Euromonitor International was proud to open the panel session on the future of food at the QSR Detpak Conference 2016 in Sydney, Australia. In her presentation, Lily Lam revealed how changing lifestyles in Australia was fundamentally changing eating habits within the quick service restaurants (QSR) space.

HEALTH & WELLNESS TRENDS IMPACT THE FOODSERVICE LANDSCAPE

In the Australian market, Naturally Healthy ranked highest by retail value, at A$5.3b in 2015. Looking into the future, however, it will be Food Intolerance that sees the most growth. Turning to Fast Food, Latin American Fast Food continued to be the fastest-growing category in 2015, with operators maintaining relevance through innovation and a healthy positioning. Other Fast Food was the second fastest growing: this category consists of emerging formats influenced by health and wellness trends; for example, Paleo Café, Thrive or Oliver’s.

HEALTHY EATING: WHERE IS PROTEIN HEADED?

Protein is one the hottest ingredients right now. The source where consumers get their protein from is shifting and, above all, expanding. Although meat remained by far the largest in volume terms in 2015 and in 2020, Euromonitor’s fresh food data reveals a shift away from meat in highly developed markets, including Australia. Based on this, plant-based proteins – derived from different types of legumes, nuts, grains, seeds, vegetables – will be more important in the future.

DEMAND FOR GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCES GROWS IN AUSTRALIA

Non-conventional foodservice formats reflect the country’s foodie culture, as Australians trade up to satisfy their desire for gastronomic experiences. The Australian market has become a playground for international and domestic chefs alike, and pop-up restaurants have found success. Examples include: Noma, Fervour and In-N-Out Burger. Lessons learned? Chains can benefit from experimenting with new concepts, in both cost-effective and creative ways.

RESTAURANT DELIVERY AND THE FUTURE OF HOME DELIVERY

Finally, the demand for delivery has never been greater. Driving this demand are millennial consumers that are accustomed to tech-oriented convenience. As delivery becomes widespread, consumers want more than take-out, they want restaurant-quality food. And they want it delivered. At the same time, foodservice operators that typically lack takeout or delivery mechanisms are increasingly willing to cooperate with delivery services. So is the shift in the food delivery paradigm, from Deliveroo to UberEATS, what will be next?

For more information, visit Euromonitor's website here.

Ipsos’ Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (emma) study shows the biggest drivers for consumers in choosing which brand to patronise.

In the past four weeks, 11.8 million Australians adults have visited a QSR - that’s 69% of the population. With endless choices available at meal times, these hungry consumers can be divided into three distinct segments; those who choose a restaurant predominantly looking for something tasty, those who choose on the basis of health or those who are concerned first and foremost about price.

The majority of consumers are choosing on the basis of price (43%). Their restaurant of choice is McDonald’s, with 31% citing it as their main QSR. On average they’ve spent $27.72 on QSR restaurants in the last week, and 47% said they are most likely to enjoy QSR convenience around dinnertime.

Those prioritising the healthiness of the menu options account for 16%, with 32% of that group patronising Subway. They have spent a total of $23.98 on average in the last week eating out at a QSR. They are 10% more likely to get peckish in the afternoon and seek out a QSR. 

Consumers who made their choice based on taste only account for 5% of this group, with 16% of them nominating The Coffee Club as their venue of choice. They are spending the most on QSRs, with an average of $30.85 in the last week. They are 39% more likely to grab a late-night snack in a QSR than the rest of the Australian population. This group, being the smallest, is the most polarising when it comes to advocating for a brand online. 

Taste seekers are 61% more likely than the total population to write a review for brands, products or services on a regular basis. They are also 21% more likely to read reviews for brands, products and services, and to encourage others to buy based on their own experiences. They are 19% more likely to post or share positive comments about products/services and experiences online. 

When seeking what they value as quality, 63% of the choice based on taste segment believe that Grilld offers good quality food, followed by Salsas Fresh Mex Grill (57%), Mad Mex (52%) and Guzman Y Gomez (52%), demonstrating some preference for Mexican cuisine. 

Additionally, 64% of decisions about where to eat by those choosing on taste are based on advice from family, friends or colleagues. They also are likely to perform their own online searches, with 29% of them seeking information on eating out on search engines, reinforcing the growing need for a strong SEM and SEO strategy. In great news for socially savvy QSRs, 21% of those individuals are influenced by their social media channels. They are 51% more likely than the total population to be influenced by cinema advertising, a medium most effective in engaging the audience and creating stronger emotional connections. We can speculate those choosing on the basis of taste are more likely to be motivated to purchase based on emotions – true pleasure seekers.

