OFFICE WORKERS INCREASINGLY BRING LUNCH FROM HOME TO SAVE MONEY

LONDON, SEPTEMBER 14 /SRNA/ – Office workers in the United Kingdom are increasingly bringing lunch from home in order to protect their household budgets from rising living costs, the Daily Mail reports, citing a recent survey.

Almost half of employees in the UK, or 46 percent, now bring lunch to work more often than they did a year ago, according to a survey conducted for online grocery retailer Ocado Retail.

The trend is particularly obvious among younger workers, with as many as 64 percent of those aged between 18 and 45 saying they bring lunch to work more often than they used to.

Overall, 69 percent of respondents believe that buying lunch near the office has become too expensive, while 72 percent say that bringing food from home helps them manage their household finances better.

Nutritional value is another key reason for bringing food from home, with 66 percent of respondents saying it makes it easier for them to eat healthily and monitor their calorie intake.

Traditional sandwiches remain popular, accounting for around 52 percent of lunches brought from home, while data from Ocado show that searches for lunch bowls – portable meals suitable for taking to work, have increased by 79 percent year on year, while sales of zip-lock bags have risen by 60 percent.

Dan Elton, Customer Director at Ocado Retail, said consumers were looking for practical ways to save money and were therefore incorporating packed lunches into their daily routines in order to reduce costs.

"Search trend data shows that there is clear demand among our customers for affordable and inspiring options," he said.

The analysis was conducted by the agency Clariti in August among a sample of 2,126 adults in the United Kingdom.