The population of UK is set to increase by over 2 million to almost 62 million over the next 10 years. Increased life expectancy and declining birth rates are leading to an increasingly elderly population and this trend is set to continue as the large numbers of 'baby boomers' reach retirement age. Eventually there will be fewer people of working age, which will impact on the Government's ability to provide a state pension for the increasing numbers of retired people. For those unable to make alternative provision, retirement may therefore also mean becoming accustomed to a substantially reduced disposable income. Furthermore, an increasing number of people will enter retirement without dependents or partners, and this will lead to an increase in the numbers of elderly people living alone. And as those people become unable to manage on their own, the need for residential care will increase. This is about to have an impact on food consumption in the country.
As fewer and fewer people choose to marry or settle with a partner, or do so at a later age, and more of those who do marry divorce each other, the number of younger adults living alone will also increase, although this will be balanced in part by the number of young adults forced to remain living at home with parents, due to the predicted shortage of affordable housing, particularly in rural areas.
In 2001, it was analyzed that spending on food is rarely sacrificed for other spending, except in very low-income households. However, as disposable income increases, so do both expenditure and consumption. There is a limit to consumption of course, but even when this limit is reached, per capita expenditure on food continues to increase with disposable income levels. In other words, with increasing wealth, people not only choose to eat more, but also choose more expensive food. Even so, wealthier households spend a smaller proportion of their disposable income on food than the less well off, as their increasing wealth allows them to spend more on other luxuries.
With increasing affluence and a relatively stable economy over recent years, the UK has seen the shift take place in food purchasing patterns towards increasingly expensive food items rather than the more ordinary. However, food expenditure as a proportion of overall expenditure has decreased to less than 10%. According to a recent study, people in the UK spend less of their disposable income on food than any other European country.
Keywords: food rationing UK, whole food market, organic food market, Restaurant, famous UK food brands, Wholesale food market.
[...] The UK cheese industry From Angus to Haggis in Scotland For most of the 20th century, restaurants in Scotland were known mainly for their modest prices, watery overcooked vegetables, and boiled meats. But you need no longer expect a diet of oats, fried fish, and greasy chips in the past 25 or so years there has been a significant improvement in Scottish cookery. There was a time that the Scot going out for dinner would head for the nearest hotel, but independent restaurants are now opening everywhere, often by newly arrived immigrants, along with bistros and wine bars. [...]
[...] To conclude on this report, we can say that assessing the UK food market is quite difficult an enterprise. First of all, we must take into account the size of the market. Since the United Kingdom is made of four countries, a lot of consumption trends can appear : several meals and traditional cuisines, different consumption habits, at home or outside the home, an important range of consumers' profiles etc. So, to answer to the introducing question, this report illustrates a real disparity among the UK communities in terms of food and drink consumption trends and expenditure. [...]
[...] Households in the North East region spent 9.4 percent less than the average for UK households on food and drink purchases for the home whereas households in the South East spent 5.9 percent more than the UK figure of 23.56 per person per week. For the UK as a whole 11 percent of the households' food and drink budget was spent on alcoholic drinks. In the North West 13 percent of the budget was spent on alcoholic drinks compared with 10.4 percent in London. [...]
[...] GENERAL POINTS Before dealing with the current trends of the UK consumers and the budget devoted to food purchases, it seems obvious to present some basic economic information and figures in order to understand better the context of our study Size of the Market Even if there are a lot of means to define the size of a market, we have decided to focus our study on two main aspects : the United Kingdom population and the development of hypermarkets. [...]
[...] Here in Cornwall, the Cornish Pasty can be bought in any fast food shop or bakers - but very few are worth eating. Who is to blame is difficult to say - the public for only being prepared to pay a low price for their pasty, or the bakers for supplying a product at that price? Here are a few of the things to look out for: Fish & Chips - all over the country, but there is a particularly nice one on the harbour in Whitby in Yorkshire. [...]
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