Did you grab a coffee and muffin on the way to work this morning? Do you often pop out to Pret, Eat or Leon at lunchtime? At the end of a long day, do you let the kids order Dominos, or go online to Just Eat or Deliveroo?

If so, welcome to the way we eat now.

This pattern of behaviour may be London-biased or more typical of millennials than families, but it’s an increasing trend and one that is gradually eroding frequency of visit and basket size for the mainstream grocery players, particularly in larger stores.

Subscription models are taking hold too. Hello Fresh and Gousto are gaining traction.

“Ocado is ahead of the game in that it has always featured recipe ideas and is now going further with a tech-enabled meal planning service”

The latter is now delivering 100,000 recipe boxes to UK households per week, and the latest food and drink report predicted that gourmet meal kits will be a key trend over the next 12 months.

So how are the supermarkets responding?

Ocado is ahead of the game in that it has always featured recipe ideas and is now going further with a tech-enabled meal planning service.

Customers can create their own lists, save recipes, and an algorithm will suggest items based on known preferences, such as gluten-free or organic.

Fancy making spag bol tonight? Click on the product button under the recipe and everything you need will be delivered to your door. Tesco is doing this too with its Real Food website.

Grocers react

The big four are reacting to the new market disruptors, and Tesco and Waitrose are currently trialling recipe boxes. A source at Tesco commented that time-strapped customers are looking for solutions not products, but still enjoy cooking for the family.

A recipe box can be picked up on the way home – no need to plan or book deliveries in advance – and is cheaper and healthier than a chilled ready meal too.

“One CEO believes that Hello Fresh and Gousto will find it hard to sustain their margins without scale as the meal box concept becomes more mainstream”

One CEO believes that Hello Fresh and Gousto will find it hard to sustain their margins without scale as the meal box concept becomes more mainstream.

Hello Fresh revenues have grown significantly, but profits continue to be elusive and it has been suggested that customers buy into initial offers but fail to sustain the habit once faced with regular prices and delivery charges.

In an attempt to leapfrog rivals, Hello Fresh has set up a joint venture with Sainsbury’s called HF Go and, as such, is following Graze into mainstream supermarket distribution.

Morrisons also appears unperturbed by the rise of new entrants and is focused on developing its partnerships with Ocado and Amazon.

Its foray into standalone convenience wasn’t successful, but a recent tie-up with Rontec to supply garage forecourts is going well and has the advantage of being capital-light.

Greater investment in Food To Go areas is also paying off.

So, overall, the major grocers aren’t worried about the tech-enabled new kids on the block. Time will tell if they’re right, but as one said: “Right now, I’m far more worried about Aldi!”