Executive Summary
The UK fast-food/takeaway and home-delivery market (excluding coffee shops) reached a value of £9.33bn in 2007, an increase of 4.2% compared with 2006. If coffee shops are included, the value of the market reached £11.63bn in 2007 — a growth of 4.4% since 2006.
This report analyses the following sectors of the market: sandwiches, burgers, pizza, fish and chips, chicken, other fast-food/takeaway outlets, and coffee shops. Coffee shops have traditionally not been included as a main market sector in Key Note's Fast Food & Home Delivery Outlets reports, as they are covered in the Key Note Market Assessment Coffee & Sandwich Shops (published in October 2007). However, given the growth of the sector in recent years, coffee shops have been covered in this report.
The UK fast-food/takeaway and home-delivery market is a significant sector of the UK catering market, and one that continues to expand steadily, particularly with regard to the number of new store openings. Companies such as Domino's Pizza, Greggs, Pizza Hut and Subway all increased their outlet numbers in 2007. Within the coffee-shops sector, Costa added to its outlet total in 2007 and aims to more than double its number of stores worldwide over the next 5 years (to 2013). Other leading fast-food chains, including McDonald's, are in the process of remodelling their UK stores, and Burger King has announced plans for a new restaurant concept.
Fast-food retailers, like many other businesses, are facing substantial increases in the cost of their operations, with prices for energy rising rapidly and those for a wide range of food items (such as poultry, beef, fish, cereals, flour and vegetable oils) all increasing at levels well above inflation. Although fast-food companies are absorbing some of these cost increases through greater efficiency, there has inevitably been a rise in prices at retail level. However, the fast-food market remains highly competitive, and the extent to which these price increases can be passed on to customers may be limited.
Key Note forecasts that the value of the UK fast-food/takeaway and home-delivery market will show steady, albeit low, levels of growth between 2008 and 2012. Rising inflation and slow economic growth are expected to have some impact on demand for fast food in the early years of the forecast period, although the relatively low prices of fast food (in comparison with casual dining outlets) may give fast-food retailers a degree of competitive advantage. In the long term, the ambitious expansion plans of many leading fast-food companies should provide the impetus for further growth in the market overall.
(0 items)
