Quick read all about our next key trend in 2019 - CONVENIENCE-LED TECH

In both the out of home and retail food markets, tech-led convenience will be having a huge impactful. Our advice is not to get distracted by vanity tech for the sake of it – focus on what will drive convenience and help your consumers.

Speed of service: the single most important consumer need from all age groups in a large survey by MCA 2018. The Shell Select trial payment system in their Holloway Rd store allows shoppers to scan a whole trolley or basket in one go. Tossed was the first food to go operator to go ‘cashless’ - Hilton-Jenvey have outlined that 8% of total worldwide foodservice orders will take place online by 2021. Vita Mojo provides a personalised food experience through automated and data-driven operations. 

Over 60% of Millennials and Gen Z prefer to buy their FTG at self service checkouts vs the average consumer at 44%. Mobile payments will be key to the high street’s survival and retailers who don’t have near-field communication points of payment, such as Apple Pay or contactless, will increasingly fall behind.

AI apps: Punky Colour used this AI YouCam app to show customers what they’d look like with different colour hair. This shortcuts the decision making process, derisking the purchase, helps retailers increase basket sizes and conversions, reduces the number of products returned and give brands aggregated data about how consumers interact with makeup colours, like which shades they are most likely to try on and how they combine different products.

What if there was an app which could absorb your families calendar, contents of cupboards, fridge and freezer and generate meal plans that saved hours of time, cut waste and suggested ‘meals you might like”?

Online supermarket shopping: There are so many opportunities when online food shopping. It’s so easy/boring to shop favourites. Can the data be used to target shoppers with recommendations based on individual buying habits whilst they are building a basket? 

Loyalty apps: Greggs loyalty initiative (a free lunch offer), driven through their loyalty app “Greggs Rewards”, was so successful, it sent the app to number one in the Apple store – as well as causing a few localised problems as hungry students flooded into stores, eager to make the most of the offer.

Voice: “Voice is growing and that trend will grow exponentially over the next 12 to 18 months,” predicts John Vary, futurologist at JLP, with evolutions that will make it “as seamless and effortless as possible” to order, shop and command hands-free. Comscore predicts 50% of all searches will be conducted by voice by 2020, as smart speak market penetration outpaces the historical growth of smartphones. 

The death of the kitchen? Millennials are three times as likely to order in than their parents, and food delivery apps are now on average in the top 40 most downloaded apps in major markets. UBS stated: “There could be a scenario where by 2030 most meals currently cooked at home are instead ordered online and delivered from either restaurants or central kitchens.” Thanks to “dark kitchens” making restaurant food just for delivery, robots flipping burgers or making salads, and drones delivering food, the total cost of production of a “professionally cooked and delivered meal could approach the cost of home-cooked food, or beat it when time is factored in.”

Imagine a factory of the future, which incorporates core lines, high-end artisan npd and a dark kitchen area. Manufacturers have finessed their high food safety standards for retailers – is it time to look at creating dark kitchens on behalf of food-to-go brands where Deliveroo can pick the food up and take to consumers homes?

The advances in tech are incredible – we advise to focus on the tech that has the ability to enhance the way you make consumers lives easier.

This article first appeared as an Insta-Zine on the Visionise Instagram account, please give us a follow for insight, opinion and updates. It's where food trends start. 

Sources: Food to Go Conference 2018, The Grocer, Forbes, UBS, Essential Retail

---------

Visionise is a unique team focussed on supporting Brand and Own Label growth for FMCG companies. We work with some of the largest industry leaders, helping them to Super-Engage their customers, consumers and consumers