News

QSR deals, breakfast are bright spots in slow-growing restaurant industry

June 8, 2016

The restaurant industry remains, as it has for the last six years, on a slow and steady growth path of about 1 percent annually, according to ongoing foodservice market research from global information company, NPD Group. And this less than stellar performance appears likely to continue for the next few years, according to a news release from the company.

There are some surprises in the NPD research, though. For instance, although consumers chose QSRs over all other industry segments, traffic in the fast casual QSR category was flat during the first quarter, a departure from the strong growth of the last several years.

However, the data seems to be skewed by food safety issues at Chipotle, which were responsible for the slowdown in the previous two quarters. In fact, NPD Group said that if Chipotle's numbers are excluded, fast casual visits were actually up 5 percent.

"There is a confluence of changing demographics, economic pressures, and evolving consumer attitudes and behaviors creating shifts in what, where, when, and how we eat," said NPD Restaurant Industry Analyst Bonnie Riggs. "The key for foodservice manufacturers and operators is to stay connected with their consumers and customers, [and] understand their motivations and needs and how they can offer them a unique value proposition."

Though most growth industry-wide is slow, the research did find stronger areas, including breakfast or early morning snacks, which continues to drive overall growth, according to NPD.

In fact, in just the first quarter of 2016, total morning meal visits increased 2 percent over the same period last year and 4 percent for quick service restaurants. Likewise, servings of breakfast-style food grew by 8 percent, with breakfast sandwiches among the items topping the growth list for food service.