Almost 20 years ago, Pizza Express made its first venture into grocery through its condiments range, shortly followed by its pizzas in 2002.
Remarkably, this year it expects to see more pizza sales in grocery than in its restaurants. Several restaurant chains have dipped in and out of the supermarket aisles and we expect 2020 to be the year brands look to make their mark on the shelves, particularly as these shelves become more crowded.
The casual dining sector remains challenging, as it suffers from falling consumer spending and footfall, which is, in turn, being driven down by the likes of Just Eat and Deliveroo. Over the past 12 months, these challenges have led to several brands restructuring, with some chains closing outlets to streamline their operations. This includes the closing of the Jamie’s Italian chain.33m of Pizza Express's pizzas will be sold in stores this year... Compared to 20m sold in restaurants last year.
The supermarket aisles offer a new channel to reach customers, without the high levels of expenditure associated with restaurants. Through retailer partnerships, brands can benefit from additional marketing channels and mass exposure as supermarkets generate significantly more footfall than individual restaurants.
The competition for shelf space is rife, with established FMCG brands dominating aisles in any chain; this includes the likes of Old El Paso and Blue Dragon. Not only this, but retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury are more than willing to delist products that aren’t performing well. All restaurant brands are likely to increase investment in in-store marketing, to ensure they create excitement and awareness and avoid being delisted.
This briefing profiles 15 brands, varying from newcomers to the grocery category through to established players such as Pizza Express, while we have also profiled those that have had their ambitions in this channel scuppered by delistings. As always, we provide insights into these brands’ marketing strategies covering both their in-store and wider high-street presence.
