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When Jamie Oliver waged his war against the standards of school dinners he missed one important area: lunchboxes.
Thanks to his campaign and a change in government thinking, in September 2007 new standards for school food - announced by the Schools Food Trust (SFT) in May 2006 - were legally enforced in schools.
Research carried out by the SFT suggests the nutritional quality of school dinners is benefiting from the introduction of these standards, but that these improvements are not yet reflected in the nutritional quality of packed lunches.
While packed lunches provided by schools need to meet the standards, there are currently no plans to introduce standards for packed lunches brought from home - although the SFT advocates the introduction of Packed Lunch Policies to support healthier eating.
With more than half of all school children relying on food from home, manufacturers must educate parents about the merits of their food products while also satisfying the SFT's recommendations.
Four billion packed lunches were eaten in the 12 months to November 2006, equating to nearly £5bn worth of sales. Sixty-two per cent of these were eaten in the workplace, while schoolchildren ate 25%. There is a massive sales opportunity - but it's essential that retailers get their ranging right.
Health is a major consideration when making lunchbox purchasing decisions and is particularly relevant for parents looking for products to give their children.
"We have evolved our ranges to ensure there are a range of non-chocolate products that provide options to meet the lunchbox policies of different schools," says Alice Cadman, head of strategic products at UBUK.
Sue Garfitt, category controller at Burton's Foods, agrees that consumer demand for healthier snacks is driving sales. "Health is key to decisions around what to put in the lunchbox. However, it's equally important to give kids food that they will eat," she says.
National Lunchbox Week, which runs from 1-5 September, was set up by dried fruit and nuts manufacturer Sun Valley to offer advice and ideas to help parents move away from fried and fatty snacks.
"The best way to teach children is to lead by example," says Sun Valley's Jonathan Barr, "so National Lunchbox Week is about more than just children. It's about helping to make eating healthily an easier and more enjoyable experience."
Chris McDonough, Müller UK's marketing director, says: "It's difficult to pin down how much has changed since the FSA carried out its school lunchbox surveys in 2003 and 2004, which tracked changes in the contents of school lunchboxes over a 14-month period. Generally speaking things were moving in the right direction, with fewer lunchboxes containing crisps, chocolate and confectionery and an increase in those containing fruit, vegetables and dairy items.
"However, the survey concluded that children who take a packed lunch to school were still consuming too much fat, sugar and salt in one meal and that almost half of the lunchboxes (48%) did not contain a portion of fruit or chopped vegetables. Three out of four lunchboxes (74%) also failed to meet government nutritional standards that were set for school meals in 2001."
And, according to government nutrition and diet surveys, many children are not getting the vitamins and minerals needed. Four to 18-year-olds eat less than half of the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day - with one in five eating no fruit - and a fifth of adolescent girls do not get enough calcium.
McDonough says: "The key is getting children to eat a wider range of healthier foods by making products that look and taste good, and are natural and healthy."
Earlier this year Müller embarked on phase two of the development of its Little Stars brand, which includes the launch of two new High Fruit Yogurt Smoothies.
United Biscuits' Alice Cadman says UB supports the objective that "children's lunchboxes are as nutritionally balanced as possible".
"We have a range of non-chocolate biscuits and cakes that fit the guidelines of many schools," she says.
"We have discussed some innovation opportunities with the School Food Trust and appreciate their input on such activities."
The SFT's recommendations are benefiting some manufacturers, while forcing others to rethink their products.
Nuts and dried fruit get a big tick from the SFT, which is good news for Trigon Snacks, owner of the Planters brand. Trigon carried out research using its Berry Nutty brand, which was specifically designed to meet the government's new standards.
"When we asked kids about healthy snack alternatives they said they wouldn't try nuts or dried fruit because they thought they wouldn't like them as they didn't have chocolate on," says Iain Paton, marketing director at Trigon.
"But when they tried the Berry Nutty brand, 95% said they liked them and more than 80% said they would recommend them to a friend. This last point is a key one, because peer pressure in schools is a major influence in driving food and drink habits."
Part of the challenge for manufacturers is convincing mums that their products have the right health credentials.
