Gourmet offerings helped sizzle up success in burger and chicken restaurants in 2015, with overall spending increasing by 5% to reach £4.7 billion. Mintel found 7% of fast-food visitors have now switched from fast food restaurants to more gourmet offerings.
The research also found that one in three Brits (34%) diners today consider themselves to be a ‘foodie’, while over half (57%) of diners said that they like to experience new flavours.
‘Craft’ labels continued to boost sales of beer, with the market worth £16.7 billion in 2015. Around one in six (16%) bought craft lager in the three months to November 2015, whilst 18% purchased craft ale/bitter.
The research comes as Mintel launches its ‘British Lifestyles’ report, which tracks spending across all major consumer markets. Overall, the research found that total consumer expenditure in the UK reached £1,126 billion in 2015, representing an increase of 1.7% on 2014.
Almost four in ten (38%) of those with a household income of £50,000 or over say that they feel better off compared to a year ago, compared to just 16% with an income of under £9,500.
Ina Mitskavets, senior consumer and lifestyles analyst at Mintel, said: “Britain’s economic growth over the last few years has outstripped many other major economies, and wages have been rising above inflation.
“Whilst there has not been a big improvement in overall consumer confidence, better-off Britons are clearly pulling away from the rest. Higher earners feel more confident about their finances and show more willingness to spend across more indulgent categories, such as leisure, holidays and foodservice.
“The term ‘lipstick index’ refers to people’s tendency to buy smaller ‘feelgood’ treats instead of spending on larger-ticket items. However, as people’s incomes have picked up, there is less need to spend in this fashion.”