London diners want more healthy options when eating out, claims new survey

A survey by the NPD Group also found diners in the capital were 24% more likely to be motivated by a special taste or craving.

In polls conducted in June NPD found 15,000 eating out visits in the capital prompted by these two categories.

The research also shows consumers in London are 49% more likely to be motivated by recommendations and 34% more inclined to be looking for ‘something new and different’.

NPD aid that for the year to June, London accounted for 20.2% of the total £51bn foodservice industry spend in Britain and delivered 17.3% of traffic – up 6.3% over the previous year. This compares to foodservice traffic figures for Great Britain, which dropped by -0.3%.

More than seven out of 10 eat out visits (73.6%) in London are made by consumers in the higher social/economic groups (A/B/C1) compared to six out of 10 (61.6%) in Britain generally. In London, a visit to a foodservice outlet is 21% more likely to be made by people in full-time employment and 30% less likely to be made by people in part-time employment.

The average bill per consumer in London is £5.38 versus £4.62 for Britain as a whole.

Nearly one in three eat out visits (28.2%) in London are made by consumers in the 25 to 34 age range, a much higher figure than the 20% for Britain overall.

Muriel Illig, account manager at the NPD Group, said: “London is experiencing a foodservice boom compared to the rest of Britain. Remove London’s robust contribution and Britain’s foodservice industry would register a flat performance over the year to end of June 2015.”

She added: “London is doing well but it is still a very competitive foodservice market. New and small restaurant chains are flourishing across the capital, and there is more and more street food in markets. This has really increased consumer choice and Londoners have become very demanding. Anybody operating any foodservice outlet in the capital needs to continually inject excitement and innovation into their offering - while ensuring they win plenty of praise on review websites through excellent service.”