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Food · refreshed weekly

How AI wants food-to-go & bakeries

Food-to-Go & Bakeries is decided on attraction: Buns From Home indexes 118 there against Co-op at 81, a 37-point spread. Marks & Spencer holds the strongest overall profile, indexing 112 against the category average: ahead on all three. Across these 18 brands, attachment tracks being named most closely (rank correlation 0.50).

18 brands · 60 AI answers · 288 dimension scores · measured, never estimated

Attraction Standing out in the answer: named first, described as superior, magnetic and influential.
Affinity Belonging in the answer: tied to identity, values and legitimacy, not just specifications.
Attachment Staying in the answer: recommended again, dependable, easy, part of the routine.
AttractionAffinityAttachment Each whorl lights one ring per index threshold cleared (90 / 96 / 102 / 108 / 115)

100 = the average brand in the same category.100 = the average brand across every category in the index.

Food

Food-to-Go & Bakeries

#Brand AttractionAffinityAttachment SummaryNamed in
1 Marks Spencer: Attraction 114, Affinity 113, Attachment 105Marks Spencer: Attraction 107, Affinity 110, Attachment 104Marks & Spencer 114107 113110 105104 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 12%
2 Buns From Home: Attraction 118, Affinity 113, Attachment 97Buns From Home: Attraction 112, Affinity 110, Attachment 96Buns From Home 118112 113110 9796 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 0%
3 Gail's Bakery: Attraction 111, Affinity 118, Attachment 101Gail's Bakery: Attraction 105, Affinity 114, Attachment 100Gail's Bakery 111105 118114 101100 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 2%
4 Beigel Bake: Attraction 117, Affinity 108, Attachment 95Beigel Bake: Attraction 110, Affinity 105, Attachment 95Beigel Bake 117110 108105 9595 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 3%
5 Greggs: Attraction 109, Affinity 103, Attachment 109Greggs: Attraction 103, Affinity 101, Attachment 109Greggs 109103 103101 109109 Chosen, not lovedRelied on, not exciting 42%
6 Pret A Manger: Attraction 105, Affinity 106, Attachment 105Pret A Manger: Attraction 99, Affinity 103, Attachment 104Pret A Manger 10599 106103 105104 Ahead on all threeRelied on, not exciting 20%
7 Tesco: Attraction 102, Affinity 102, Attachment 104Tesco: Attraction 96, Affinity 99, Attachment 103Tesco 10296 10299 104103 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 30%
8 Costa Coffee: Attraction 102, Affinity 103, Attachment 101Costa Coffee: Attraction 96, Affinity 101, Attachment 100Costa Coffee 10296 103101 101100 Average on all threeCredible, not first choice 18%
9 Morrisons: Attraction 99, Affinity 99, Attachment 102Morrisons: Attraction 93, Affinity 97, Attachment 102Morrisons 9993 9997 102102 Average on all threeRelied on, not exciting 12%
10 Sainsbury's: Attraction 96, Affinity 101, Attachment 102Sainsbury's: Attraction 91, Affinity 98, Attachment 102Sainsbury's 9691 10198 102102 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 5%
11 Upper Crust: Attraction 94, Affinity 99, Attachment 108Upper Crust: Attraction 89, Affinity 97, Attachment 107Upper Crust 9489 9997 108107 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 3%
12 Leon: Attraction 94, Affinity 99, Attachment 101Leon: Attraction 89, Affinity 97, Attachment 100Leon 9489 9997 101100 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 2%
13 Lidl: Attraction 99, Affinity 96, Attachment 90Lidl: Attraction 93, Affinity 94, Attachment 89Lidl 9993 9694 9089 Noticed, not returned toBehind on all three 0%
14 McDonald's: Attraction 96, Affinity 89, Attachment 97McDonald's: Attraction 91, Affinity 87, Attachment 96McDonald's 9691 8987 9796 Relied on, not excitingBehind on all three 7%
15 Asda: Attraction 94, Affinity 91, Attachment 98Asda: Attraction 89, Affinity 88, Attachment 98Asda 9489 9188 9898 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 22%
16 Subway: Attraction 87, Affinity 84, Attachment 97Subway: Attraction 82, Affinity 81, Attachment 96Subway 8782 8481 9796 Relied on, not excitingBehind on all three 3%
17 Poundbakery: Attraction 84, Affinity 85, Attachment 97Poundbakery: Attraction 79, Affinity 83, Attachment 96Poundbakery 8479 8583 9796 Relied on, not excitingBehind on all three 2%
18 Co-op: Attraction 81, Affinity 89, Attachment 90Co-op: Attraction 76, Affinity 87, Attachment 89Co-op 8176 8987 9089 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 15%

Indexed against the average of the 18 indexed food-to-go & bakeries brands, so 100 is the category average and a brand is read against the rivals it actually competes with.Indexed against the average of every indexed brand in the whole index — 1,605 brands across 61 categories — so 100 is the average brand anywhere here and a number reads the same on every board. 18 food-to-go & bakeries brands, measured across 60 AI answers in the latest weekly run.

Driver by driver

Where the category actually separates. A wide spread means assistants describe these brands very differently on that driver; a narrow one means it is table stakes.

Attraction

37-point spread · tracks being named 0.02
Buns From Home118
Co-op81

The widest field of the three: this is where the category separates.

