Introduction
 
Eating out has evolved around a broad range of consumer needs ranging from a desire to experience new, exotic cuisines from fine dining venues to obtaining a 'grab-and-go' solution from a fast food outlet or even a convenience store. This report offers a complete review of European and US consumers' eating out habits and the subsequent impact of these changes on the foodservice and retail markets.
 

 
Scope
 
A complete review of European and US consumers' eating out habits with market size and transaction data segmented by channel and country.
 
Consumer segmentation based upon the frequency of eating out in the evening.
 
Extensive analysis of trends in consumer behavior and the impact of these changes on the foodservice and retail markets in Europe and the US
 
Detailed Action Points pinpointing how to effectively target the growing number and value of eating out occasions.
 
Highlights
 
Eating-out is increasingly characterized by being less planned, leading to more irregular eating times and reinforcing the trend for more 'snack' or 'quick and easy' meals. There is also a growing blur between foodservice and retail whereby away-from-home consumption has huge implications for both foodservice and packaged goods players alike.
 

 
Out-of-home eating is becoming more established. In Europe, Datamonitor forecasts that there will be 12.9 billion extra out-of-home meal occasions in 2008 relative to 2003 and 6 billion extra snacking occasions. Corresponding figures for the US indicate an increase of 8.8 billion meals and 7 billion snacking occasions respectively.
 

 
There will be an extra 3 billion foodservice (profit sector) transactions in 2009 relative to 2004 in the US. A similar growth rate is predicted for Europe, where the number of transactions will exceed 41 billion by 2009. The combined value of the foodservice (profit sector) in Europe and the US is forecast to exceed US$700 billion by 2009.
 

 
Reasons to Purchase
 
Obtain unique data on the size and future development of the European and US foodservice markets.
 
Understand the trends and consumer needs affecting eating out choices and recognize how foodservice experiences affect consumers' retail choices.
 
Discover how to tailor your NPD and marketing campaigns to more accurately target specific consumer groups and occasions

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
 
Hot topic 3
 
The future decoded 3
 
Action points 6
 
CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED 13
 
Introduction 13
 
Dining out is becoming part of consumers’ daily routine 13
 
Out-of-home eating is becoming more established 13
 
The number and value of foodservice meals are increasing 17
 
Eating out occasions are becoming increasingly informal 23
 
Variances in eating out frequencies 25
 
Medium and low frequency consumer groups dominate eating out 25
 
Consumers are increasingly eating out on weekdays 27
 
Demographics play an important part in frequencies 28
 
Health and wellness influence eating out behavior 33
 
Health concerns now influence foodservice choices even more 33
 
Convenience and connectivity trends drive consumer needs 42
 
Eating out often occurs to alleviate time pressured stress 42
 
Consumers eat out to fulfil social needs 46
 
Families use eating out as a means of facilitating quality time 47
 
Seeing friends is the most pertinent consumer motivation 50
 
Consumers seek more flexibility from foodservice offerings 50
 
Consumers are developing ever more individualistic attitudes 50
 
Consumers want menus to cater to their specific preferences 51
 
Foodservice trends affect consumers’ retail purchases 52
 
Taste is the crucial factor in both foodservice and retail purchases 52
 
Consumers are more experimental when eating out 53
 
The move towards ethnic bolder tastes is driven by foodservice 55
 
Consumers now seek to replicate on-trade experiences at home 59
 
Consumers are receptive to blurred foodservice/retail solutions 62
 
Conclusions 66
 
CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS 68
 
Introduction 68
 
Target consumers’ health and wellness demands 68
 
Provide more healthy options in menu offerings 68
 
Help consumers make informed choices when dining out 70
 
Develop healthier alternatives for children’s menus 72
 
Ensure that exceptional levels of hygiene are transparently shown 72
 
Offer more scope for individualized consumption 72
 
Enhance the variety and culinary diversity of menus 76
 
Offer dishes based on local ingredients and traditions 77
 
Promote eating out as a convenient, sociable treat 77
 
Emphasize the social benefits that dining out offers 78
 
Emphasize the convenient benefits of dining out 78
 
Target the growing blur between foodservice and retail 79
 
Provide convenient solutions to operators 79
 
Increase the level of ‘pick-up and take-out’ services 80
 
Develop restaurant or chef branded goods for retail consumption 80
 
Position products as replicating restaurant quality 83
 
Seek out alliances or acquisitions that provide foodservice access 85
 
Seek out, test and develop new foodservice concepts 87
 
Monitor the foodservice arena to capitalize on flavor trends 88
 
Use professional chefs as facilitators of product development 88
 
CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX 89
 
Definitions 89
 
Research methodology 90
 
References 90
 
How to contact experts in your industry 91
 

 

