Out of Home Food Intake and Behaviours Among Adults Living in Scotland, 2025

Out of home (OOH) eating is increasingly commonplace in people’s daily lives across

Scotland. OOH refers to any food or drink (herein “food”) bought and eaten away from home, including food “on the go”(1) and any takeaway or home-delivered ready-to-eat food. An analysis of Kantar (now Worldpanel by Numerator) data found that nearly everyone in Scotland (98%) visited the OOH environment in 2023 (1) and 2025 (unpublished data). These visits were to a range of outlets, from quick service restaurants such as McDonalds and KFC, to bakeries and sandwich shops such as Greggs and Subway, to meal deals at supermarket retailers such as Tesco and Londis (1).  Indeed, foods “on the go” were the largest share of OOH visits, comprising more than half (59%) of the total OOH occasions in 2023 (1). OOH food consumed at the place of purchase (“dine in”, 33%) or at home (“takeaway”, 9%) made up much smaller proportions of OOH occasions in Scotland in 2023 (1).

Some evidence is emerging that OOH consumption varies across different sociodemographic groups in Scotland. An analysis of Worldpanel by Numerator data found that adults under 35 years old, and adults aged 55 years and older, had more OOH trips in 2021, on average, than adults aged 35 to 54 years: 162 and 165 versus 131 trips per year respectively (1). Those in social class C2DE(2) had more OOH trips.

in 2021, on average, than those in social class ABC1(1): 182 versus 132 trips per year respectively (1). However, they spent less per trip, on average: £4.78 versus £6.32 per trip in C2DE versus ABC1 (1). The type of OOH outlets visited also varied by social class with those from C2DE visiting quick service restaurants, convenience stores, bakeries, and sandwich shops more frequently and those from ABC1 visiting coffee shops, cafés, pubs, and bars more frequently (1). According to the same data, consumers in rural areas visited OOH outlets more frequently than those in urban areas: on average, 185 trips in 2021 by rural consumers versus 135 trips by urban consumers (1). However, urban consumers spent more, on average, per trip: £6.13 versus £4.82 per trip by rural consumers (1). This is reflected in the types of OOH outlets rural versus urban consumers visited. Rural consumers were more likely to visit bakeries, sandwich shops, coffee shops, and cafés, whereas urban consumers had a higher proportion of visits to quick and full service restaurants and convenience stores (1). While these 2021 results provide valuable insights, more up-to-date information across a wider variety of sociodemographic characteristics would help guide policy to improve the healthfulness of the OOH food environment. 

There is very limited data on the proportion of energy or nutrients that comes from OOH food in Scotland. The UK-wide National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2019-2023) found that OOH food accounted for 12% of energy intake (2). When restricted to only those participants who reported consuming OOH food, this percentage increased to 23% of energy intake (2). The contribution of OOH food to saturated fat, free sugars, and sodium was similar. Quantifying the contribution of OOH food to energy and nutrient intake in Scotland would help understand how policies to improve the healthfulness of the OOH food environment may impact on achievement of the Scottish Dietary Goals.

People’s motivations to consume OOH food in Scotland have been explored in a few previous studies and offer insights into how to promote healthier OOH eating behaviours. A qualitative study of 63 frequent OOH consumers conducted in 2019 found that eating OOH was valued for its convenience, variety, treat value, satisfaction, social aspects, and perceived affordability (3). However, participants also identified drawbacks to eating OOH, including cumulative cost, reduced cooking skills, reduced social interaction compared with home eating, and poor healthfulness (3). The Worldpanel by Numerator data from 2021 described previously found that taste, ease, and quickness were the biggest motivators for eating OOH for all consumers, and especially for those from social class C2DE (1). The treat or reward value of OOH food and fancying a change were less frequently reported (1). While these previous studies offer clues as to what motivates people to consume OOH food, more up-to-date information is needed to understand how motivations vary across low versus high OOH consumers and across a greater variety of sociodemographic characteristics. 

Broader food environment research underscores how prevalent OOH outlets are across Scotland and suggests there may be differences by deprivation. A recent analysis of UK food hygiene rating data (Scotland) data found that 59% of food outlets in Scotland were OOH, with over half of outlets in 30 of 32 local authorities classified as OOH (4). Further, the density of OOH outlets was almost double to retail outlets (1.9 versus 0.8 per km²) (4). The most deprived neighbourhoods had more takeaways and sandwich shops and fewer restaurants and cafés (4). 

To date, several frameworks and policies have been proposed in Scotland to improve the healthfulness of the OOH food environment. To support the OOH sector in providing healthier foods, Public Health Scotland and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are developing a voluntary Eating Out, Eating Well Framework and Code of Practice for children’s menus. The Scottish Government has also published a consultation on mandating calorie labelling at the point of choice, though this action was paused in May 2023.

To summarise, nearly all adults in Scotland engage with the OOH sector, but how this OOH food contributes to overall diets and the underlying behavioural motivations remain under-researched across sociodemographic groups. Hence, the overall aim of this report was to understand, currently who in Scotland is and is not eating OOH regularly, how OOH food contributes to their overall diet, and what motivates people to eat or not eat OOH food.

The primary aims of this project were:

1. To identify the characteristics of high, moderate, and low OOH consumers in Scotland.
2. To assess the contribution of OOH food to the overall diet.
3. To gain deeper insights into OOH behaviours, especially the factors that influence the purchase and consumption of OOH food, across a range of frequency of OOH engagement (i.e., high, moderate, and low OOH consumers).

The secondary aims of the project were: 

1. To assess the contribution of OOH sub-types to the overall diet.
2. To assess the contribution of main food groups to OOH intake.