Source: emma (May 2015-Apr 2016) n=43,608
 

An Ipsos study tries to delve into the eating habits of University undergrads and their behaviour towards QSRs.

The life of a university undergraduate can be challenging at the best of times. Balancing their work, studies and social lives can often call for sacrifices to be made. There’s a common stereotype that these undergrads, aged 18-25 often get by on instant noodles, a way to save time and money, though when it comes to QSR’s what are their preferences, and when are they likely to eat there?

Students are 2.5 times more likely than the rest of the population to be eating at QSR’s late at night, between 8pm and 5am.

Interestingly, there are four QSR’s which over index against the total population; Boost Juice, Grill’d, Oporto and Guzman Y Gomez.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected].

An Ipsos study tries to find out which capital city's consumers are most likely to visit QSRs, and whether or not the patrons of QSRs stick to one brand, or mix it up and visit multiple.

Almost 2 in 3 Australians who live in capital cities have visited a QSR in the last 4 weeks. Today we explore whether or not people stick to one QSR, or they mix it up and visit multiple QSR’s. Additionally, we take a look at which capital city’s individuals are most likely to visit a variety of QSR’s.

Overall, the majority of individuals visit a variety of 2-3 QSR’s, though quite a significant number (between 20% - 25%) had only visited one within the last four weeks.

When comparing capital cities, Brisbane had a larger proportion of individuals who visit 4 or more QSR’s. However, when it came to those who ate at least 6 different QSR’s, both Perth and Brisbane over indexed compared to the rest of the population.

Could this be due to a wider range available to our friends in Brisbane and Perth or perhaps personalities that are more open to variety and trying new and exciting flavours?

*QSR’s which are listed as options with the emma survey (March 2015 - February 2016)

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected].

An Ipsos study tries to find out which QSR boasts the greatest increase in consumer consideration year on year.

A number of factors influence a customer’s perception of a QSR brand, whether it’s that brands overall marketing effort, word of mouth reviews, mentions in the media just to name a few. Though when it comes to consideration, even more factors come into play. 

Looking at Australia’s consideration of QSR’s, the following chart outlines which boast the greatest increase in consideration year on year.Let’s take a deep dive into Boost Juice, which went from considerations levels of 15% to 21%.

Here are the statements which grew significantly

• Offers good promotions +31%
• Understand customers’ needs +27%
• The menu is easy to order from +27%

It’s therefore no surprise that the customers of Boost Juice who claimed they were satisfied rose from 83% to 91% YOY.

Is this consideration translating into usage? Yes it is. Year on year the there was a 30% increase in Australians who visited the store in the last 4 weeks.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected].

*Year on year consideration amongst the top 10 QSR’s ranked by change in consideration. 12 month rolling databases used. All Australians 14+2016 n=64,845 | 2015 n=68,905

An Ipsos study tries to find out how influential the patrons of QSRs are, and figure out who are the influencers and who are the influenced.

With the rise of social media platforms, everybody has a voice. A sternly worded letter to a brand custodian expressing disappointment is a thing of the past. Nowadays, both jeers and cheers for brands are cast directly into the public arena and depending on how a brand reacts could be the difference between winning over a multitude of new customers or losing a whole lot more.

So let’s take a look at which QSR patrons are the influencers and who are the ones seeking direction from the experiences of others?

Today, we look at the top 10* QSRs (individual’s main usage) and what word of mouth qualities they claim to possess. 

When it comes to influencing others, there are three stand-out QSR’s: Boost Juice, Nandos and Grill’d. This may be influenced by the fact that this sub-group have the lowest average age amongst the top 10. Interestingly, it is also their patrons who like to research prior to any food or dining purchases; when it comes to quick service restaurants, they’re both more particular and more vocal.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected].

 *Top 10 QSRs ranked by sample size

Source: emma™ Conducted by Ipsos Connect (Jan 2015 – Dec 2015), Sample of all respondents 14+ n=69,393
 

An Ipsos study looks into the eating behaviour of adults with children and those without children to see if the little ones have an effect on their parents' choices in QSRs.

We’ve all seen it; most of us were even lucky enough to experience it. As a youngster, sitting in the backseat of your family car, seeing the logo of your favourite brand appear slowly come into view from over the horizon and promptly asking your parents if you could “get some maccas”.

