Consumer Foodservice in Western Europe

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

Staff shortages remain a problem

Consumer foodservice has been experiencing staff shortages in the post-pandemic period. Many employees lost their jobs or had significantly reduced hours due to COVID-19 restrictions, leading a number of them to seek employment in other industries. With many not returning to the foodservice industry since then, this has resulted in a shortage of qualified staff in a number of countries.

Delivery expected to continue gaining share

In 2020, the pandemic resulted in eat-in losing a lot of share to takeaway, drive through and, in particular, home delivery. The ongoing popularisation of home delivery, being given added impetus by online ordering, will see it continue gaining share in consumer foodservice in the coming years, with delivery expected to move ahead of takeaway in terms of value sales by the end of the forecast period.

Mini-chains to cash in on prevailing trends

Italy has been seeing a proliferation of mini-chains looking to capitalise on the latest trends, such as bubble tea or poke. Such mini-chains look to offer artisanal quality that is adapted to a more casual dining format, making it accessible to a wide range of consumer segments.

Industry expected to continue digitalising

Consumer foodservice operators will continue to focus on digitalising their businesses. Along with using QR codes to access menus, operators are also channelling their efforts into developing mobile apps. With smartphones ubiquitous in most countries, digitalisation is expected to help drive growth in the delivery/takeaway share.