The majority of foodservice companies surveyed have not postponed business planning and investment despite the current economic crisis, research from Lumina Intelligence’s Wholesale Market report shows.
Despite the hit on overall confidence, there are indicatives of recovery with both Brakes and Bidfood showing 20%+ growth this year. This contributes to overall combined turnover growth of 9.7% among the leading nine wholesalers in the report.
There is optimism among surveyed professionals in the grocery market too, with belief that there will be opportunities for convenience stores going forward, because of the current economic outlook.
Read more: Brakes launches Christmas support package
However, the majority of business leaders across the grocery retail (54%) and eating out market (58%) are expecting trading conditions to deteriorate to July 2023, with many wholesale customers seeking out support from businesses and government.
The squeeze on household budgets has been highlighted by business leaders as the most important long-term consumer trend impacting eating out and grocery this year Weaker confidence is likely to see consumers reducing discretionary spend on commodities including food and drink out of home, prompting operators across the market to implement initiatives to aid in the cost-of-living crisis.
