Weekday Lunch Visits Return to Growth in Australia as Economy Improves, According to NPD

Sydney, Australia, April 21, 2016 – Coinciding with the Australian unemployment rate reaching its lowest level in two years, the foodservice industry experienced growth in weekday lunch visits in 2015, according to global information company, The NPD Group’s CREST® foodservice market research, which continually tracks consumer use of foodservice outlets.

Weekday lunch represents one-quarter of all visits to Australia’s foodservice industry, and is by far the biggest daypart. When looking at the share of visits across all foodservice categories, quick service restaurants (QSR) make up the preferred channel for weekday lunch. The top three outlets ranked by visit share are QSR burger, QSR sandwich/salad/juice, and QSR chicken.

Lunch at Foodservice Outlets, Percent Change vs. Year Ago

         Source: The NPD Group, Inc. / CREST®

“In addition to the core requirements such as good value, food quality, and fast service, when consumers go out for their work lunch they are also searching for healthy options, light meals, and variety. Therefore, a weekday lunch is not only functional by satisfying hunger, but is also health driven,” said Ciara Clancy, Director, Australia Foodservice, The NPD Group.

 Weekday lunch is more male-oriented and skews toward consumers aged 35 and older. Half of the visits are alone; while shared meals are more frequently held for dinner socialising occasions, lunch is more about individual portions.

“Weekday lunch is important business, and a number of opportunities lie ahead for the market to develop further in 2016 and beyond,” said Clancy. “Foodservice outlets should capitalise on consumers’ value of convenience, by building up their presence beyond city centres and taking advantage of mobile apps, to connect with busy and hungry people more widely. To increase visits, the fast casual and retail channels should focus on product innovation and new services to draw in more lunch crowds. In addition, different ethnic cuisines should be explored to satisfy new and uncharted tastes.”

Source: The NPD Group, Inc. / CREST® , Annual 2015