 
LIST OF TABLES
 
Table 1: Change in European and US breakfast, lunch and dinner occasions (billions), in-home vs. out-of-home, 2003-2008 14
 
Table 2: Number of annual in-home and out-of-home breakfast, lunch and dinner occasions, by country (billions), 2003-2008 15
 
Table 3: Number of annual in-home and out-of-home morning, afternoon and evening snack occasions (billions), by country, 2003-2008 16
 
Table 4: Number of food and drink foodservice (profit sector) transactions, by country (billions), 2004-2009 17
 
Table 5: Number of foodservice (profit-sector) meals served in the evening (billions), by country, 1998-2008 18
 
Table 6: The value of eating out in foodservice channels (profit sector), by country (US$ billions), 2004-2009 19
 
Table 7: The per capita value of eating out in foodservice channels (profit sector), by country (US$ billions), 2004-2009 20
 
Table 8: Major factors driving the growth of eating out occasions 21
 
Table 9: No. of foodservice (profit sector) outlets, by country, 2004-2009 22
 
Table 10: Fast-casual dining in the US 23
 
Table 11: Number of food and drink quick service restaurant (QSR) transactions vs. full service restaurant (FSR) transactions, by country (millions), 2004-2009 24
 
Table 12: Value of food and drink consumed in quick service restaurants (QSRs) and full service restaurants (FSRs), by country (US$ billions), 2004-2009 25
 
Table 13: Eating out – percentage and nominal consumer segmentation by frequency group, 2003-2008 26
 
Table 14: Number of times a person eats out in the evening per week (week vs. weekend), 2003-2008 28
 
Table 15: Consumers and households using meal delivery service in Europe and the US 2001-2006 42
 
Table 16: Experiential consumption in foodservice: an example of innovative themed establishments 54
 
Table 17: Ethnic ready meals market value by country (€m and US$m), 2002-2007 57
 
Table 18: Retail offerings that cater to consumers’ growing desire to ‘bring third places home’ 61
 
Table 19: Value of foodservice food and drinks purchased in retail channels (US$ millions), by country, 2004-2009 64
 
Table 20: Examples of convenient, restaurant quality concepts that blur the boundaries of foodservice and retail offerings 66
 
Table 21: European consumer interest in natural (including organic) and fresh food and drinks, 2002-2003 70
 
Table 22: Camper branded restaurants: an example of tapping into the potential of health conscious consumers away from home 70
 
Table 23: An innovative example of helping consumers to make more informed decisions when eating out 71
 
Table 24: US and European food marketers’ views on the relative importance of individualism related product trends, 2004 73
 
Table 25: An example of the ‘all-purpose, all-accessible, all-affordable’ foodservice concept 74
 
Table 26: Examples of products and concepts that facilitate individualized consumption 76
 
Table 27: Examples of restaurant branded foods which capitalize on consumers’ tendencies to replicate on-trade consumption at home 81
 
Table 28: Examples of products positioned as restaurant quality 84
 
Table 29: McDonalds and Quaker combine to satisfy consumer demand for healthier ‘grab and go’ solutions 86
 
Table 30: Cereality: an innovative example in targeting out-of-home eating 87
 
Table 30: Definitions used in this report 89
 

 
LIST OF FIGURES
 
Figure 1: A synopsis of key eating out occasions and needs by consumer group 32
 
Figure 2: Consumers’ changing attitudes towards health over time 36
 
Figure 3: Cross country comparison highlighting consumer attitudes and behavior towards health, 2004 38
 
Figure 4: An insight into European and US consumers’ socialization attitudes and behaviors, 2004 47
 
Figure 5: Motivations for eating out in the evening in Europe and the US 50
 
Figure 6: The origins of the home-meal replacement (HMR) trend 63
 
Figure 7: The growing complexity and overlap between retail and foodservice propositions 67
 
Figure 8: The polarization of taste preferences: a clash of the ‘sensory’ and ‘homing’ mega-trends 77
 
Figure 9: Important factors necessary to justify a restaurant quality positioning 83