impact on the food industry. We tend to absorb some of the culinary
ethos of the immigrants. Often that works to the advantage of our country.
British food, which has never been great, has improved tremendously from
Bangladeshi and Pakistani influence." Dr. David Hughes, Professor Emeritus,
Agribusiness & Food Marketing, Imperial College, Wye, UK
The British work hard. Each day over one million people enter central London
during the morning rush hour. Britain's cash-rich, time-strapped consumers have
created great opportunity for convenience-food manufacturers. Extended working
hours and the longest commuting times in Europe are pushing up heat-and-serve
meal sales faster than any other food sector in the country.
Convenience food sales in 2001 were £11bn in the UK and estimated to grow by
33% in the next ten years. Customers are also offered incentives such as reward
schemes, easy parking and long opening hours (24 hour opening is common) to fit
in with busy lifestyles.
The British also like convenience when buying food. The ‘big five’ supermarket
chains in the UK (Sainsbury's, M&S, Tesco, Safeway/Morrisons, Asda and
Somerfield) now account for about 70% of food retail sales. An average store
such as Sainsbury’s can offer upwards of 30,000 different items on its shelves.
Convenience food has had an impact on home made meals. One of the apparent
paradoxes of modern food is that, while the amount of time spent cooking meals
in Britain has fallen from 60 minutes a day in 1980 to 13 minutes a day in
2002, the number of books and television programmes on cooking has multiplied.
Ready meals from supermarkets are the main result of the drive to convenience
in Britain. Ten years ago, the sector barely existed; it is now worth £1.5
billion and is growing at 6% a year. Around 40 per cent of households eat at
least one ready meal a week - double the number in France. Between 1998 and
2004, sales grew by around 44 per cent with Indian, Italian and Chinese meals
accounting for nearly half of the sales.
"Increasing numbers of smaller sized households has an enormous impact on the
food industry because it drives convenience. In the UK, 30% of households are
one person. If there is one person then why bother cooking, and even if there
are two people who are both working, why wouldn’t we eat out more or why
wouldn’t we bring in ready meals. It has long-term implications for the food
industry." Dr. David Hughes
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The pioneers of ready meals in the 1980s were Marks & Spencer - the home of the
middle-class shopper. Today, Tesco's and Sainsbury's use ready meals as the
backbone of their "premium" ranges.
"We are in such time stressed environments so when we do sit down, hey, give
myself a treat. I want something premium, I want something authentic. I want
something with a story. That particularly works on the weekends. Monday to
Friday we get by on take-a-ways, on ready, on eating out and snacks. On the
weekends we just might cook. Let’s be old-fashioned, using ingredients. We want
to know where those ingredients come from, what’s the providence? Is it local?
Is it traditional? Is it seasonal?" Dr. David Hughes
In recent years, British food manufacturers have become bright stars in an
otherwise gloomy manufacturing sector. Some 7,000 new food products are tested
in the UK each year, a good indication of the pace of change and competition in
this sector. UK supermarket Tesco launches 1,200 new convenience products a
year because variety boosts consumption.
The UK food industry probably does more to add value to their food than any
other nation in the world. The British recognize adding labour can increase
sales of boring products. Once upon a time, carrots were carrots. Now they are
diced, chopped, shredded or peeled into nice little rounded sticks for
children's snacks. Each process allows the supermarket to charge more.
"The more involved we get with the act of eating and the act of cooking, the
more value is injected into the occasion, the more money we are willing to
pay." Dr. David Hughes
British consumers are increasingly interested in diet and health. As a result,
UK food and drink manufacturers are developing an increasing range of products
to meet changing lifestyle and dietary requirements. The market for enhanced
nutrition (functional foods) is now worth more than £1.2billion with the sector
growing by 523% (1998-2003).
About 53% of British adults eat cereals at least once a day, which explains why
the UK accounts for just over half of the entire European market.
Baby-boomers marching into middle age are inspiring a broad range of wellness
cereals. Cereals have always been perceived as a healthy option. The range of
genuinely wellness cereals is growing with the addition of added-fruit mueslis
to functional products with pro-biotic bacteria and ingredients promoting
'gut-friendly’ bacteria. Even UK Supermarket private labels and major brands
have leapt on this bandwagon.
The UK is now the third biggest outlet for organic food in the world, £1.2bn a
year, behind the USA with sales £5.9bn a year, and Germany with £1.6bn. Market
analysts are predicting that the organic food and drinks market in the UK will
be worth £1.6bn by 2007. However, the sector still only accounts for less than
2 percent of the total UK grocery business.
Fresh and Wild, an up and coming organic retailer with 6 stores in London, was
recently purchased by Whole Foods based in the US. Whole Foods operate 145
stores in the United States plus stores in both Toronto and Vancouver.
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