Grab-and-go meals fuel growth, but contract numbers fall

The traditional meat-and-two-veg contract catering meal is giving way to lighter snacks and "grab-and-go" items, the latest survey on the industry has reported.

The 15th Food and Service Management Industry survey from the British Hospitality Association (BHA) has found that, while the number of catering outlets was down last year, the number of meals served was up.

The total number of outlets was down by 2.5%, from 19,342 to 18,865, as businesses, industry and state schools cut back on their contract catering needs.

The main growth areas were further and higher education, private nursing homes, oil rigs and the Ministry of Defence, although these were often non-food contracts.

Many of these growth areas required three-meals-a-day contracts, meaning the number of meals served rose by 4.3%, to 1.66 billion meals.

Turnover by caterers operating in business, industry, healthcare, education and the armed forces rose by 2.4% to £3.78b, the survey also reported.

"Clients, more than ever, are anxious to reduce the space allocated to their catering services and wish to reduce the subsidy; customers, experiencing lifestyle changes in eating out in the high street, are moving towards lighter meals with an increasing emphasis on healthy eating," said Linda Halliday, chair of the BHA's Food and Service Management Forum.

The trend towards snack meals had been encouraged by an increase in branded outlets, which now accounted for 65-70% of all meals served, and now total more than 100,000 outlets.

Caterers were also providing an increasing number of services other than catering.

There had been a 22% rise in the number of support services provided as part of a catering contract.

Services ranged from cleaning, housekeeping, portering and laundry to grounds management, waste management and the provision of sterile services for hospitals.

by Nic Paton

Buy next week's Caterer magazine for more on the BHA survey