Carmen Chamorro

Spain: 78% of restaurant companies plan to open and 74% will increase their workforce by 2025

Spain: 78% of restaurant companies plan to open and 74% will increase their workforce by 2025

Once again this year, Marcas de Restauración (MDR), Circana and KPMG have presented the Observatorio de la Restauración de Marca 2024, a study that complements information on consumer perception and expectations, as well as their consumption habits, without forgetting the current and strategic vision of the sector's managers in Branded Catering. When it comes to assessing the coming year, the groups surveyed reveal very optimistic data: 90% expect to increase their turnover, 78% plan to maintain or exceed their current rate of openings and 74% will increase their workforce by 2025.

The Foodservice industry continues to progress by +2.4%, leveraging a growth in average spend per diner (+2.9%) and with a stabilization in the number of visits (-0.5%). This shows that Branded Catering is still at the bottom of the barrel, that is: the driving force of economic growth in Spain and accounts for more than 4.35% of GDP. It exceeds 30 points of market share and verifies increases, both in spending and in the traffic of its establishments, during the last year, as revealed by the CREST Panel of Circana. The growth of the Foodservice market is in line with the pulse of the Branded Foodservice executives that KPMG has collected for this analysis. 

According to the companies' vision, 39% have a positive perception of the sector's situation in 2024 and 9 out of 10 companies expect to close the year with an increase in sales, a figure that exceeds the expectations they had for this year. However, inflation continues to have a high impact on group profitability with 68% of respondents stating that their margins have decreased as a result. As a result, 77% will continue to take action to mitigate inflation and 84% believe it is necessary to review their prices two or more times a year. 

This scenario forces companies to continue making adjustments to protect their profitability and competitiveness at the same time. To this end, according to Enrique Porta, partner in charge of Consumer and Retail at KPMG in Spain, “it is particularly important to refine and optimize pricing strategies, an area that is becoming more sophisticated and in which technology is playing an increasingly decisive role. In addition, the sector will accelerate the search for efficiencies in back office and operations, and 7 out of 10 will seek improvements in this area. In any case, companies are making progress in this area, with 22% of companies reporting that they have managed to protect their margins in the last year. 

Gastronomic specialties lead growth

This detailed report has concluded that today's consumer is moving forward in the search for specific and memorable gastronomic experiences outside the home. This growing interest, coupled with the expansion of new specialty restaurants, is driving a rise in the Specialty segments (chicken, Italian, burger, poke, American, etc.) in both Fast Service Restaurant (FSR) and Quick Service Restaurant (QSR). Segments that are increasing their market share to the detriment of the traditional restaurant segment, which is suffering a slight decrease in spending and a reduction in its share, as reflected in Circana's CREST Panel.  

Talent in an employer sector 

The foodservice industry is facing increasing difficulty in attracting and retaining talent. According to data extracted from this report in KPMG's executive survey, 87% of groups have had difficulty recruiting new employees in the past year, and 81% have experienced absenteeism problems. These figures are reflected in high turnover rates (58% of groups with rates above 20%) and absenteeism (30% with rates above 10%). Given its prominent position as a generator of employment, this sector is particularly exposed to changes in labor regulations that may be implemented.  

Regarding this information, Adriana Bonezzi, MDR's CEO, says: “This is a challenge to address together, but it also represents a unique opportunity to innovate and focus on developing career plans that allow us to develop the potential of our employees. At MDR we are committed to lead and promote, together with the institutions, all the necessary measures to reverse this situation and make them become our brand ambassadors, convinced that we can build an even brighter future”.

Delivery and take-away redefine consumption  

Consumers are also becoming completely omnichannel in terms of their consumption occasions in restaurants. As Circana shows, although Spain is still a country of in-room consumption (68% of total spending by Spaniards), off-premise consumption options have been consolidated and 25% of spending is already done via Takeaway and drive Thru and 7% is done via FoodDelivery.

