Fast Food Industry Trends

Firstly, always keep in mind that convenience is key. Consumers increasingly prioritise practical solutions in their daily lives, significantly influencing their consumption habits.

According to the Innova market insights, in this busy world, consumers lack time and energy to cook making them choose "convenience food". Even travelers and tourists in a hurry find it convenient to eat in fast-food chains.

Elaborating a fast food menu allows you, on one hand to remain competitive by attracting this kind of " on the go" clientele and on the other hand it helps you as well to streamline your kitchen operations since you can offer "easy-peasy" recipes to prepare.

By creating a fast-food menu, you meet customer demand while optimizing your business processes.

This trend highlights the growing emphasis on consumer-centric convenience, where technology is leveraged to simplify and enhance the customer experience.

By offering the ability to browse menus, customise orders, and make payments  from the comfort of their homes or on the go, these platforms provide to the modern consumer's desire for efficiency and personalisation.

In this line, the Takeaway and delivery platforms are playing a pivotal role in shaping those consumption patterns. By cooperating with those platforms, fast food brands are being provided with a fast service, a wider market coverage leading to increase in sales. 

This turn in consumer behavior is the reason why platforms like Uber eats and Doordash have seen an increase in revenue since 2019, 713% and 875% respectively, proof of fast food chains' constant need to supply each customers, no matter what their location is².

The global online food delivery user number is expected to grow by 14.5% by 2027.³

As we previously said, the Fast & on-the-go trend is inescapable today. To highlight this new tendency there was a survey which revealed that  In France, 72% of consumers take their snacks as takeaway as it's useful.⁴

This culture of convenience is leading to an ever-increasing consumption of snacks, especially, since more and more people are going to work in addition to working remotely.

Bakery items fulfill this moment of consumption and consumers are not only eating bakery products as a snack but also as meals replacements. This shows that the snack concept has evolved from a simple bite to eat to a valid alternative to a full meal. In the US, burgers, bagels and breakfast sandwiches are top selected ouf-of-home snacks⁵.

Some pioneering chains have introduced dedicated to a specific diet featuring gluten-free items, dairy alternatives, and customizable bowls topped with organic vegetables and seeds.

Above all types of food channels and ranking first, 57% of consumers vote that quick service restaurants should make reliable sources⁶ . Popular innovations transforming quick-service menus include locally-sourced produce.

Establishments incorporating these elements report up to 30% higher profit margins compared to traditional offerings.

In those recent years, the Fast food industry has been concerned by fad and consumers trends and they are looking for ways to attract consumers: food waste and recyclable packaging for example. 

You should then include an organic fast food menu if you want to maximize your return options.

They also provide diverse culinary cultural products items are also top listed, especially in the US. However, according to Innova market insights, "consumer trends indicate poor value for money as the top barrier for seeking convenient solutions in food and beverage"⁹ 

15% of consumers purchase convenience food for their value for money especially lower income consumers.

Which really begs the question: do consumers prefer fast food because of convenient ways, or just because they can't afford more?