Five Marketing Levers to Stand Out in Away‑From‑Home

As competition for away from home spend intensifies, visibility and price are no longer enough to stand out.

Our report Impactful marketing activations in AFH from Q1 2026 brings together global best-in-class marketing and promotions, showing how businesses are winning attention, spend, and advocacy, despite ongoing pressure on spending.

Across the themes covered in the report - events, partnerships, health cues, margin protecting value, and culture-led experiences - a clear pattern emerges: the most effective promotions give consumers a reason to engage beyond price.

We have identified five levers which reveal how marketing can drive visits, trade-up and loyalty, even when competition is intensifying and consumers are cautious with their spend.

1. Use events to create reasons to visit

Event-led activations stand out by tapping into people’s desire for shared experiences. Special moments, such as Valentine’s day or key sporting fixtures, provide a natural hook for food and drink, framing the visit as part of something bigger than a meal itself.

The most effective event-led activations do not stop at the occasion. Operators are extending campaigns to drive earlier visits, encourage trade ups, or capture adjacent occasions, using food and drink as a reason to visit, to stay, and to celebrate again.

To maximise impact, focus campaigns around moments that already matter to your audience, design offers that reach across dayparts or missions, and take a partnership approach linking operator objectives with supplier brands to add value through co-funded giveaways or themed NPD.

2. Co-design promotions that address a pain point or delight consumers

Effective marketing and promotions begin with consumer missions, not the product. Whether it’s solving a consumer pain point or creating an opportunity to delight, activations with a clear purpose are more likely to resonate and win consumer spend.

Mission led promotions, like Wrigley’s and Tortilla, unlock incremental spend without annoying consumers, while helping to strengthen operator and supplier partnerships.

3. Embrace health interests without adding friction

Health-led marketing resonates most when it feels easy, familiar, and rewarding. Our research shows that most consumers do not look for detailed health information when eating out but instead rely on simple cues that fit seamlessly into existing habits.

As a result, operators and suppliers are using easy-to-understand cues, such as protein or low- and no-alcohol to encourage trial, spend and frequency.

Franco Manca demonstrates how indulgence and health can co-exist, turning fitness into part of the experience and positioning indulgence as something to be earned, not avoided.

4. Create discounts that also protect margins

Today’s consumers continue to value price, pushing operators and suppliers to balance discounts with rising costs. As a result, many are moving away from broad, always-on discounts towards time-bound, audience specific offers and loyalty mechanics.

Initiatives, such as Pizza Express’ £5 Menu target off-peak demand, while Prezzo’s 99p Mondays app-exclusive offer builds consumer data and creates an owned marketing channel for ongoing engagement.

5. Build a consumer relationship, not just a transaction

Consumers are more likely to return to places they feel part of; not just places they buy from. Businesses that promote their culture create emotional and functional reasons to visit.

Black Sheep Coffee demonstrated this by turning a banana themed drinks launch into a time-bound social event, transforming a store into an immersive arcade with games, merchandise and photo moments. By limiting access, and charging for entry, the brand drove excitement and social sharing.