Henderson Group and Around Noon have invested over £80,000 to enhance and innovate the dailyDeli lunch on the go range, in light of consumer shopping changes during lockdown and as restrictions lift.

A recent Food to Go report* noted the changes in shopper behaviour around lunchtime purchases due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown. The report by Lumina Intelligence found that while 34% of people are planning to continue to work from home in the future, 38% will seek out ‘at-home to go’ alternatives from local stores for their lunch.

Henderson’s fresh team has collaborated with Around Noon in Newry to develop the newly revamped range of sandwiches, wraps, salads and snack pots to capture this opportunity for growth within the market.

The new look brand now includes two new sub-ranges to create 12 new products; Nice and Simple uses key simple ingredients to provide great value for money, while the Choice range brings a selection of Under 400 calorie, vegan and vegetarian options of sandwiches, wraps salads and snacks to please every food mood.

Neal Kelly, Fresh Foods Director at Henderson Group which owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO brands in Northern Ireland said working with adaptable local suppliers will always allow them to react to market changes quickly; “Over the past year with more and more shoppers choosing SPAR and EUROSPAR for all of their shopping occasions, we have closely monitored the shift in consumer behaviour and identified opportunities to grow our lunch on the go options.

“It is this need for forward thinking and quick turnarounds that makes our working with local suppliers such as Around Noon even more important. Adjusting our products to fit the market is crucial to the success of our retailers, and whether working from home or back in the office, we know consumers will continue to seek out ‘to go’ lunch options.  It’s more important than ever that we provide a broad range of quality food to go options to fulfil their daily needs.”

As the average consumer becomes more demanding, Gareth Chambers, CEO of Around Noon says such requirements have been considered throughout the creation of the products.

“We are carefully considering what shoppers want to eat. The rise in consumers turning to veggie and vegan diets, or taking a flexitarian approach, has seen us develop products that makes it easy to maintain various lifestyle choices.

“Also, with weather improving and restrictions easing we wanted to further enhance the dailyDeli range and give consumers even more choice when planning their perfect picnic.”

Sustainable packaging is a key focus for businesses and consumers alike, and therefore the company has invested in fully recyclable labels, sandwich and wrap boxes with all salad and snack pots made from 50% recyclable material, which are also fully recyclable.

Neal Kelly continued; “As the biggest wholesaler in Northern Ireland, we make every effort to factor in such sustainability practices in all our products.”

The new dailyDeli range will be available in over 130 SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA stores and supermarkets, including all Henderson Retail operated outlets.

 

* UK Food to Go Market Report 2021 by Lumina Intelligence, April 2021 as reported in The Grocer, April 2021

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