Omnichannel is even more marked for Branded Foodservice where almost half of the expenditure (45% specifically) is for off-premise consumption, and where Takeaway amounts to 29% and Delivery to 16% of the total expenditure made by national consumers. These figures are absolutely consolidated and growing, as reported by Circana's CREST Panel on a monthly basis.

This growth of the off-premise business has generated friction with the in-store service, since according to KPMG, 48% of the groups surveyed have reported problems of coexistence between both channels, such as longer waiting times for customers in the store due to the simultaneous attention of home delivery orders. 

Technology transforms the customer relationship 

The digitization of orders in the store is consolidated as the main area of technology incorporation with 55%, but also the automation of back-office processes and personalization and loyalty (48%). To this effect, 58% of respondents already have a loyalty club. 

The adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence in foodservice is an incipient process (16% have already integrated it and 42% will do so soon). In the words of Porta (KPMG) “consumer loyalty and personalization of the experience become a key competitive vector that could be reinforced by the progressive incorporation of Gen AI, a technology that will revolutionize the relationship of the sector with its customers and enable new ways of interaction and transaction, such as social commerce”.

In this sense, KPMG highlights that social networks tend to greater transactionality, therefore, 61% of the executives surveyed believe that these platforms will be transformed into a sales channel, thus expanding business opportunities. 

Commitment to sustainability and healthy eating   

In this area, the sector is undergoing a profound transformation, adopting more sustainable and healthy models by 2025. Establishments will prioritize food waste reduction (68%), energy efficiency (61%), carbon footprint reduction (61%) and plastic substitution (52%). 

At the same time, according to data obtained by KPMG for this Observatory, the gastronomic offer is evolving to offer greater diversity in menus and a better nutritional and environmental impact. Fifty-seven percent of the companies will expand their offer of options for people with food intolerances, and 30% will incorporate vegetable alternatives. In addition, 40% will opt for local suppliers, thus contributing to a positive impact on the environment and consumers' health. 

The profile of today's consumer 

Circana points out that 70% of consumers demand that the industry continues to invest in the continuous improvement of the quality of its products. Quality in a food and beverage industry is the base of the pyramid of demands and needs of today's consumer, who also strongly demands to continue finding novelties and improvements in the speed of service.

But today there are other factors that also influence the choice of the final establishment. Among others, the availability of a terrace, the atmosphere of the premises, the option of free Wi-Fi connection, live music in the premises and of course the development of digital options for ordering and digital payment. 

In a context that remains inflationary, the consumer is expectant about the evolution of the offer and the experience and is willing to pay more if the experience justifies it, especially on special occasions such as lunches or dinners with friends and family. However, they remain price-sensitive and expect their financial situation to remain stable. 

Although global trends influence their consumption habits in some areas, Spanish consumers retain their Mediterranean gastronomic habits. For example, there is a slight trend towards more European consumption schedules, but the bulk of meals are still concentrated in the traditional peak hours in our country. 

Expectations for 2025 

In this sense Circana anticipates a scenario marked by an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for catering, while food and beverage prices for domestic consumption, although high, will remain more stable. In this context, Edurne Uranga, Vice President of Foodservice Europe, points out how “this scenario will generate an increasingly price-sensitive consumer observed in the foodservice sector who, in turn, will increase their search for memorable gastronomic experiences that justify the expenditure made on the consumption occasions they make in Foodservice establishments.”

Uranga adds that “the consumer's greater exposure to global trends will mean that over the next few months we will see the arrival and development of booming global trends in Spain. Among which we can highlight the development of the Korean gastronomic offer (which will boost even more the positive trend that chicken has among the current proteins in Foodservice), or the development in Spain of a greater promotional activity in Foodservice, today in Spain the promotional activity is present in 22% of the consumption occasions in Foodservice, far below the 38% of FR or the 34% of UK”. From the point of view of organized foodservice, KPMG points out that half of those surveyed foresee a drop in traffic in the sector in the coming months. However, it is worth noting that 45% expect the average ticket per order to increase. 

Author: Carmen Chamorro

Collaborator of MdR's Communications Office