Summary
These key findings provide an overview of the out of home environment in 2024 and 2025, in Scotland and Great Britain, using food and drink purchase data from Worldpanel by Numerator. This analysis is the latest in a series of publications from Food Standards Scotland on the out of home environment.
For further details and definitions, please see the Technical appendix.
Key findings
Overview of the out of home environment
In Scotland, 97.7% of the population visited the out of home environment in 2025. Between 2024 and 2025, the overall number of out of home transactions in Scotland decreased by 7%, from 870.5 million to 809.3 million.
In Great Britain, 97.5% of the population visited the out of home environment in 2025. Between 2024 and 2025, the overall number of out of home transactions in Great Britain also decreased (-1.6%), from 12 billion to 11.8 billion.
Transactions by channel
As seen in Figure 1, Mults (inc. forecourt), which includes major supermarket brands and their petrol‑station stores, were the most frequently visited outlet type in Great Britain in 2025. Forecourt (ex. Mults) and Travel was the channel type with the greatest percentage increase in transactions (11.1%) between 2024 and 2025, while the largest decreases were to High‑street outlets (-7.6%) and Quick‑service restaurants (-6.2%).
Figure 1 - Number of transactions (millions) in 2024 and 2025 by channel: Great Britain
Here is a visual only chart of: Bar chart portraying the number of transactions in 2024 and 2025 by outlet type in Great Britain. The chart shows little difference in the number of transactions between the two years to all channels. The channel with the greatest number of transactions in 2025 is Mults (inc. forecourt) (3080.3 million), followed by Bakery, sandwich & salad (1754.5 million). The channel with the fewest transactions in 2025 is Hotels (73.8 million).
Please find more information provided in the detailed description and/or table below.
Bar chart portraying the number of transactions in 2024 and 2025 by outlet type in Great Britain. The chart shows little difference in the number of transactions between the two years to all channels. The channel with the greatest number of transactions in 2025 is Mults (inc. forecourt) (3080.3 million), followed by Bakery, sandwich & salad (1754.5 million). The channel with the fewest transactions in 2025 is Hotels (73.8 million).
(1) Major supermarkets plus their convenience and forecourt stores
On premise and takeaway transactions
In Scotland, 79.5% of transactions were made on premise, whilst 21.5% were takeaway, in 2025. A total of 643.7 million transactions were made on premise in 2025, representing a 6.3% decrease compared to 2024. There was also a decline in takeaway transactions, which decreased by 10% from 193 million in 2024, to 173.6 million in 2025.
Most takeaway transactions were collection/drive‑thru orders (92.2%), with delivery accounting for the remaining 7.8% of transactions in 2025. Collection/drive‑thru transactions declined by 13.6 million (‑7.8%) between 2024 and 2025, while delivery transactions decreased by 5.8 million, representing a 30% drop.
Food and drink categories
Figure 2 shows that between 2024 and 2025, there was a decrease in the number of transactions for all food and drink categories in Scotland. Hot drinks were the category accounting for the greatest proportion of out of home transactions in 2025 (264.8 million). The greatest percentage decrease between 2024 and 2025 was for total savoury snacks, which reduced by 15.1%.
Figure 2 - Number of transactions in 2024 and 2025 by food and drink category: Scotland
Here is a visual only chart of: Figure 2 – Bar chart compares the number of transactions in 2024 and 2025 by food and drink category in Scotland. Overall, there is little change between the two years across all categories. Hot and cold drinks recorded the greatest number of transactions in both years, with 264.8 million in 2024 and 257.7 million in 2025, whilst the fewest transactions were for savoury snacks (51.1 million in 2025).
Please find more information provided in the detailed description and/or table below.
Figure 2 – Bar chart compares the number of transactions in 2024 and 2025 by food and drink category in Scotland. Overall, there is little change between the two years across all categories. Hot and cold drinks recorded the greatest number of transactions in both years, with 264.8 million in 2024 and 257.7 million in 2025, whilst the fewest transactions were for savoury snacks (51.1 million in 2025).
Eating occasions
Overall, snacking (which includes morning, afternoon or evening snacks) accounted for the highest proportion (45.3%) of OOH consumption occasions in Scotland in 2025, relative to other meal occasions such as breakfast, lunch and evening meals/teatime.
How this data will be used
This data adds to existing evidence on the out of home environment. Food Standards Scotland will use the data alongside other evidence to drive, influence and monitor public health nutrition policies aimed at improving the out of home environment and diet of the population in Scotland.