The State of the Restaurant Industry Report
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- Quick-service sales have nearly recovered since the pandemic dip.
- Full-service restaurants may take longer to return to pre-pandemic numbers.
- USA Full-service restaurants are recovering more quickly than Canadian stores.
- Industry shifts that took place due to the pandemic, like ghost kitchens and dine out experience optimization might be here to stay.
- The restaurant industry was hit the hardest over the past 2 years by the pandemic, but the future of growth and progress is hopeful.
Industry Growth and Insights
A Glance at the Canadian Quick Service Industry
The market size of the quick service restaurant sector in Canada was 25.82B USD in 2020,dropping due to the pandemic in 2019, but recovering quickly to reach 27.57B USD in 2021,now reaching 28B USD. The quick-service industry made a fast comeback and was less impacted by the service aspect than full service establishments.
Source: IBS World, 2021
$28B
Market Size
31,361
Number of Businesses
402,477
Industry Employment
Industry Growth and Insights
A Glance at the American Quick Service Industry.
Industry experts believe that because most quick service restaurants had already developed off-premise services like drive-thru and takeout prior to the pandemic, they were less heavily affected than full-service restaurants when lockdown restrictions were instituted and, as such, have made a quicker more robust recovery.
In the states, the QSR industry is valued at297B USD.
Source: IBS World, 2021
$297B
Market Size
294,357
Number of Businesses
4,791,005
Industry Employment
The biggest Canadian fast food chain: Tim Hortons
2021 sales: $831million
Locations: 42,688
Canada loves their fast food chains. Fast food is a $27 billion industry that employs nearly one million people or about 2.7% of the total population of Canada.
The biggest American fast food chain: McDonald’s
2021 sales: $40.412billion
Locations: 13,846
In 2021, the quick service restaurant industry has made a full recovery, with sales projected to surpass pre-pandemic sales at $296.55 billion, according to data from Statista.
Industry Growth and Insights
A Glance at the Canadian Full-Service Restaurant Industry.
In 2019, the market size of the full service restaurant sector in Canada peaked at 35.78B USD.
However, as result of COVID-19, the market size decreased to 22.3B USD in 2020.
The Canadian market is now sitting at 29.15B USD in 2021.
The full-service restaurant industry is slower to recover, with many restaurants that were not able to stay in business during the pandemic.
Source: IBS World, 2021
$29bn
Market Size
38,873
Number of Businesses
531,399
Industry Employment
Industry Growth and Insights
A Glance at the American Full-Service Restaurant Industry.
In the US, the market size of full service restaurants (excluding chains) has grown 1.9%per year on average for the last 5 years.
As the coronavirus subsides, the industry's growth is expected to continue growing at a similar pace as restaurants open back up, and continue to adapt to COVID-19 changes.
Although restaurants in the States took a hit in2020, the market is recovering more quickly than that of the Canadian market.
$188bn
Market Size
162,024
Number of Businesses
3,063,899
Industry Employment
Labor Insights
On the Canadian Food Service Industry.
Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s foodservice sector was a $95 billion dollar industry, directly employing close to 1.2 million people.
This used to be Canada’s number one source of "first jobs", serving 22 million customers across the country every day.
Due to the pandemic, employers in this industry took a hit - but luckily, Canada’s unemployment rate is forecast to steadily improve, averaging 7.6% in 2021 and 6.3% in 2022.
How the pandemic impacted restaurant hiring.
80%
80% of managers had trouble filling back-of house positions.
67%
67% of managers had trouble filling front-of house positions.
80%
80% of managers said they would struggle to keep staff if they had to cut hours again.
Source: Restaurants Canada, 2021
Labor Insights
On the American Food Service Industry.
New data from the National Restaurant Association found that 75% of restaurant businesses in the U.S. reported that retaining employees was the top challenge facing their business.
Some workers are not returning to the industry - citing low pay and COVID-19 safety concerns as the reason. Others have simply moved on to work in other sectors.
Nevertheless, in 2021 the food service sector grew by 1.3m restoring to to close to its pre-pandemic employment levels.
75%
Of operators saying recruiting and retaining workers was their top business challenge
2M
There are nearly 2millionfewer 16-34 year olds in the restaurant labor force.
1.3 M new jobs
In 2021 the food service sector added 1.3m jobs, returning close to it's pre-pandemic employment levels of 12.3m.
Labor Insights
Canadian Minumum Wage Updates
Minimum wage by Province, and when changes took place.
American Minumum Wage Updates
Minimum wage by State, and when changes took place.
Top 2021 Restaurant Industry Trends
That are here to stay
Ghost Kitchens
Ghost kitchens are predicted to account for 21% of the restaurant industry by 2025.
Healthy & Veg Options
38% of on-premises customers say healthy choices would impact their restaurant choice.
Take out liquor
Ordering alcohol through delivery services could account for 5-10% of said restaurant sales.
Technology and innovation
Innovations in technology like digital menus, online ordering platforms, and third party delivery services are here to stay.
The Industry Ecosystem
Understanding the industry ecosystem, and the companies within.
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