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Foodservice delivery business to catapult ahead 51 percent by 2021

September 21, 2017

As an industry, foodservice is expected to hit $3 trillion by 2021, driven at least in part by enormous expansion in foodservice delivery, which is expected to grow a whopping 51 percent between 2016 and 2021, according to the latest research from Euromonitor International. 

The data analysis and interpretation company found that the main drivers of this huge burst in restaurant delivery include technology, better menus and what they term as "experientialism" or the increasing reliance on the dining experience to bring customers in, according to a news release about the research. 

The company said that integrated technologies, better menu offerings, and the megatrend known as “Experience More” are all vastly changing the restaurant industry globally. "Experience More" is the way forecasters describe the customer preference today for great dining experiences over the mere acquisition of things. Euromonitor research finds that this shift is affecting foodservice globally and demands that operators cater to these shifting consumer preferences to stay in the game.

"Technology is replacing the service elements that defined more traditional restaurants," Euromonitor International Consumer Foodservice Analyst Stephen Dutton, said in the release. "Many new restaurant concepts feel they must leverage technology to remain relevant to younger consumers who have grown up in a more tech-enabled environment."

Researchers also found that consumers want to eat at restaurants with values and causes that matter to them. As a result, more restaurant operators are embracing concepts that offer holistic dining experiences to meet the demand for dining occasions that match consumers’ values.

"Minimizing food waste is one of those," Dutton said. “No-waste restaurants not only seek to minimize the amount of food that is wasted, but aim to do so in a creative, culinary way that generates excitement and enhances the dining experience."

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