Interest in ‘food to go’ style meals and containers are on the rise at Waitrose as shoppers continue to cut costs during the winter period.
Recent data from the upmarket retailer and its parent company John Lewis found that the nation is turning to DIY lunches in a bid to make money go further amid the cost-of-living crisis.
At Waitrose, searches for ‘lunchboxes’ has surged by 17% in the past week alone, while shoppers move towards hot ‘food to go’ meal options amid the winter months.
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Soups have become increasingly popular among customers for lunchtime meal options with searches for ‘Sweet Potato & Chickpea Soup’ soaring by 186% and ‘Simple Vegetable Soup’ up 49%.
Looking to keep food warm throughout the day, sales of food flasks at John Lewis have increased by 22% compared to the same time in 2021.
The upmarket retailers research also found a rise in popularity for travel mugs, up 7% since the same period last year.
“As cost of living concerns continue, our customers are clearly looking for ways to economise and DIY lunches are clearly growing in popularity,” John Lewis cookshop merchandiser, Pamela Pergolesi said.
This comes as Waitrose has partnered with Anya Hindmarch to re-launch a “bigger and better” Universal Bag in a bid to encourage shoppers to utilise reusable bags.
Including even more space, the bag now features four compartments to securely hold bottles.