It’s no surprise that children influence the eating behaviour of parents, but to what extent, and which brands are their favourite QSRs?

Looking at what QSR’s were visited in the last 4 weeks by those who had children under 18 at home and those who do not have children, we see some key differences.

While there isn’t a significant difference in the types of QSR’s eaten at, it is interesting to note that those with children at home are considerably more likely to eat at each of the top 10 QSRs than the rest of the population 14+. Grill’d was the exception, where people without children are 13% more likely than those with children to visit Grill’d in the last four weeks.

22% of Australians with children under 18 at home, agree that ‘My child/children influence my purchasing decisions’ while 36% agree that when it comes to Food & Dining ‘I have been influenced by other buyers experiences in my purchase decision.’

Interestingly, Australian parents fare better when it comes to resisting pester power than their overseas counterparts. Research from the University of South Australia’s Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science has revealed that Australian parents give in to pester power 26% of the time compared to American parents who give in 97% of the time and Austrian parents who give in 52% of the time.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected]
 

An Ipsos study tries to find out where consumers actually go to fulfill their healthy eating resolutions.

It’s a New Year and with that comes a wave of New Year resolutions. One such resolution is the ever popular, get fit and improve ones’ general health and wellbeing.

Looking at those who Strongly Agree ‘I am taking steps to stay healthy in the future’ and Strongly Agree ‘I’m concerned about my weight’ there are some interesting gaps between their good intentions and the food they’re actually considering…and consuming.

When it comes to QSR’s that this audience is considering eating at, two of the top three QSR’s are perceived as ‘healthy’ options. Interestingly too, with its range of salads and wraps, McDonald’s is increasingly being seen to ‘offer a healthy alternative’.

Of this group 39% considered Subway, 29% McDonald’s and 23% Boost Juice

So what did they actually eat over the last 4 weeks?

35% visited McDonalds, 20% visited Subway, and 20% visited KFC

It’s important to note that there is more to these findings than people simply choosing to forego their health kick. Availability and convenience offered by the considered store plays an important role as can be seen in the chart.

So what causes such a large drop off between consideration and usage amongst the health focused QSR users? For QSR’s which are widely available such as Subway, perhaps the low conversion rate can be attributed to a lack of innovation or character, two attributes which ranked relatively low.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected]

Student life can be a struggle at the best of times. Trying to get by on minimum income and using your free time to study, get assignments done and socialise. So it only makes sense that students would be more likely to consume meals from QSR’s. But how true is this…?

McDonald’s is the standout QSR, with 43% of Students 18-24 having eaten there in the last 4 weeks, however, they are slightly less likely (4%) than the rest of the Australian population to have done so.

This group is actually 17% and 14% more likely than the rest of the population to eat at Grill’d and Guzman Y Gomez respectively. 

What were the top rating statements for each restaurant amongst this group?

Guzman Y Gomez 
Has personality & character: 33%
The menu is easy to order from: 31%
Is a popular brand: 29%

Grill’d
Has fresh ingredients: 63%
Offers good quality food: 60%
The menu is easy to order from: 59%

Surprisingly, price did not make it into the top three statements. When it comes to eating, it’s not always price that is the determining factor when fuelling for exams, but rather quality and convenience.

 

An Ipsos study tries to find out if the time consumers commit to work and leisure influences their choice of QSR.

Whether it’s a matter of convenience, a social occasion, flavour preference or perhaps a limited ability in the kitchen, there is no shortage of reasons why people choose to eat fast food.

In this report, we have profiled the people who have recently eaten at Australia’s most popular Quick Service Restaurants (QSR’s) with the intention to determine if the time they commit to work and leisure influences their choice in QSR.

Each restaurant includes respondents who have Any Usage in the Last 4 Weeks and is not exclusive.

There is minimal variation when it comes to the number of hours patrons work, however, we do see an interesting output for chicken restaurants Nandos and Oporto both in terms of Travel distance to work and average minutes spent on the commute.

Even though those who eat at Nandos and Oportos spend more time at work and travel a greater distance to get there, they are participating in exercise and taking steps to stay healthy. In the last month, 84% of Oporto’s patrons have participated in some form of exercise while Nandos has the smallest proportion (53%) of patrons who are concerned about their weight.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected]

 

An Ipsos study shows how 'Create Your Taste' changed consumer usage, consideration, and attitude towards the fast food giant.

