A supermarket can stock everything a customer needs for a burger dinner and still lose the sale to a takeaway outlet. To win that purchase, the home version needs to offer a meal the household wants to eat, manageable preparation, and a total cost that makes cooking worthwhile.
Toluna’s September New Zealand consumer survey offers some direction for supermarket retailers. Among 508 respondents who had bought food or drinks from a fast-food outlet in the previous three months, 45.7 percent had made a homemade version when wanting a burger or fast-food-style meal.
Some 59.1 percent had bought from a quick-service restaurant, while 20.9 percent had bought a supermarket ready-made meal or meal kit.
Respondents could select several options, showing that home preparation and takeaway purchases coexisted within this group. For supermarkets, the opportunity is to compete for particular meals. The findings do not establish that fakeaways are replacing takeaway or growing over time.
In a separate question about choosing an at-home alternative, 53.7 percent selected lower cost as their most frequent reason. Healthier followed at 30.5 percent, better taste at 29.3 percent, and better quality at 28.1 percent. The smaller response base limits how widely those findings can be applied, but they give retailers several factors to consider when putting an offer together.
For a household, the savings depend on the whole shopping list. A discounted patty may attract attention, yet buns, cheese, salad, sauce, and sides all add to the checkout total. A complete meal price, with clear serving quantities, would give shoppers a more useful comparison than the price of one ingredient.
Homemade versions featured alongside takeaway purchases, with 45.7 percent of respondents preparing their own and 20.9 percent buying a supermarket ready-made meal or meal kit.
Taste also matters to that comparison. Among respondents asked what made a fast-food burger or similar meal feel like good value, 46.3 percent selected good taste, 42.9 percent good quality, and 31.3 percent low price. For retailers promoting a home version, the finished meal needs to justify the purchase and preparation.
The survey gives retailers some flavour combinations to explore. Garlic aioli led the sauce and flavour ideas at 38.8 percent, followed by Korean-style at 26.3 percent and smoky barbecue at 25.8 percent, among 547 respondents. Crispy or caramelised onions and bacon led topping choices, while brioche and wholemeal or seeded buns led bun ideas.
Because those questions focused on trying a new fast-food burger, retailers would need to test its appeal in a supermarket promotion. They nevertheless suggest combinations retailers could assemble from existing lines, supported by cooking instructions and serving ideas that help shoppers judge the effort involved.
Lower cost was the most frequently selected reason for choosing an at-home alternative, followed by healthier, better taste, and better quality. Base: 82 respondents.
The findings also warrant care when considering premium products. Asked how much more they would pay for noticeably better taste or quality in a quick-service burger, 33.1 percent selected up to five percent and 27.6 percent selected six to 10 percent. Another 16.3 percent would pay nothing more. These are stated intentions about fast food, so they cannot establish what shoppers would pay for supermarket ingredients.
Beef was the most frequently chosen burger filling for 46.5 percent of 533 respondents, followed by chicken at 33.6 percent. In the alternative-protein question, 43.9 percent of respondents selected none of the proposed options as a reason to consider a fast-food burger. Interest in mushroom- or vegetable-based options offers a possible trial, but does not establish demand for additional supermarket lines.
Making the offer work requires coordination across departments. Patty and bun pack sizes must match the same number of servings, promoted ingredients must be available together, and preparation must be realistic.
Retailers have an opportunity to bring the ideal fakeaway together: a meal that tastes good, is straightforward to prepare, and offers a worthwhile saving over takeaway. Making all the ingredients easy to find and buy could turn a supermarket stop on the way home into a replacement for a takeaway order.
Garlic aioli attracted the most interest among the proposed flavours for a new fast-food burger, followed by Korean-style and smoky barbecue.
More insights here