Affinity

34-point spread · tracks being named 0.04
Gail's Bakery118
Subway84

Real separation, but not the category’s defining contest.

Attachment

19-point spread · tracks being named 0.50
Greggs109
Co-op90

The tightest of the three: most brands land close together here.

Where each brand stands

Each brand's three indices, summed up in a line: which drivers it is ahead on, which it is behind on, and the one to build next. A brand that is noticed but not returned to has a different problem from one that is relied on but not exciting.

Marks Spencer: Attraction 114, Affinity 113, Attachment 105
Ahead on all three
Above average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Marks & Spencer · Pret A Manger
No driver is behind; protect the lead.
Buns From Home: Attraction 118, Affinity 113, Attachment 97
Noticed, not returned to
Attraction is its strongest driver; attachment trails behind it.
Buns From Home · Beigel Bake · Lidl
Build next: attachment
Tesco: Attraction 102, Affinity 102, Attachment 104
Relied on, not exciting
Attachment is its strongest driver; attraction trails behind it.
Tesco · Sainsbury's · Upper Crust · Leon · McDonald's · Asda · Subway · Poundbakery
Build next: attraction
Gail's Bakery: Attraction 111, Affinity 118, Attachment 101
Credible, not first choice
Affinity (identity, values, legitimacy) is its strongest driver.
Gail's Bakery
Build next: attraction
Costa Coffee: Attraction 102, Affinity 103, Attachment 101
Average on all three
Close to average on every driver.
Costa Coffee · Morrisons
Build next: attraction
Greggs: Attraction 109, Affinity 103, Attachment 109
Chosen, not loved
Attraction and attachment are ahead; affinity trails behind them.
Greggs
Build next: affinity
Co-op: Attraction 81, Affinity 89, Attachment 90
Behind on all three
Below average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Co-op
Build next: attraction
Marks Spencer: Attraction 107, Affinity 110, Attachment 104
Ahead on all three
Above average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Marks & Spencer
No driver is behind; protect the lead.
Buns From Home: Attraction 112, Affinity 110, Attachment 96
Noticed, not returned to
Attraction is its strongest driver; attachment trails behind it.
Buns From Home · Beigel Bake
Build next: attachment
Greggs: Attraction 103, Affinity 101, Attachment 109
Relied on, not exciting
Attachment is its strongest driver; attraction trails behind it.
Greggs · Pret A Manger · Tesco · Morrisons · Sainsbury's · Upper Crust · Leon · Asda
Build next: attraction
Gail's Bakery: Attraction 105, Affinity 114, Attachment 100
Credible, not first choice
Affinity (identity, values, legitimacy) is its strongest driver.
Gail's Bakery · Costa Coffee
Build next: attraction
Lidl: Attraction 93, Affinity 94, Attachment 89
Behind on all three
Below average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Lidl · McDonald's · Subway · Poundbakery · Co-op
Build next: attraction

What assistants actually talk about

The sixteen dimensions underneath the drivers, scored 0–10 on how the answers describe each brand. Spread is the distance between the strongest and weakest brand: the widest are where a brand can still separate itself, the narrowest are the price of entry.

Where brands separate

DimensionDriverCategory avgStrongestSpread
Style & Aesthetic Attraction 6.0 Gail's Bakery 9.0 5.0
Boldness & Creativity Attraction 5.9 Buns From Home 9.0 5.0
Innovation & Technology Attraction 6.0 Buns From Home 8.0 4.0
Differentiation vs Sameness Attraction 6.9 Beigel Bake 9.0 4.0
Lifestyle Fit & Identity Affinity 6.6 Gail's Bakery 9.0 4.0

Where everyone reads alike

DimensionDriverCategory avgStrongestSpread
Delivery & Fulfilment Attachment 6.8 Greggs 7.3 1.3
Reliability & Consistency Affinity 7.6 Beigel Bake 8.5 2.0
Ease of Use & Onboarding Attachment 7.8 Greggs 9.0 2.0
Customer Service & Support Attachment 6.9 Gail's Bakery 8.0 2.0
Range & Availability Attachment 7.4 Tesco 8.3 2.3

Does desire track being recommended?

Rank correlation between a brand's driver index and the share of answers naming it, across the 18 indexed brands in this category. A relationship inside one run's answers — descriptive, never causal, and easily moved by a single brand at this sample size.

Attraction0.02
Affinity0.04
Attachment0.50

Method & limitations

Every week, each category runs a fixed set of unbranded consumer prompts against ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. A separate model reads the answers and scores every brand named in them across 16 perception dimensions, 0–10. Those dimensions are grouped into the three Drivers of Desire from the Havas Science of Desire framework, and each brand's driver score is indexed against the average brand in its own category — 100 is the category average, 115 is fifteen per cent above it. The Vs all categories switch re-indexes the same scores against the average of every indexed brand across every category, so boards can be read against each other; the ranking inside a category is the same either way. Each category's own average, indexed against the whole index, is its place in the category table. The summary beside each brand describes where it stands on the three drivers against whichever benchmark is showing: above 104 counts as ahead, below 96 as behind.

This measures how AI assistants describe brands in their answers. It is not a survey of people, and it is not an endorsement: the scores are a reading of machine-generated text at the time of the run, and relationships between drivers and how often a brand is named are correlational. A brand needs at least six scored dimensions in a run to be indexed, and a category needs at least four such brands to get a board. See the full methodology.