Young people and Londoners are most active diners

Savanta’s recent report The Top 100 Most Loved Eating Out Brands 2019 reveals the UK’s most loved dining brand and explores what it takes to become a brand people love.

Many brands which rank highly in the Top 100 have specific youth appeal"

Across the UK, people eat out on average three times per month. However, among young people (under 30s) this rises to an average of 3.4 – compared with 2.3 restaurant visits per month for over 60s.

What’s more, when it comes to brand love, 16-24 year olds have an affinity with the highest number of dining brands. This group love an average of 1.9 brands compared with 1.2 among 35-49 year olds and just 0.3 among 60 –74 year olds.

But does this mean that appealing to young people is essential for every dining brand seeking to be loved?

The data from Savanta BrandVue Eating Out indicates there could be some truth in that. Many brands which rank highly in the Top 100 have specific youth appeal — whether that’s technical innovation (e.g. McDonald’s kiosks), engaging social media campaigns (Nando’s) or keeping up with modern food trends (Greggs).

London calling?

Londoners are also high-frequency diners eating out on average 3.9 times per month. Those in Wales are least likely to dine out every month with 2.3 visits on average.

Added to this, people in London are more enthusiastic about the pubs and restaurants they frequent; they love an average of 1.9 brands.

Many pubs and restaurant chains featured on our list do not currently operate in the capital, and so venturing inside the M25 could be an opportunity to increase their love scores further.  Despite higher operating costs in London, in some cases this could be worthwhile commercially. The data shows that there is a firm link between love and dining frequency (for a 7% increase in brand love, there’s an extra visit per customer).

More generally, fast food is the most-loved category within the eating out sector. This is no surprise when you consider that the primary experiential drivers of love are all strongly associated with QSR brands. Value for money, and speedy as well as quality service all contribute to making customers feel more emotionally connected.

Download the full report to find out which brand is the UK’s most loved as well as how brand love translates to commercial success in the eating out industry