Predicted growth in UK foodservice industry to be driven by burgers, delivery services and brunch

The foodservice industry is forecast to continue its growth over the next year, driven by burgers, casual dining, breakfast and lunch. 

According to new predictions from the NPD Group’s Foodservice Industry Outlook, the UK foodservice sector could gain an extra 83 million visits in 2018 and an additional 93 million in 2019, despite rising inflation.

This will see a rise of 0.7% in 2018 and 0.8% in 2019 respectively.

SEE ALSO:

• Fast casual and veganism – current trends in dining
• GCC food services sector to hit $29.3bn by 2020
• UK restaurant industry predicted to grow, despite increasing competition

The group predicted that this growth may be driven by the thriving delivery services market as well as the ever-growing popularity of dining out for breakfast and lunch. 

As delivery services such as Just Eat, UberEATS and Deliveroo expand their reach across the UK, NPD Group Is predicting an additional spend of GBP£656mn by consumers on delivery orders by 2019, which translates as a 17% increase. 

This will offset the predicted decline of dinner visits as the group estimates that, by the end of 2019, there could be 5% fewer dinner visits than in 2016, a decline of over 134 million visits. 

By contrast, NPD is forecasting that breakfast visits will grow by 5.7% in 2018 and 4.8% in 2019, whilst lunch will remain the largest daypart, growing by 2.2% and 1.9% in 2018 and 2019 respectively. 

“Delivery shows no signs of running out of steam over the next two years and will help to bring home the bacon in Britain’s £55b foodservice industry,” said NPD Group food service director Cyril Lavenant.

“Burgers, casual dining, breakfast and lunch are also thriving and should help operators shrug off fragile consumer confidence, as well as inflation and stagnant wages, to achieve growth. 

“We are especially bullish about burger chains and casual dining as these restaurants are meeting the consumer’s appetite for a contemporary experience that also offers a family-oriented treat.

“Regardless of a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit, any foodservice operator that invests for the future, and gives consumers the value, product quality and service quality they want, can look forward to growing their business in 2018 and 2019.”