UAE residents ditch fries for salads in the wake of Covid-19: report

Covid-19 may have prompted UAE residents to choose a healthier lifestyle, if their food-ordering choices are anything to go by.

Before and during the lockdown, French fries were the number one ordered item, followed by chicken wings and mozzarella sticks, data from virtual kitchen brand Sweetheart Kitchen shows.

Post-lockdown, DIY (do it yourself) salad moved up to the number one rank followed by a DIY quinoa bowl. The trend towards ordering healthier items continues across various categories too, a report from the company shows.

The economic uncertainties surrounding Covid-19 seem to have taken their toll on the purchasing power of UAE consumers. The average items per order (AIPO) decreased by 18 per cent after the lockdown from the period before the pandemic, after having risen 9 per cent during the lockdown.

Similar depreciation was registered in the average order value, which decreased by 4 per cent post – lockdown, having increased by 11 per cent during the lockdown.

Interestingly, data shows customers in Marina and JLT saw a drastic decrease in their purchase behaviour during the lockdown, where the majority of new “home chefs” within the emirate grew.

Read: Food data intelligence platform, NutriCal, launches in the UAE

Sweetheart Kitchen is one in a growing number of delivery-only food businesses that are leveraging data, on-demand transport infrastructure, and strategically placed kitchens to deliver quick service food in under 20 minutes.

The company opened its fifth kitchen in Dubai in Al Raffa district bringing the total of their kitchens to eight in the region (Dubai and Kuwait). It has launched three kitchens since the coronavirus outbreak as the number of orders surged.