Rising food prices could force customers away from eating out

16-Sep-2021 - Last updated on 16-Sep-2021 at 14:53 GMT

Food price fears: global food prices threaten customer numbers at pubs and restaurants (credit: Getty Images / Anchiy)

The rise in global food prices could drive consumers away from pub restaurant visits and into discount retailers, according to a GlobalData survey.

The research also shows 91% of consumers have a preference for cooking meals at home.

Following the news that food inflation is at its highest since the 1970s, Hannah Cleland, consumer analyst at data and analytics company GlobalData, said: “Higher food prices combined with the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic will inevitably shift consumer spending priorities away from non-essential/luxury items like visits to hospitality venues, bars and restaurants and towards making savings on the household budget with more discount grocery shopping.

Cooking at home

“Restaurants could be affected by this as more people may opt to stay at home and cook rather than going out for a meal. There are a growing number of people cooking from scratch at home with a recent GlobalData survey confirming that 91% of respondents globally said they had either started to, continue to, or are doing this more frequently, which suggests that this trend is here to stay.

“Although many people are on tightened budgets, there are opportunities for restaurants and foodservice outlets to capitalise on their access to higher quality or specialist products compared to those available to consumers in supermarkets and discounters.

Overhead costs

“An effective service that has already gained traction during the pandemic is meal kits and the same GlobalData survey found that 53% of global respondents have started to, continue to, or are using meal kits more frequently. Meal kits provide a way for food outlets to continue engaging with consumers who can’t afford to eat out and cuts the overhead costs for businesses running a bricks-and-mortar venue.”

However, as food prices rise, pubs could potentially turn their attention to offering a premium food offer to secure custom while also making their mark as a great option to visit as demonstrated by top pub chefs earlier this month.