Londonders Can Order a Different Takeaway Every Night for 57 Years, Shows New Study by Magnet Kitchens

Londoners can order a different takeaway every night for 57 years, thanks to the growth in outlets between 2020 and 2021, shows new data by Magnet Kitchens.

  • The number of food outlets in London has increased by 40% between 2020 and 2021 – in spite of the challenging year
  • There are 21,000 food options in the city – enough to order from a different place every night for 57 years
  • The most popular cuisine is pizza, which has the most outlets in total and has grown in outlets by 21% year on year

The selection of different foods now accessible through food delivery services and takeaways has grown by 45% in the past year in the UK overall. Restaurateurs and chefs have taken advantage of the opportunities to start and grow their takeaway offerings through dedicated cookery spaces – without the requirement for an eat-in option.

By analysing over 50,000 restaurants in Deliveroo’s database, researchers at Magnet Kitchens have revealed our changing eating habits including:

  • There are more pizza restaurants than any other cuisine, making it the UK’s number 1 takeaway food
  • Health food, convenience food and deserts have seen the biggest increase in availability over the past year, up by 133%, 102% and 76% respectively
  • The number of ‘dark kitchens’ listed on Deliveroo has increased by 12%, with Leeds, Salford and Wandsworth seeing the biggest rise

Hayley Simmons, Director Commercial Range from Magnet Kitchens said:

“With Amazon’s investment, and newer start-ups entering the game all the time, dark kitchens could potentially become much more popular. Suppliers will no longer need a storefront to sell to customers, reducing overheads and other costs such as staffing in the process.

“This is a real positive for the industry and its consumers. The ability for the food industry to adapt to the pandemic conditions has driven growth in new channels so they can continue to serve customers and will bode well for the future, which remains uncertain in so many ways.

“At the same time, consumers can now access a much broader range of cuisines on their own doorsteps than ever before. In a world where diversity is so celebrated, this ability to get a real ‘taste’ of different cultures has the potential to unlock better understanding and cultural growth.”

While the rise in takeaway options has enabled the food industry to adapt and survive through the pandemic, experts are still warning of the challenging times to come – and the ongoing necessity of new approaches to embrace the ‘new normal’: