Impact of Hybrid Working on the Lunchtime Occasion – Demand Spaces of the Weekday Lunch Continue Evolving Post Pandemic

Impact of Hybrid Working on the Lunchtime Occasion Report Overview

Many consumers have taken up working from home from the beginning of 2022 and continued until 2023. While hybrid working is now a long-term effect of the pandemic, this poses a challenge for food and food service brands attempting to manage shifting demands, particularly around the lunchtime occasion.

Restaurants in major cities with business districts are struggling to stay open as an increasing number of office workers are conducting meetings over video calls, avoiding in-person, business lunch meetings, as was the case pre-pandemic. Due to rising inflationary pressures and labor shortages, many operators now view affordable lunch menus or opening during lunch hours to be a loss.

However, just as much as hybrid working has disrupted traditional lunches, it has also created new areas of demand in the food and foodservice industry. For instance, increased online food delivery and healthy catering services are key new opportunities for brands.

The “Impact of Hybrid Working on the Lunchtime Occasion” research report is part of a series on key trends and issues that are currently affecting the consumer landscape in different industries. This includes consumer goods, food service, and packaging industries. This report explains how hybrid work lifestyles affect areas of demand in food and food service during lunchtime and how brands can manage shifting demand.

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Impact of Hybrid Working on Lunchtime Occasions - Consumer Trends

There are many behavioral changes and consumer trends registered after the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, health and wellness is a key concern for hybrid workers and staying home at weekends for lunch among others.

Health and wellness: Health & wellness is a key concern for hybrid workers as many consumers who work this way feel busier and time-stretched due to unpredictable working patterns. This also takes a toll on consumers’ physical and mental health due to inactivity and prolonged screen time. These consumers struggle to find a balance between convenient and healthier meal options. Brands can target this demand in a variety of ways such as functional food and beverages which offer benefits such as improved relaxation or concentration. Meal subscription services can also help consumers struggling to stick to regular eating habits due to a lack of time.​

Clean Label and Nutrient-rich Foods: Brands must persuade consumers that prepared meal options are just as healthy as food prepared at home. Retailers and foodservice operators should market healthy lunchtime options that offer high nutritional value but also carry a clean label image; removing unwanted ingredients and increasing plant-based products.

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Impact of Hybrid Working on Lunchtime Occasions - Lunch Innovations

Leading food service providers are investing in lunchtime strategies to accommodate consumers working from home. The key brands leveraging the benefits of hybrid working to offer innovation in lunchtime meals are Pizza Hut, Panera, Yoshinoya, and Kraft Heinz among others.

Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut Melts, US: In 2022, Pizza Hut entered the handheld meal category through its ‘Melts’ range. The lunch menu item consists of two slices of folded-over pizza with a dip. The menu item gives consumers the option to order their preferred pizza without having to choose a whole pizza. This makes the menu item a more convenient lunch option, which consumers can choose to have on-the-go or while working from home.

Key Brands Leveraging Hybrid Working on Lunchtime Occasions
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Impact of Hybrid Working on Lunchtime Occasions -Demand Space and Future Opportunities

Demand spaces are relevant to work lunch occasions as they help identify new ‘hotspots’ in consumer behavior that have emerged from hybrid working for brands to target. In response to the high demand for convenient products during lunchtime, leading brands such as Yoshinoya and Kraft Heinz are broadening their range of ready-to-eat meals. This highlights the importance of brands adopting more convenient solutions during lunch hours. Whether consumers are at home or work, menu items, and FMCG products must be easy to prepare, as this is more likely to attract a notable consumer base.

Hybrid working has made it more convenient for consumers to live in suburban and rural areas. This is because they can commute into cities and urban areas to places of work less frequently. However, this is not a consistent global pattern; for instance, South Korea’s rate of urbanization is dramatically increasing compared to countries such as France and the UK despite its WFH rate being higher.

Alongside hybrid working, a lasting impact of COVID-19 that is gaining momentum is the introduction of a four-day working week. Designed to increase employee productivity and well-being, trials of various lengths and scales have taken place by companies in countries such as the UK, the US, and Iceland. A four-day workweek could further disrupt lunch routines.

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Scope

This report is part of a series on key trends and issues that are currently affecting the consumer landscape in consumer goods, food service, and packaging. This report explains how hybrid work lifestyles are affecting areas of demand in food and food service during lunchtime occasions and how brands can manage shifting demand.

Key Highlights

• Affordability is important at home and in the office. The most likely food choice for lunch at the office is a prepared meal.
• Health, affordability, and convenience are therefore key demand spaces.
• Urban-rural migration patterns, automation of delivery and food service, and a 4-day workweek will all further disrupt the workweek lunch in years to come.

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Reasons to Buy

• Understand the challenges and opportunities for brands in addressing shifting demand at lunchtime.
• Gain insight into how competitors are responding to this trend.
• Access valuable strategic take-outs to help direct future decision-making and inform new product and service development.