FROM OUR COLUMNISTS
IN THE FAST-FOOD WORLD, GROWTH IS COMING FROM DRINKS AND DESSERTS W hen looking for growth in the fast-food sec- tor, don’t look at the center of the plate. Amid what has been an anemic year for the industry as a whole and quick-service restaurants in particular, there are two general menu items that appear to be doing just fine: Drinks and desserts.
The Bottom Line: The highest- growth quick-service chains cannot be found in traditional sectors but among coffee, beverage and dessert brands. What does this say about the restaurant industry?
We examined the quick-service restaurants on the Tech- nomic Top 1500 restaurant chains. There are 512 such chains on that particular list, and total sales among that group grew just 2.29%, suggesting seriously weak traffic after accounting for menu prices and unit count growth. Nearly half of those brands, 212 in total, lost sales last year. In short, it was not a great year for the business of fast food. And even that might not quite tell the full story. There were 37 fast-food chains that grew system sales by 25% or more, making them legitimate growth brands. Of those, only 11 brands—Shah’s Halal Food, Playa Bowls, Smalls Sliders, Savvy Sliders, Angry Chickz, Wing Snob, bb.q Chicken, Snarf’s Sandwiches, West Coast Sourdough and Sourdough & Co.—are center-of-plate brands specializing in chicken, burgers, sandwiches or “other.” In other words, of the 512 fast-food restaurant chains, only 10 of them, about 2%, are center-of-plate growth brands.
JONATHAN MAZE
JONATHAN.MAZE@INFORMA.COM
WHERE IS THE GROWTH COMING FROM?
To be sure, we need to again point out that there are plenty of center-of-plate growth brands in the fast-casual sector, many of which could undoubtedly be considered quick- service chains with a modest tweak in definition. But that simply helps explain the state of the restaurant industry right now. All the development is taking place among higher-end
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS JULY 2025
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