A moveable feast: learnings from Paris’ best-in-class away from home operators

A moveable feast: learnings from Paris’ best-in-class away from home operators

Paris may be famous for its boulangeries, patisseries and café culture, but behind the city’s charm sits a dynamic and fast evolving away from home sector – one that offers valuable lessons for UK operators and suppliers.

During a recent research trip, we discovered how Parisian away from home operators are redefining convenience, elevating experiences, and making health and sustainability effortless in ways that closely align with our UK away from home trends 2026.

With UK consumers reining in spending, seeking richer experiences, and paying more attention to health and sustainability, operators and suppliers must learn to adapt now.

The following insights – from tiered breakfasts and experience-led environments to smart labelling and multi-channel ordering – highlight how Paris is leading the way and provide practical inspiration to help UK businesses to compete more effectively.

Petit déjeuner at affordable and accessible prices

Parisian operators are redefining the breakfast mission paring affordability with choice – a strategy that aligns closely with UK consumers’ desire for value without compromise. When convenience and value matter most, these tiered deals help consumers balance their spending, time, and health goals all at the same time.

FTG specialist Cojean’s tiered breakfast deals demonstrate this perfectly. While a
€3.95 coffee and croissant option serves commuters in a hurry, an indulgent €9.50 avocado toast encourages consumers to stay for longer, driving incremental spend.

Monop’ Daily and Relay also bring low priced breakfast into high footfall environments. Their joint concept store at St Denis Metro station offers breakfast deals from as low as €2.70 for a coffee and a croissant. Thanks to the store’s unique mix of convenience and travel essentials, consumers can pair top up shopping with away from home missions.

What UK operators and suppliers can do:

• Introduce tiered breakfast bundles that suit varied budgets and missions

• Combine low price food deals and adjacent retail missions to increase spend

• Use high footfall areas, like transport hubs, to create frictionless experiences

Making time at déjeuner for experiences that justify the spend

As consumers are shifting from buying things to investing in experiences, Parisian FTG specialists are elevating lunch missions with thoughtful design, atmosphere, and value adding touches – curating moments of relaxation and escape that are worth the spend.

EXKi blends convenience with calm by paring grab and go options with warm lighting, soft music, and a dedicated seating area. Crucially, dine in and takeaway prices are the same – removing a barrier that discourages consumers from choosing to eat in store. 

Cojean also uses an experience led design, placing dining areas away from high traffic service counters, comfortable seats, and access to the premium magazine infrarouge. Even when dine in prices are higher than take out, its B-Corp status and commitment to charitable causes help consumers to justify trading up to a business with strong values.

What UK operators and suppliers can do:

• Ensure convenience does not come at the expense of experience

• Design in store dining areas to create calm pockets that feel worth paying for

• Use sustainability credentials and brand values to support higher prices 

Embedding health into everyday à emporter missions

Leading operators in Paris are making healthy eating instinctive, visible, and accessible. Mirroring the renewed focus on health in away from home in the UK, this is an effective measure as GLP-1 use is rising and consumers are paying more notice to health goals.

Picadeli’s “Fast Food for the Future” salad bar inside Franprix gives consumers flexibility and transparency building their own bowl. Making healthier more sustainable choices is made effortless with Nutri-Score and carbon labelling – guiding consumers to add items that are better for them and for the planet.

Monoprix La Cantine also reinforces healthy choices with a range of freshly prepared food to go dishes and consistent labelling that makes balanced meals easier to spot. Like Franprix, Nutri-Score labelling helps consumers to choose the lunch that is right for them – especially important for those with specific protein, fibre, or calorie goals.

What UK operators and suppliers can do:

• Introduce simple visual cues that help consumers to make healthier choices

• Make healthy choices highly visible at the point of selection

• Offer affordable balanced dishes that are both functional and accessible 

Multi-channel dîner ordering that puts consumers in control

In a hyperconnected world, today’s consumers expect seamless ordering whether they are grabbing a quick bite to eat or a full sit down meal. The full service restaurant Sugo Pasta Fresca offers a clear example of how even small operators can execute this well.

Taking inspiration from QSR operators, Sugo Pasta Fresca allows consumers to dine in and click and collect for take away online. What sets the restaurant apart is its in-store self-service kiosks that allow consumers to takeaway even when the restaurant is full.

This flexibility means that consumers can browse menus and order at their own pace, encouraging them to explore the full menu leading to natural trade up opportunities.

What operators and suppliers can do:

• Introduce or simplify multi-channel ordering – even if you are small or independent

• Use self-service kiosks to manage peak time ordering if staff are rushed or busy

• Ensure channels encourage discovery, supporting trade-up and add-on opportunities

Not Cordon Bleu, but Cordon Vert: when local ingredients meet global flavours

High-end luxury restaurants sometimes rely on hard to source ingredients coming from far afield shores – making for exotic flavours and an exclusive experience, but at the cost of environmental sustainability.

Parisian restaurant Mantra headed by a Michelin star chef demonstrates how global flavours and sustainability can co-exist without relying on hard to source ingredients.
Its Table Passerelle Entre France et Malaisie blends Malaysian dishes with local French ingredients, proving that premium dining can be both responsible and creative.

What UK operators and suppliers can do:

• Innovate international flavours using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients

• Partner with skilled chefs to elevate sustainable menus into premium experiences

• Reframe provenance as an enhancer of flavour and creativity, not a challenge.

Au revoir, à bientôt, and what this means for the UK

Across breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between, away from home operators in Paris are excelling by making value clearer, experiences richer, health effortless, and ordering more intuitive.

Paris shows that winning in the away from home sector isn’t about doing one big thing, it’s about removing friction and adding value across every interaction with consumers. The operators that stand out help to make consumers feel in control, looked after, and able to make the right decisions for them and the planet effortlessly.

The message for UK operators and suppliers is clear: intentional improvements to value, experience, health, and convenience add up to a meaningful point of differentiation. Paris demonstrates that these marginal gains – consistently applied – are likely to speak to consumer preferences and unlock spend in an evolving market.