As people across the world embrace in-person dining again, how has foodservice evolved to meet demand?
Since the pandemic, how and where we choose to eat has changed significantly. Foodservice businesses have had to adapt to years of government restrictions and changing consumer priorities to keep pace and remain competitive.
But this year has been a cause for optimism in the sector. There has been a real bounce back in how people have decided to engage with restaurants, food providers and hospitality environments. In 2022, people bought from foodservice providers 86 times on average globally, compared to 64 times last year.
With global efforts to limit human contact, we saw an undeniable surge in consumers choosing collected or delivered meals last year. And this trend is only set to continue, with 22% of foodservice occasions being collected meals, and 31% being delivered in 2022.
But in spite of this, 47% of foodservice occasions happened on-premises this year, up from 32% in 2021, showing a strong recovery in dine-in hospitality environments. And this hunger for meeting in person and sharing food on-premises has resulted in this type of foodservice contributing 75% to the sector’s growth.
While the foodservice landscape indicates a healthy appetite for on-premises dining, local nuances across Latin America, Europe and Asia show that different markets are responding to post-pandemic recovery with their own distinctive flavour.
In Latin America, consumers are showing a clear preference for delivery service and eating in with each occupying 39% (78% in total) of foodservice occasions in the region. In contrast, the European foodservice industry still heavily relies on traditional on-premise dining, with eating in accounting for 59% of dining occasions. With a strong heritage of bar and café culture, there is a clear appetite for dine-in environments in Europe and these will remain a key area for brands to harness in their growth strategies. The Asian markets offer a more balanced foodservice model, with eating in (34%) and delivery (36%) only slightly outweighing collected food (30%).
It’s clear that foodservice is transforming across the world at pace. Across all markets, new models and platforms are changing how and when people engage with the service industry. Outlets and providers will have to look beyond traditional eat in only models, even if it plays a key role in their offerings.
So, where are the emerging opportunities for foodservice businesses and what growth can we expect to see in the future?
The verdict is in for foodservice in Europe this year. On premises dining is back, and it has proven to be overwhelmingly popular across the region. But the story of which outlets consumers are choosing to purchase from is far less uniform, and our country breakdown suggests that businesses looking to grow in Europe must be specific in terms of where they choose to set up shop.
Local habits across Europe depict an increasingly varied channel landscape for foodservice providers. While the continent-wide picture indicates 30% of spend happens in bars, cafés, and coffee shops, this accounts for only 9% of foodservice spend in France. With a strong pub culture, it’s also unsurprising to see 36% of spending happening in similar spaces in the UK.
But Full Service Restaurants (FSR) have also had a strong year with 37% of spend occurring in these outlets in Spain; and in France nearly half (49%).
Value vs frequency
We’ve already seen how the holistic picture of the foodservice industry is one of endurance and resilience. But what does this recovery actually look like, and how are consumer habits changing in the face of mounting economic pressures?
While consumers are finally spending the same amount of money as they were compared with pre-pandemic levels, this year’s data suggests a marked shift in the way people are interacting with foodservice outlets.
In 2022, consumers made 20% less foodservice trips than in 2019 but when people did choose to eat out, they spent 15% more compared to pre-pandemic levels.
This year, we have seen a trend of consumers choosing trips with substantial meals rather than trips with snacks; and the average price of these substantial meals is on average 5 times more expensive than trips with snacks.
We have also seen a shift in when people choose to dine out. Weekend dining out frequency is 90% of the pre-pandemic levels while weekday dining out trails at 74% of pre-pandemic levels. With Covid restrictions being lifted in nearly all regions, consumers are once again choosing to eat with friends and family. This has led to an increase in occasion-led, more expensive dining experiences out of the home.
But what type of outlets are successfully capturing consumer attention and persuading people to spend more on their meals?