Sixteen years after McDonald’s was founded in the USA, it made its debut in Australia in 1971, with the doors to the Yagoona Store in Sydney opening to the public on December 30th.

In the years and decades following, McDonald’s has seen a successful expansion across Australia, with over 900 stores serving up both classic and new menu items, adapting to social demands for healthier options for children and adults alike.

For the first time in its history, McDonald’s has given the power to create new menu items to the customer. Launching in the Castle Hill, Sydney store in October 2014, Create Your Taste, saw an interactive menu provide visitors with the option to customise their burger, using premium ingredients in what the company acknowledge is a very “unMcDonald’s” move. A move which allows those with dietary restrictions such as vegetarianism and gluten intolerance to experience McDonald’s often for the very first time.

So how exactly has this affected usage, consideration and attitudes towards the brand? 

October 2014 - Castle Hill ‘Create Your Taste’ store test
December 2014 - Three additional stores trial ‘Create Your Taste’ in Sydney and Melbourne
April 2015 – ‘Create Your Taste’ rollout to 10 stores
July 2015 –‘ Create Your Taste’ available in all stores nationally

While the stats remain relatively stable across the past year, there has been some fluctuation which is consistent with the notable months of store ‘Create Your Taste’ launch. Unsurprisingly, the introduction to the first store did not make a significant change to the figures however the effect of national rollout can be seen with a 42.2% increase in individuals agreeing that McDonald’s offers a wide range of menu choices. In July 2015 McDonald’s also saw uplift in usage of 14.2%. Over the coming months as awareness of Create Your Taste grows, it will be interesting to see further developments in usage and attitude toward the brand.

For information about the research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected]

Data provided by Ipsos. What are the fastest growing brands?

The metric of awareness by itself is almost meaningless for the big players; EVERYONE knows who they are and brand building is well past this point. For smaller brands trying to achieve a high rate of growth awareness is a common measure they can look at to track progress. The emma™ survey tracks the commonly used metrics and the chart below looks at the fastest growing brands by the percentage of population (aged 14+) who are aware they exist.    

Grill’d have featured previously for customer service wins, quality food and healthy options and this will play a part as more of their customers become promoters of the brand and awareness continues to grow. Plenty of brands in this range of awareness were flat or only slightly increasing for the same period and it is interesting to note that three of them promote Mexican food; How long before we see the KFC Burrito appear on Australian menus?

Awareness can be a misleading, Pie Face had a kick in awareness at the end of 2014, start of 2015 as it made the news with questions around survival, consideration and usage went the other way. Pizza Hut has awareness in the same range as Dominos but is visited by one third the number of consumers on any four week period ( averaged from 12 month period ending August 15). The flip side is potential; The new management of Pie Face can use the increased awareness to rebuild the business and once Pizza Hut get the right mix of product and promotion – watch out.

For information about the emma™ survey and research work done by Ipsos please contact [email protected]
  

How do your different customers interact and how do they gather and disseminate information?

The emma survey covers 11 different sources of influence that affects how people make decisions about eating out. In practice we can examine these by a simple age breakdown; for all the age groups Advice from Friends or Family ranked 1st with over 55% of QSR consumers noting it as the most useful source. Search, social and websites ranked accordingly:

Websites are the only online source of information that consistently ranks in the Top 3 and from other data held in the emma survey we know that 40% or more of those aged between 14 and 44 have researched food online in any four week period (emma source: 12 months to July 2015).

When we ask these same age groups about their word of mouth influence and examining the results through indexing we can see how important it is to get the online experience right.

Those under the age of 44 are more likely to be influenced by others, to seek information before a purchase and try and communicate their experiences to others. They’re almost more likely to be the first to buy new products so when you’re introducing and promoting new ingredients they’ll be the first customers to try them out and then voice their opinion on the results.

The context for the above will of course affect decision making, consumers won’t have to research familiar offerings from brands with ultra-high awareness but the service experience at a specific franchise could be the cause of commentary.

For information from the emma survey on how your customers will likely react to their dining experience please contact [email protected]
    

Who are the brands that have increased their rates of customer satisfaction?

Last time we used the emma survey to find and rank the brands that have increased their visitation in terms of the unique number of individuals in any four week period. The time frames compared were July – December 2014 against January to June 2015. Let’s do the same with rates of satisfaction from people identifying a QSR brand as their main choice.

