Waitrose & Partners’ latest Food and Drink Report highlights that in 2019 customers wanted to move towards a “simpler existence” as the world became more complicated, but also dabbled with exotic food and drinks.

The grocer’s managing director, Rob Collins, said Waitrose’s research found that “as the world beyond their front doors becomes increasingly complicated, people are doubling down on the things that really matter”.

As customers focus on sharing “memorable experiences with loved ones”, how has that affected what they buy and how they shop?

Yearning for a simpler existence

One of the key findings from the survey was that consumers are increasingly moving away from “defining happiness by achievements or possessions [to] appreciating simpler pleasures”.

Waitrose found 60% of respondents said “sharing memorable experiences with loved ones” was a priority, compared to just 4% who said “acquiring ‘things’ is their main concern”.

The grocer found this manifested itself in an increase in consumers looking to cook “simpler meals than they used to”, with 20% of respondents saying as much. It also found 30% of respondents said they grow their own food. People were also found to be going out less for food and drinks. 

The retailer also noted that consumers were tightening their belts and becoming more focused on budgeting. However, people were “still embracing ‘controlled discovery’… when we do spend, we want the results to be special – for instance, seeking out unusual treats”.

Food trends that led the way in 2019 included a 700% increase in searches on Waitrose.com for tahini paste, sales of organic celery went up 30%, while sales of egg noodles soared 22%. It noted that its ramen course at its King’s Cross Cookery School “is one of our most popular”. Vegan ready-meals were also popular, as UK consumers began to increasingly move to consume less meat and healthier ingredients. 

Seaweed, kelp, algae, samphire and nori all also saw increased interest from shoppers, with searches for ‘aonori seaweed’ up 127% on Waitrose.com.

In terms of drinks, UK consumers took to English orange wine, as well as pink gins and rosés, more this year than ever before. Although, the grocer did also note an increase in alcohol-free cocktails.

Sales of eco cleaning products surged with environmentally friendly household cleaning products up 17%, laundry up 40% and dishwashing products up 26%.

On the topic of cleanliness, Waitrose found that the majority of people are now looking to “cut the clutter” in their lives, especially in their kitchens. Seventy-five per cent of respondents said either strongly or somewhat agreed that they kept their kitchen “organised”.  

Majority of Brits grocery shop online

The survey found the majority of UK consumers now do at least some of their grocery shopping online.

In fact, Waitrose said this year, 61% of people did some of their food shopping online, while 39% remained “refuseniks”.

The most prolific online grocery shoppers were found to be 35-to-44-year-olds, with half of this age group buying food online at least once a month, while 29% were found to shop for food online every fortnight.

Half of all visits to Waitrose.com are done through mobile devices, a 9% increase on the previous year.

Waitrose head of digital development Laura Burbedge said: “Online and physical shopping are closer than ever – a seamless and intuitive experience is essential. We know that customers who shop across our website, app and in-store are our most loyal and frequent shoppers.”

The report pulled out a number of future trends for 2020 and beyond, including a rise in flexitarianism and decreasing use of salt.

Waitrose said a third of consumers are eating less meat and fish than two years ago, while 32% plan to reduce their consumption “even more over the next two years”.

The retailer also found 26% of people “plan to look for better quality meat or fish while limiting how often” they buy it, due to concerns over animal welfare.

As to future trends beyond 2020, John Lewis Partnership futurologist John Vary said by 2025 “fully autonomous buses and cars” will be on our roads, leading to unmanned grocery shopping deliveries.

The use of DNA samples will also lead to “dinner guests [being able to] receive a fully personalised dining experience”.

By 2030, with the global population exceeding 8.5 billion, “brain-computer interfaces expand human capabilities by allowing us to harness high-bandwidth data”, he said.

Supermarkets will “hire urban foragers to help customers make use of their local natural ecosystems and discover new types of wild vegetation”.