"Mums are still in control of what goes into a lunchbox," says Angelica Costantini, group brand manager at YDC, which markets the Frubes and Petit Filous brands. "We know that 90% of mums with kids aged from five to 11 prepare their children's lunchboxes. Even with teenagers, the figure is 86%."n
what the suppliers are saying
We are working on a project with Frubes to get extra calcium and vitamins into the product, which we are looking to launch in 2009. We know how important it is for parents to choose healthy lunchboxes; we also want to reassure them that it has high levels of calcium and Vitamin D. There is clearly an opportunity within chilled to have a section dedicated to lunchboxes, where you would have the products and brands geared towards kids' packed lunches. Rather than browsing the whole fixture, they could go to a dedicated space in the chiller section.
Angelica Costantini
group brand manager, YDC
what the suppliers are saying
Schools are selective about what food products they let in, which is why we have been pushing brands that reinforce the ethical, natural and healthy offers to children. In terms of adult snacking, nuts provide an excellent way to satisfy hunger cravings as well as providing a healthy food. Research by the American Peanut Council showed that peanuts curb hunger and actually contribute to weight loss as part of a balanced diet. The trends are driving the opportunities for nuts: what we've done is launch ranges over the past year to tap into that.
Iain Paton
marketing director, Trigon Snacks
SUGGESTION BOX
Schools are being encouraged by the SFT to provide parents with policies to bring lunchboxes up to scratch
The School Food Trust is upping the ante against parents who refuse to follow its guidelines over what - and what not - to put in their children's lunchboxes.
The trust wants teachers to send out warning letters to parents who fail to comply with school healthy-eating policies. The government-funded body also suggests that they send congratulatory letters to those who pack healthy lunches for their children.
Recent research carried out by the trust suggests the nutritional quality of school dinners has improved since the introduction of food standards. However, it wants to do the same for packed lunches brought from home.
The School Food Trust advocates the introduction of Packed Lunch Policies after consultation with pupils, parents and staff: "Schools are advised to select and adapt policies from the suggestions as appropriate for their individual circumstances."
Packed lunches should include at least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables every day; meat, fish or another source of non-dairy protein (lentils, hummus, peanut butter etc); oily fish, such as salmon, at least once every three weeks; and a starchy food such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.
It should also include dairy food such as milk, cheese, yogurt, fromage frais or custard every day. In terms of drinks, only still or sparkling water, fruit juice, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, yogurt or milk drinks and smoothies should be included.
According to the trust, packed lunches should not include:
? snacks such as crisps. Instead they should contain nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit (with no added salt, sugar or fat). Savoury crackers or breadsticks served with fruit, vegetables or dairy food are also a good choice.
? confectionery such as chocolate bars, chocolate-coated biscuits and sweets. Cakes and biscuits are allowed, but encourage your child to eat these only as part of a balanced meal.
Meat products such as sausage rolls, individual pies, corned meat and sausages should be offered only occasionally, says the trust.
SUPERIOR SARNIES
Despite belts getting tighter, consumers are becoming more discerning when it comes to sandwich fillings
Health is a big factor when it comes to sandwiches, but shoppers are also looking for greater choice and more premium offerings: Marks & Spencer, for example, has introduced the first super food sandwiches; brown, wholemeal and granary breads have become consumer favourites; and subs and wraps are growing in popularity.
"Consumers are continuing to trade up to premium products, reflecting the trend towards better-quality foods," says Andy Valentine, head of brand marketing at leading branded sandwich supplier Ginsters. "Being able to show local sourcing and authentic British ingredients will also be a growing trend in food-to-go."
To boost sandwich sales, Valentine says retailers should ensure the offer is prominent at front of store and clearly signposted and should avoid mixing the food-to-go with grocery purchases, which can be placed towards the back of the store. "Also, retailers shouldn't neglect early morning and evening sales," he says. "Nearly a third of all food-to-go is sold outside the traditional lunchtime period."
Research shows that sandwiches and filled bread rolls are still the most popular lunchbox items. In 2007, British consumers ate £2.9bn worth of sandwiches, up 6% on the previous year. And Warburtons says 77% of all UK packed lunches feature a sandwich.
Meanwhile, the wraps sector has grown in the past couple of years, reaching a 3.8% share of the sandwich market. "It's an important and well-established part of consumers' eating habits, especially for lunch, although from our perspective, our product usage is much wider than that," says Andy Lewis, UK product group manager, Mission Foods.
Lewis says health is an important factor in the sandwich and wraps market, but in the year to February 2008 there was a 1% value sales decline in healthy sandwich ranges. He believes this indicates that consumers are saying 'health is important but I'm not willing to compromise on taste'.
"Consumers want to strike a balance between getting a good-quality product and a healthy product and making that choice - Deli Wraps offer that."
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