Your next competitor? It's not who you think…

The food world isn't dividing into three neat sectors. It's revealing itself as a seven-position spectrum and most businesses don't know where they actually sit.

At one end: Pure Retail (supermarkets, butchers, ingredient shopping). At the other: Pure Restaurant (table service, dining experiences). Between them lay five distinct convergence zones where the real battle is happening.

Peak Convergence sits at the centre. Pret, Greggs, meal deals, food trucks, takeaways, ready meals and workplace canteens compete for customers who want food that’s prepared, but not in a restaurant. But it's not alone. Meal kits occupy Retail-Adjacent Convergence. Takeaways sit in Restaurant-Adjacent Convergence. Each zone demands different capabilities, faces different competition and offers different opportunities.

This isn't retail versus restaurant anymore. Competition is positional; you compete with whoever sits adjacent to you on the spectrum, not everyone in some imagined sector.

If you supply food, your customers span multiple spectrum positions with completely different needs. If you operate in food, threats come from unexpected adjacent zones. If you're an investor growth concentrates in convergence, not the poles.

Read my full analysis here to discover where you actually sit on the spectrum and how to defend or expand your position before someone else captures your customers.