Market trends

Growing share of meals consumed outside the home

Demand for Duni’s products is affected by various trends, such as people eating an increasing number of meals outside their home and disposable products replacing linen.

As a consequence of a growing trend to eat outside the home, the number of meals served by restaurants is increasing. This trend favors Duni, since the professional market (hotels, restaurants and catering firms) accounts for two-thirds of sales and since demand is also increasing for products which enhance ambience and atmosphere during restaurant visits, such as napkins and tablecoverings.

The trend of an increasing number of meals being consumed outside the home, as well as an increase in self-service and fast food restaurant chains, is expected to continue, among other things based on an expected increase in the proportion of single households, continued urbanization, an increase in the proportion of people in gainful employment, as well as an increase in disposable incomes. During the 2000’s, the number of meals consumed in the home declined by approximately 1%, at the same time as the number of meals outside the home increased by around 3%. There are, however, large variations between different countries. In the US, for example, no less than 50% of the total food budget is spent outside the home; in Western Europe, around one-third; and, for example, in Poland and the Czech Republic the figure is only 5%. As prosperity increases in those countries, the percentage is expected to increase.

Substitution of linen napkins and linen tablecoverings

Sales of linen napkins and tablecoverings have stagnated during the 2000’s. Premium single-use napkins and tablecoverings are one of the main alternatives to linen. Demand for linen table top products is affected by the fact that the restaurant industry in Europe is increasingly using concepts to attract customers and increase sales. A well thought through concept involves the food and drink offering being matched by an appropriate table setting and decorations, depending on the season and occasion. In practice, this is conditional on the availability of single-use table top products which do not require any investments in inventory and can be varied in terms of design. The declining market for linen napkins and linen tablecoverings can be explained also by the cost and time required for the laundering and handling of linen, and the fact that single-use solutions are more hygienic. The percentage of environmentally-labeled products in Duni’s range is also constantly increasing, which provides yet another competitive advantage over linen.

Increased demand for take-away

A clear trend throughout Europe is that demand for both take-away food in general and higher quality take-away food has increased in recent years. An increasing number of restaurant chains with clear concepts and strong brands are springing up in response to the trend for "good food fast". North America is dominant in terms of restaurant chains as a proportion of the total restaurant offering, with a penetration level of 50%. Western and Eastern Europe have a lower proportion of restaurant chains, with a penetration level of just under 20%. Going forward, growth on the American market is expected to level off, and during the period 2010 – 2015 Eastern Europe and Asia are expected to account for the largest percentage growth globally, as prosperity increases in countries in those regions. During the same period, the growth rate in Western Europe is also expected to exceed the rate in the US.

This development is being driven by underlying market trends, such as increasingly mobile lifestyles and the fact that, to an ever-increasing extent, we are eating while on the go. The trend is also influenced in part by the same factors that drive growth in meals consumed outside the home, namely an increase in the proportion of single households, continued urbanization, an increase in the proportion of people in gainful employment, and an increase in disposable incomes.

Duni is responding to this growing demand by - in close cooperation with expanding restaurant chains - developing quality take-away packaging solutions which strengthen the customers’ brands.

For some time, Duni has conducted cooperation projects with restaurant chains such as Nordsee and Vapiano. During the year, customized packaging agreements were signed with, among others, Cojean in France, Tesco Bistro in Poland, and Sodexo in Holland.

Tabletop branded goods within the grocery retail sector

Since the beginning of the 2000’s, grocery retail sales of private label products have increased at the expense of branded goods. In the single-use table top products sector, this has resulted in an increased focus on simpler, low price products. As a consequence of this trend, total retail sales within the table top products sector have stagnated on most European markets. In general terms, it can be said that retail private labels are over-represented in the table top products category, and often account for more than 50% of sales. The benchmark for the grocery retail chains is often that private labels should account for between 20 and 25%. This creates possibilities for a strong brand such as Duni to contribute to increased value growth in the category by means of unique, premium-based product concepts aimed at quality-conscious consumers. 

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The increasing number of meals consumed outside the home is driving demand for Duni's products.