A Royal Mail report shows that food boxes are the most popular subscription boxes.
In 2017 the food and drink subscription box market was estimated to be worth £129.2 million. Snacks and sweets was the biggest section of this, with 7% of the UK population subscribed. Recipe boxes accounted for 6.5%, and this looks to be growing quickly.
On average, consumers stay signed up to food and drinks subscription boxes for seven months at a time, a longer time than the average 6 months across the rest of the industry.
Alessandro Savelli, Founder of Pasta Evangelists said: “We are entering a renaissance in food and drink. More and more, consumers are looking for high quality products whose provenance is clear. At the same time, though, consumers have less time than ever before to seek out high quality products. And as our lives have changed, so has the British high street: quality, local butchers have gone out of business and we plan our lives around “the weekly shop”, conducted in sprawling supermarkets, which seem a more efficient way of conducting our eating lives. Although this need for convenience means that quality can sometimes take second place”.
“Food and drink subscription boxes restore equilibrium, giving consumers across the country the option to consistently eat and drink better products without inconveniencing them. After the rise of the ready meal, food subscription boxes have also allowed a nation that had fallen out of love with cooking to begin interacting with food more intimately again, experimenting with new and exotic ingredients and preparing meals from scratch… or, in our case, with a little bit of help from top Italian chefs.”
A spokesperson from Royal Mail said: “Food and drink boxes are very popular in the subscription box economy. In particular, boxes which cater to particular dietary requirements or simply help customers plan healthier meals offer further growth opportunities. Leading players in the market are also extending their offers to include fine dining with gourmet ingredients and other meals, such as breakfast.”
