THE RESTAURANT
SURVIVAL GUIDE
FAST CASUAL 2014
Fast Casual Pulling To Win
The fast casual segment is still positioned as the darling of the restaurant industry through
its continued success and innovation. It has been the fastest-growing concept over the last
decade and will continue to grow and steal market share. Though this segment is still a
smaller part of the overall restaurant market, fast casual concepts are exploding onto the
scene and increasing in popularity – and unlike traditional quick-service restaurants, the
market for fast casual is far less saturated.
With a market size sitting at about $31 billion, the fast casual segment is predicted to
grow 10% in 2014 – with unit expansion as a major driver of this growth. Coming into
2014, fast casual unit growth was up 6%, totaling 16,215 units in the U.S.
Driven by historically high levels of pent-up demand among consumers, restaurant sales are expected
to hit a record high of $683.4 billion in 2014 – an increase of 3.6% from 2013. And 2014 marks the fifth
consecutive year that the fast casual segment’s growth has surpassed that of every other restaurant segment.
But it won’t be a year without challenges.
Source: National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Trends Survey, 2013
Top challenges expected by limited-service operators in 2014
Building & Maintaining Sales Volume 18%
Government 16%
Recruiting & Retaining Employees 14%
The Economy 14%
Food Costs 9%
THE RESTAURANT
SURVIVAL GUIDE
Or opportunities.
Source: Technomic’s Top 150 Fast Casual Chain Restaurant Report
2012 U.S. Sales
Bakery Cafe
Mexican
Sandwich
Chicken
Asian/Noodle
$6.1 Billion
$5.7 Billion
$4.4 Billion
$3.3 Billion
$2.6 Billion
{ UP 10.3% FROM 2011 }
{ UP 13.8% }
{ UP 16.9% }
{ UP 11.3% }
{ UP 15.6% }
IN 2014, RESTAURANT SALES
ARE EXPECTED TO HIT
$683.4BILLION
FAST CASUAL
2014
So What Does This Mean To You?
Even with the fast casual sector’s stellar success, sometimes restaurants face a
stalemate in the push to increase revenue. Real estate accessibility will be a key
factor as hoards of new players enter the market and vie for locations that are
2,500 - 3,000 square feet. As these new concepts enter the market, more pressure
will be placed on existing brands to differentiate themselves, cater to specific
demographics and be highly innovative – especially in terms of menu, dayparts,
atmosphere, service style and technology.
This continued expansion and sales growth is great news, but the largest slice of
the pie will go to the brands that understand exactly who their customers are, what
their customers want, and that have the right tools needed to pinpoint locations
that put them in close proximity.
By harnessing the power of customer data and analytics, you can tackle your most
complex challenges – and see your brightest opportunities.
All of your analytic solutions are deployed in SCOUT, Buxton’s proprietary web-based
platform, and are tailored to your customers and markets so that you can eliminate
guesswork and base decisions on real data, leading to higher sales. SCOUT is where
your solutions come to life and make the insights and answers that Buxton provides
immediately executable.
Not Just Answers, But Big Answers
GET TO KNOW US.
1-888-2BUXTON
www.buxtonco.com
Buxton’s analytic solutions can help quantify the potential your brand has when:
Prioritizing new markets for expansion
Infilling existing markets
Determining franchise territories
Testing new concepts
Planning new marketing initiatives
Developing catering, delivery and other business lines
Testing new daypart opportunities
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With SCOUT, you can get the answers you need anytime, anywhere.
GET TO KNOW US. 1-888-2BUXTON | [email protected] | www.buxtonco.com
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