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Report: Fast casual, Asian concepts driving industry growth

The fast casual segment increased 10.4 percent, and Asian concepts grew by 9.3 percent from 2014 to 2015.

April 19, 2016

While consumer foodservice sales grew 5.7 percent globally in 2015, improving on last year's growth rate of 5.3 percent, according to research from market research company Euromonitor International, the fast casual segment reported the highest rate of growth across the industry, increasing 10.4 percent or $3.4 billion from 2014 to 2015.

"Consumers are shifting their dining preferences, especially in developed markets," said Elizabeth Friend, consumer foodservice strategy analyst at Euromonitor International. "Coffee shops, for example, saw a high increase in sales last year, which shows the dining-out culture is continuing to evolve toward more modern, premium, casual and social experiences."

Asian restaurants followed fast casual dining at 9.3 percent growth, reflecting the significance of the Chinese market. China continues to be the largest market for consumer foodservice with sales totaling $617 billion, growing 9.5 percent from 2014 to 2015 despite the market's slow down, according to the data.

Online orders have become popular in China, Israel and South Korea, where more than 60 percent of home-delivery sales were ordered online. Globally, China placed the most fast food orders online at 26 percent compared to the U.S. where online fast food sales were less than 1 percent in 2015.

"China was the true growth leader during the year and we expect it to continue to offer strong growth opportunities ahead, albeit within the context of very high competition. Over the forecast period [2015 to 2020], more growth is projected in China than we saw in the previous five years," Friend said.

From 2015 to 2020, China is forecast to achieve $235 billion in new foodservice sales, followed by the U.S. and India with forecasts of $48.8 billion and $35.7 billion, respectively.