News

Fast casual industry to hit $67B by 2020

November 2, 2016

The fast casual restaurant market in the U.S. is expected to reach $66.87 billion by 2020, according to the latest study released by Technavio. 

The report, "Fast Casual Restaurant Market in the U.S. 2016–2020," which provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends, also revealed that millennials are the target consumers for fast casual restaurants. In 2015, for example, research shows that 33 percent of U.S. millennials use social media, online advertising and online ratings to get information about the food available in fast casual restaurants.

"As today's consumers face a time crunch, many consumers prefer to eat in fast casual restaurants during work hours," according to Technavio.

In terms of employment scenarios, 68 percent of people age 15–64 in the U.S. had a paid job in 2015. Of these 73 percent are men and 63 percent are women.

"This has reduced the time spent cooking at home and increased the visits to fast causal restaurants," according to Technavio. "This has encouraged people to increase their spending on eating out, leading to the increase in demand for foodservice establishments."

According to various research studies, around 33 percent of children and teenagers in the U.S.eat sandwiches, burgers, or other quick-serve foods on a daily basis. About 12 percent of them obtain 50 percent of their daily diet requirements from these foods.

These trends have inspired fast casual restaurants in the U.S. to add many healthy options catering to the daily nutritional requirements of children and teenagers, said Arushi Thakur, an industry expert in food from Technavio.

For example, Muscle Maker Grill Nation uses United States Department of Agriculture-certified grass-fed beef, all-natural lean chicken, and fresh fruits and vegetables as ingredients in sandwiches, pastas and other food items.

"The demand for fresh and healthy salads among millennials is also rising," he said. "For instance, Sweetgreen, a fast casual restaurant chain with over 30 outlets, focuses on seasonal and innovative salads made with locally sourced ingredients for its health-conscious consumers."