The pandemic isn’t over but already we can identify some of the new behaviours that will outlast lockdown.

Lockdown changed our behaviour in multiple ways. At the start there was a rise in the indulgence of sweet baking, snacking and dessert occasions, but that quickly fell away. The longest lasting impact was seen in those behaviours that were previously satisfied by out-of-home (OOH) channels: cooked breakfast, takeaways, and socialising at home with barbecues or drinking alcohol.

For food and drink categories, the impact of lockdown was massive as OOH expenditure was slashed. By contrast, at-home consumption occasions rose by 13% globally when we compare March 2019 to March 2021, with figures hitting 21% for the United Kingdom, as we ate more of our meals at home, our new place of work, rest and play.

During lockdown, in-home lunch and snacking were the big beneficiaries. Looking at data covering March 2020 to March 2021 and comparing it with March 2019, it’s clear that globally we collectively took one extra lunch and one extra snacking occasion a week at home as a result of lockdowns.