Cost Sector Catering: What have been the challenges and the main drivers of your business?
Neil Lindsell: The main challenge for Country Choice has been gearing up for the turning of the economic climate. The eating-out market has been growing recently due to rising consumer confidence and people feeling better off – even if they are not. This, partnered with the continuing time-poor lifestyle, means that consumers are spending more on food in the workplace, at school and in the cost sector in general.
We are seeing this particularly around meal occasions, with people leaving the house without having had breakfast, and eating it on the go or when they arrive at work instead – and fewer people are making their own lunch than last year. The overall growth in GDP is giving our cost sector customers the confidence to reinvest in their business and, with the increase in employment, more people are spending money on food.
How has your cost sector offering evolved over the past 12 months and why?
For our customers, the key to success is keeping consumers on site rather than having them go out on to the high street to spend their money. This means that operators need to replicate as near as possible the dining experience that consumers are used to finding outside of the workplace. It also means that there needs to be a point of difference from the traditional retail offering so that comparisons can’t be made with regard to the price point. If it is a retail offering, then the operator needs to make it clear to the consumer why there is a premium and what they are getting for their money.
Street food is already finding its way into the cost sector environment, and being able to offer this within a work environment is ideal. The challenge is managing a high volume of customers over a short period of time, which is why we have invested significant resources in developing our range of grab-and-go concepts – Pasta Pronto, Tuk Tuk and Hudson’s.
What advice are you giving customers?
We have a dedicated technical team able to offer advice on every aspect of food to go, including range, merchandising, ticketing, point of sale, allergen and labelling information, health and safety, food hygiene and, of course, baking. We have a team of 11 foodservice trainers out in the field who are on hand to assist with any customer issues.
What are your bestsellers in the cost sector? Are you currently working on any initiatives/partnerships relevant to these operators?
The main focus of our work in the cost sector involves secondary schools and developing concepts that fit this busy food environment. With the development work we are doing here and the added value services we offer, such as those I have mentioned previously, we feel we have a unique proposition.
Although the introduction of UIFSM has enabled primary schools to invest in new equipment and concepts, secondary schools have not had this benefit, so one of the way
s we can help them is by providing equipment on loan for free for our Pasta Pronto, Hudson’s and Tuk Tuk concepts, which allows schools to take advantage of the popularity of quick-serve pasta, rice and noodles. Our latest initiative is a product called Sub 350, which is a range of four handheld savoury snacks that are school-compliant and under 350kcal.
Where do you get your inspiration for new products?
We have a dedicated in-house team, and their inspiration comes from a mixture of desktop research on the latest food trends and market insight. This is backed by regular food study tours and visits to our customers.
If you had one wish for the next 12 months, what would it be?
It would be great to see continued economic growth within the foodservice sector as a whole as this benefits everyone. From a personal perspective, I would like to see our concepts continue to grow within the education sector, especially Sub 350.