Full-Service Restaurants in Morocco

2020 IMPACT

Quarantine lockdown and restrictions on opening hours take their toll on demand

The quarantine lockdown that was imposed upon the population of Morocco for several weeks between the middle of March and late June in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the country’s full-service restaurants. With dine-in service completely banned for this period, restaurants faced a dramatic decline in demand as they were deprived of their main source of income.

High-income consumers continue dining in full-service restaurants despite COVID-19

One important factor to take into account when assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sales in full-service restaurants in 2020 is that many of the high-income consumers who form a significant proportion of the core consumer base for the channel did not make any major changes to their behaviours in the face of the pandemic situation. Indeed, many affluent urban professionals continued to go about their daily business as if there were no threat of contagion or responsibility to protect themselves and others from the COVID-19 virus.

Local ingredients and products seen as a way to offset losses caused by COVID-19

One way that Morocco’s full-service restaurants coped with the adverse situation that unfolded over the course of the year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic was to offset the financial loss they incurred by focusing more on the use of locally sourced ingredients and products. In particular, many independent full-service restaurants turned to small-scale suppliers to make use of local raw materials in their cuisine, while locally manufactured products also became more popular on the menus of full-service restaurants across the country.

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