The UK food-to-go sector is now bigger than ever, and it’s about to get even hotter. Bouncing back from the slump of COVID-19 which drove a 66% year-on-year drop in sales, when the UK was six weeks into its first lockdown [MealTrak], volumes were up 20.8% last year (Kantar), and according to IGD, the UK food-to-go market is now set to reach £29.1bn by 2028.
Driven by consumer trends towards food-to-go premiumisation, experimentation, convenience, increased missions and a greater need for value, the hot-eat segment presents one of the biggest opportunities for food-to-go, with retailers like Pret a Manger, Greggs and Morrisons having all invested heavily in hot infrastructure.
Supporting these consumer trends alongside market demands for sustainability, efficiency and waste reduction, Coveris’ HEAT packs utilise an innovative fibre-composite, dual-ovenable printed board to enable hot-to-go products like pastries, wraps, potato wedges, goujons, pastas and pizzas to be cooked in-pack, merchandised in-pack, and then eaten in-pack as a hot-hold solution.
Delivering a simpler, faster, no-touch process instore, the new packs provide an unrivalled convenience solution for both retailer and consumer. Aligning with Coveris’ vision of No Waste, the recyclable HEAT packs support waste reduction targets with advanced heat retention and protection to provide a fully-enclosed fold-up board solution, with no requirement for additional wrapping.
Having recently launched the innovative new snack packs for Rollover chicken nuggets and jalapeño cheese poppers, packs are currently available at hot-food counters in convenience retail and forecourts nationwide.
Commenting on Coveris’ new range, Paul Robertson, Food-on-the-move Sales Director said “HEAT is a game-changer for the food-to-go sector. Providing the packaging of the future, our hot-to-go packs allows for a whole new category of products to be made available to consumers in a sustainable, convenient and added-value way. Enabling the food-to-go fixture to also be extended beyond traditional lunch time occasions to support increased breakfast and dinner offerings also provide endless opportunities for NPD within the category.”
For more information, please visit www.coveris.com