The return to office trend has seen a revival in more snacking occasions among consumers. Young consumers are the most time-pressed and tend to be the ones who are likely to eat out the most. Restaurants are rolling out the red carpet of innovations to appeal to these customers and drive sales, says  GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Meenakshi Haran, Consumer Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “For many time-poor consumers, the notion of sitting down for a proper meal or setting aside dedicated time to cook from scratch may seem too challenging or inefficient. Accordingly, they seek to maximize their time by eating out or consuming meals on-the-go. While one-third of American respondents continue to eat out or eating more frequently, 26% of Gen Z consumers admit to eating out more frequently*.”

Quick service restaurants (QSRs), especially, are jumping on the bandwagon to launch new snack options for busy, on-the-go diners. Little Caesars, for instance, launched bite-sized pizza-flavored Crazy Puffs that are convenient to hold and easy to consume. Earlier, KFC introduced its new ‘chizza,’ touted to be the fast-food style chicken parmesan for easy and quick consumption.

Haran continues: “While 33% of American consumers claim that convenience is an essential feature when making purchase decisions*, 43% of them admit to snacking daily or few times a week^#. The improving array of grab-and-go food products is reassuring to consumers that eating on-the-go is both efficient and time-saving.”

Haran concludes: “Demand for ease and convenience stems from a perception of not having enough time to do all the things that one wants or needs to do. The desire for convenience is therefore forcing dependence on highly efficient and effective products that better facilitate busy lifestyles.”

*GlobalData 2023 Q4 Consumer Survey – US, published in December 2023, 500 respondents

^#GlobalData 2024 Q1 Consumer Hot Topics Survey – US, published in March 2024, 500 respondents