Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - 2017 - 54

INDUSTRY
Food service
REVIEW:
Food service

Food service
Healthy and clean menu items, technology and value drive traffic

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estaurant industry sales are expected to reach $799 billion by the end of 2017, the National Restaurant Association said, up 4.3% over last year.
"That's a staggering sum," said Hudson Riehle, senior vicepresident, Research & Knowledge Group, National Restaurant
Association, during a presentation at the National Restaurant
Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, held May 20-23 in
Chicago. "If the restaurant industry was actually a country in
the global economy, the restaurant industry now in the United
States is larger than 90% of the world economies."
Consumer trends have shifted in the industry's favor, with
now almost $1 out of every $2 spent on food allocated to restaurants. That's up from $1 out of every $4 in 1955.
Now, for the bad news. In the past 10 years, the restaurant
industry's growth has slowed significantly.
"That's important to understand because that is the operating environment going forward," Mr. Riehle said. "It is a moderate growth
environment and definitely lower than it was pre-recessionary."
Restaurant operators are not so optimistic about sales gains
in the months ahead. Only 32% of those surveyed by the N.R.A.
expect higher sales in six months, and only 28% expect economic conditions to improve in six months.
Declining same-store sales and customer traffic have contributed
to the bearish outlook. Fifty-four per cent of restaurant operators
recorded a decrease in same-store sales from last year, the N.R.A.
found, and 63% saw a decline in customer traffic from last year.
The fast-casual segment continues to outpace other industry

segments in sales growth, with the top 250 chains growing sales
a cumulative 8.4% in 2016 to a total of $40.4 billion, said Technomic, Inc., Chicago. However, that number is a drop compared
to the 11.9% sales growth in 2015 and 13.8% growth in 2014.
The struggles of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Denver, had a substantial impact on the overall performance of the fast-casual
segment, Technomic said, as the second-largest fast-casual
chain saw its sales decline by more than 13% in 2016.
Future growth for the fast-casual segment may come from
specialty and health-focused concepts, Technomic said, citing

food trends

New cuts of meat
Street food-inspired dishes
Healthful kids' meals
House-made charcuterie
Sustainable seafood
Ethnic-inspired breakfast items
House-made condiments
Authentic ethnic cuisine
Heirloom fruits and vegetables
African flavors

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Ethnic spices
House-made sausage
House-made pickles
Ancient grains
House-made/artisan ice cream
Whole grain items in kids' meals
Protein-rich grains/seeds
Artisan cheeses
Savory desserts
Gourmet items in kids' meals

Source: National Restaurant Association's What's Hot 2017 Culinary Forecast

54 \ October 2017

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