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British travellers are increasingly opting for healthier food and drink at airports, avoiding traditional alcoholic drinks, unhealthy snacks and full English breakfasts.
Recent sales figures from major UK airports, including London Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands, show a growing trend towards non-alcoholic drinks, vegan meals and gut-friendly products.
One of the most notable changes is the increase in non-alcoholic beer sales. Across all three airports, all owned by the Manchester Airports Group, non-alcoholic beer sales are up 16.9 percent year-on-year. This change is most dramatic at London Stansted Airport, where Comptoir Libanais has reported a staggering 525 percent increase in non-alcoholic beer sales year-on-year.
Similarly, Wetherspoons in Stansted has seen a 45 percent increase in non-alcoholic beer sales, indicating a general move away from the traditional pint.
The trend towards healthier alternatives goes beyond non-alcoholic beer. At Joe and The Juice in London-Stansted, juice sales are up 39 percent year-on-year.
Another new trend is the growing interest in gut health. Across all three airports, products containing the word ‘gut’ saw a 102 per cent increase in sales year-on-year. WH Smiths reported a 33 per cent increase in transactions for gut health shots, particularly the Plenish Berry Gut Health Shot.
Dairy-free alternatives are becoming increasingly popular in cafes. At the three airports in the Manchester Airports Group, demand for dairy-free alternatives has increased by 10 percent.
Manchester Airport leads the pack with a 24 percent increase in milk consumption in Costa Coffee stores compared to last year. Among the dairy-free options, oat milk is the top choice, accounting for over 60 percent of the dairy-free mix, followed by soy milk (17 percent) and coconut milk (13 percent).
A change can also be observed in fast food restaurants: Vegan options are experiencing strong growth. Sales of Burger King’s Vegan Royale Burger have increased by 10.4 percent across the group.
The vegan trend is particularly evident in breakfast and brunch menus. Sales of vegan brunch and breakfast at airports have increased by 20.3 percent compared to last year. Giraffe at Manchester Airport saw an 833 percent increase in vegan breakfast sales, while Bridgewater and Wagamama at the same airport reported increases of 201 percent and 89 percent respectively.
Richard Jackson, retail director at Manchester Airport, said: “Some products and menu items will always be popular at airports and we continue to see sales increase in line with passenger volume growth – but there’s no denying the growing popularity of things like 0% beer, gut health shots and vegan brunch.”
However, if you fancy a cold glass of beer at the airport, another study found that Manchester Airport had the second cheapest pint in the UK.
