Some thoughts from Lunch!

Food and drink, we all need it, we all want it, in fact, it’s essential to our existence in the world.

Last week we took a mosey down to Lunch! at the Excel to see what was happening in the UK food-to-go sector.

After the last few turbulent years, it’s fascinating to see how consumer trends have shifted. CBD water, sustainable packaging, plant-based foods, 0% alcohol drinks… maybe some good did come out of the plague.

The biggest surprise to me was the breadth of the plant-based food offering — chicken (but not chicken), beef burgers (made of plants), Jerky (never knew what was in that anyway). There’s clearly a move to more sustainable alternatives, branded better than their flesh-loving contemporaries, and in some cases, dare I say, tastier.

The likes of Wicked Kitchen, Beyond Meat and BettaF!sh are leading the way with B2B and B2C offerings and some strong branding to match.

Within drink companies, there’s a shift towards healthier alternatives — I learnt what a CBD drink was, what goes into Kombucha and that you can drink a milkshake that is the equivalent to an Esso meal deal but better for you. yfood is a German company that recently launched in the UK offering ‘a healthy drinkable meal’ — supplies your body with essential nutrients such as proteins, fibre, plant-based oils and 26 vitamins and minerals.

I’m interested in whether these shifts are fuelled by a younger demographic who spurn the advances of a £2.50 pint whilst stuck to a Wetherspoons carpet, or whether we are all more aware of the benefits of CBD, enzymes in our drinks, or simply drank too much in solitary confinement over the last few years.

What I do know is that the landscape appears to have changed for the better — taste-wise, sustainably and aesthetically. These new entrants into the market are savvier, being mostly created by people within their own target market. There’s some amazing businesses and names such as Ninju, Perfect Ted and my personal favourite Hip Pop.

Although nothing seems to have changed, a lot has changed and it’s a very exciting time to be involved in our shifting views toward what we put in our bodies.

Anyway, I’m off to the pub for a pie and a pint, what are you having?