Delivery trend skyrockets due to pandemic

Meal delivery and grocery delivery are the two big winners from the corona crisis. In 2020, the total delivery market grew by 43.1% compared to 2019. Meanwhile, delivery players together account for nearly 10% of total food and beverage spending, reports the FoodService Institute Netherlands (FSIN).

Food service meal delivery is estimated by the FSIN to have grown by as much as 37% to over €2.7 billion in 2020. Without corona, it is estimated that meal delivery sales growth in 2020 would have been around 14%. In 2020, meal delivery accounted for almost 23% of the total out-of-home food and beverage market* due to corona. 

Retail delivers half more

Grocery delivery grew even faster than meal delivery. In 2020, grocery delivery by food retail (supermarkets and specialty stores) is estimated to have increased by more than 49% to nearly €2.7 billion. This is over €600 million more than originally estimated, bringing the market share of total delivery from food retail (including wine delivery, cake, fresh boxes etc) to 6.1%.

"Corona has acted as a booster. Delivery had already been a growing trend for some time, but it has taken off this year," says Inga Blokker, director of The Food Research Company, the FSIN's research bureau. Blokker: "People who would normally never order have been introduced to the convenience of having hot meals and groceries delivered to their homes."

Growth is structural

The growth that has now accelerated will not simply disappear once the corona measures are over, Blokker believes. "Even people who never ordered food or groceries before will continue to do so after corona now and then. Moreover, there is a large group of young people who regularly don't feel like cooking and whose consumer research shows that meal delivery is the most natural option for them at such times. More than a ready meal from the supermarket, for example. This also promises growth for the delivery market in the future. Although delivery turnover in 2021 will certainly not be as high as in 2020, as far as food delivery is concerned the signs for future growth are green."

* The exact market figures will be released at the end of January, so this percentage may still differ slightly.

fsin.nl