The winners:

1st Boost Juice 3.58% increase in satisfaction rates

2nd Dominos 1.44%

3rd Red Rooster 0.12%

Most results were in the negative between the two periods suggesting there is something industry wide at play with consumers and if we take a look at grouped rates of brand dissatisfaction they’re certainly rising, albeit slowly.
Some brands began the 12 month period with extremely high rates of satisfaction and measurably increasing them was always going to be tough. Between July 2014 and December 2014 the rate of satisfaction for Crust Pizza was 99.2%, improving on that was always going to be tough.

Note, this is improvement in rates of satisfaction, not who has the greatest level of satisfaction based on the rolling 12 month emma survey to (June 2015), those results go to:

1st Pizza Capers 96.1% Satisfied

2nd Crust Pizza 94.4%

3rd Boost Juice 91.4%

The way the question is asked disadvantages some of the smaller brands as few people identify them as their main brand and in some instances the sample size isn’t reliable. Some brands that had large increases in performance were only just outside of the sampling criteria. To see more information on QSR consumers or how your brand performs in the emma survey please contact [email protected]

Who are the big improvers this year relative to last year?

The emma survey results for the rolling 12 month period July 2014 – June 2015 have been released and we can compare Any Usage Last Four Weeks across the financial year and see who improved their market penetration according to the data. The chart below compares the market penetration percentage difference between July – December 2014 to January – June 2015.

The big winners are: 

1st Crust Pizza

2nd Pizza Capers

3rd Chicken Treat

emma surveys those aged 14+ and these results are not from same store sales, they’re also not a measure of revenue or multiple visitation; One person visiting 10 times over a four week period equals one person. This is about exposing your brand and product to a wider total audience and the results are the percentage change. Given how important word of mouth is – if you’re doing a great job and winning this battle the results can have a multiplier effect on future business. Of course if you’re sucking in new customers with a short term price promotion and your competitors have a better product you could be harming future results.

Seventeen of the brands surveyed in emma had positive or flat results. 15 had negative results (and a few sampled too low to include). We’ll revisit these numbers in six months to see who has managed to carry the momentum.

For more information on these results please contact [email protected]
 

An emma study tackles the differences in online behaviour for men and women.

We’ve looked at QSR attendance differences between men and women several times, the skew towards men for both frequency and amount spent, how women are more likely to go for healthy choice brands and some of the other attitudinal differences. All these factors give a market team clues on how to subtly shift tactics when tailoring the marketing message and products or services to this very basic demographic difference.

When it comes to delivery of your marketing message what are the behavioural differences between men and women for how they consume online content. According to results from the emma survey women are more likely to get involved with double screening or using social media to interact with a TV program or brand / advertisement. Downloading and streaming habits are dominated by males except for E-books which are a low incidence item.

Strategy comes down to deciding where and how you’re going to play the game. Online and social media encompasses a lot more than the above behaviours but by thinking through how you engage your brand and the messaging for different groups whether it be by age, sex, location or a custom segmentation model there should be a resulting lift in effectiveness metrics and ultimately ROI.

For more information on the emma survey, QSR consumer habits and traditional or digital media contact Ipsos: [email protected]
          

An emma survey illustrates how QSRs can appeal more to the elderly and how significant they are as a demographic.

If we peruse the various QSR websites and marketing paraphernalia the images of people associated with the food and venue experience are either the staff, young people having fun in the restaurant or at a beach (or cricket).

Sometimes the images show young families all digging in together and finally there’s the all-important tradies segment who are QSR prone - breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So are oldies important to the QSR space even if we prefer not to link them to the brands themselves? From the emma data we know that people aged over 70 are less likely than other age groups to go to QSR restaurants and hence those that do spend less per week in store than other people.

But, half of all people aged 70+ went to a QSR restaurant in any given week which is over 1m Australians and their average spend was over $20 (yes math geniuses, $20m per week). The bigger brands like McDonalds and Subway still do well in terms of outright numbers but preferences are for anyone that promotes coffee.

Looking at the Radar we can compare their attitudes to 18-35s and see what they index highly on - what ticks their boxes? Understandably for the older age groups nutrition and traditional foods rate well as do quality ingredients. Quantity and new tastes don’t come through strongly.

As you can probably guess they’re not researching food online and if they do hit the interwebs it’s rarely via a smartphone unlike the young folk out there. This means they can be targeted via traditional media with messaging that’s unlikely to reach other age groups AND you can start filling local press ads with images of attractive old people tucking into your product!

For more information on Ipsos, the emma survey and how to reach different customer segments please contact [email protected]