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Foodservice visits remain flat, NPD says

Although foodservice spending increased 3 percent in the year ending April 2015, foodservice visits remained flat.

June 3, 2015

Although foodservice spending increased 3 percent in the year ending April 2015, foodservice visits remained flat, according to The NPD Group, a global information company. NPD reported that four out of five meals are prepared and consumed at home and that in-home meals have been on the rise for several years.

The company's food consumption market research found that foodservice spending is up due to price increases such as rising food and operation costs. Historically, a restaurant meal has cost typically three times more than an in-home meal, with the share of consumer dollars spent on in-home food compared to dining out close to 50/50 for several years.

In 2014, the average restaurant meal cost $6.96 per person while the estimated per person average cost for an in-home prepared meal was $2.31. The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced that foodservice spending exceeded grocery spending for the first time ever, but the research didn't include spending at big box food retailers, NPD reported.

Foodservice visit growth stalled in the year ending April 2015, in spite of lower gas prices, compared to a year ago.  Annual per capita foodservice visits are at 190, down three visits per person per year from 2013. "Since the Great Recession millennials have cut back on restaurant visits and spending. Adults ages 25 to 34, who are more likely to have families, have cut back the most on restaurant visits, making 50 fewer visits per person per year over the past several years, according to NPD. Adults ages 18 to 24 made 33 fewer visits per person per year in 2014 than they made in 2007. Millennials ate eight more meals at home last year compared to prior year while all others ate one additional meal, NPD said.

"It's a battle for share within the foodservice industry and a battle for food dollars between in-home and away-from-home dining," Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst,said in a statement. "In order to grow, foodservice manufacturers and operators need to have a clear understanding of consumer expectations and then they need to meet those expectations. If they don't someone else will."