On the go food sales in petrol and convenience outlets surpassed $500 million last year as the category leapt to become the largest food specific revenue generator in the channel.
With annual dollar growth of 13.3%, or $63 million dollars of additional value, on the go food delivered 69% of all additional food and beverage value last year.
Underpinned by increased levels of retailer investment, the result is all the more impressive since it comes at a time of intensifying competition from QSR’s and online food delivery platforms such as UberEats.
IRI’s MarketEdge found over half the sales in the category came from private label products, while five of the top ten growth contributing SKUs were newly introduced in 2017, with 20 of the top 50 also having been launched during the year.
David Shukri, Channel Director at IRI, commented, “Operators in the channel are undoubtedly latching on to the food to go opportunity, creating unique destinations and offers in the process.
“If the industry can continue to improve the flexibility of the supply chain and deliver ‘new news’ through meaningful and targeted NPD, there’s every reason to believe more growth can come from this fast-developing category.”