Beyond our ken

The launch of Ken's Food On The Phone in May marked Whitbread's third foray into the home meal replacement (HMR) market and registered £70,000 in total investment. But this outlay comes as no surprise, since HMR is tipped to be the fastest-growing food sector on both sides of the Atlantic.

The take-away outlet in Weybridge, Surrey, is a new concept designed to tap into an increasingly time-poor, cash-rich culture where hard-working people are too tired, too busy, or too unskilled to prepare flavoursome meals. Supermarkets and contract caterers are cashing in, too.

Paul Kemp, new concept manager at Whitbread Restaurants, agrees. "It's an area we believe has a lot of potential," he says. "But it covers a lot of different types of catering. No one has found the absolute formula and there is no definitive answer to what it is."

US food service consultancy Technomic defines HMR as meals freshly prepared away from home for immediate consumption or that need minimal reheating. In a survey of the UK market, to be published in October, analysts at Deloitte & Touche describe it as "the retailing of prepared meals or meal equivalents primarily for consumption in the home". The emphasis is on complete meals, not snacks snatched between meals.

Cynics who decry HMR as a fashionable phrase borrowed from the USA to describe the good old take-away have a point. But Peter Antenen, a manager with the management consultancy division at Deloitte & Touche, argues that there are a number of different approaches. He sees HMR evolving into a new sector that will offer a "powerful combination" of the best elements of food retail - price points, variety and accessibility - and of food service - service, convenience and quality.

Ken's started life in November 1996 as Menu Master, but was rebranded Wellingtons in February 1997 to reflect the quality of the dishes on the West End-style menu.

Wellingtons did well, but sales began to flatten this spring. The concept was overhauled and relaunched as Ken's Food On The Phone. Ken, incidentally, is Kemp (Ken is his middle name). A former chef, he has devised the dishes, organised supply and distribution, and still dons the chef's hat on occasion.

According to Kemp, the Wellingtons menu was too esoteric, too large and too complex because the offer changed throughout the day. "Take-away is about speed, convenience, quality and making a quick decision," he says. "The menu made it difficult for people to make a choice quickly."

Quality not quantity

The new, stripped-down menu has 20% fewer items and a broader appeal, says Kemp. Starters include tomato and courgette soup (£1.95) or onion bhaji (£2.20), main meals range from lamb risotto (£4.95) to chicken with ginger and pineapple (£4.95), and desserts span panettoni with toffee sauce (£2.25) to fruit crumbles (£2.95). There are also set meals from the Far East (£16.95 for two) and India (£15.75 for two), alongside traditional favourites such as Sunday roast (£9.95 to £11.95), omelettes (£1.95), flat-bread wraps (£2.95), salads (£1.95) and danish pastries (£1.50).

Kemp believes the recipes, gathered on his travels, are authentic enough to compete with local ethnic take-aways.

Turnover in April stood at £3,000 a week, with food costs at 28%. Since May, sales have climbed by between 20% and 80% a week and business has shifted towards the evening, which now accounts for 70% of trade. Fridays and weekends, regarded as treat days, account for 60% of orders, and customers have ranged from drop-in shoppers and local retailers to a birthday party for 25.

It's a labour-intensive operation requiring skilled chefs. Orders are assembled from freshly prepared ingredients and cooked in a forced-air convection oven at 550ºF in just 10 minutes.

Weybridge offers the ideal profile for the targeted regular - the successful professional within an eight-mile drive - but Kemp sees potential for at least 200 Ken's in fairly upmarket towns. For now he will focus on high streets and suburban residential sites around London. A second site, in East Sheen, is awaiting planning permission.