Limited-Service Restaurants in the United Arab Emirates

PROSPECTS

Convenience, offers and personalised home-made food maintain value growth

Limited-service restaurants saw stronger current value growth in 2019 than seen in the previous three years. Consumers seeking convenience remained the main driver of sales and growth.

Cloud kitchens are an increasingly attractive concept

Online delivery platforms offer efficient third-party delivery services, and new entrants are therefore finding success by establishing cloud kitchens or ghost kitchens. These are outlets that prepare food for online delivery orders, but offer no dine-in facility, and the number of such kitchens continues to increase in the United Arab Emirates.

Strong outlook for limited-service restaurants

Limited-service restaurants is expected to see strong current value and transaction volume growth in the forecast period. This will partly be due to existing factors, such as increasingly busy lives, and therefore the demand for convenience, as well as the rise of cloud kitchens and attractive offers for customers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Americana Group retakes the lead due to continuous expansion

Americana Group retook the lead in limited-service restaurants in 2019. It held the lead until 2016, fell to second after Emirates Fast Food Co took the lead with its McDonald’s franchise, but moved back into the lead in 2019 due to continued expansion.

Despite losing its lead, Emirates Fast Food Co maintains growth with launches

Despite Americana Group retaking the lead in limited-service restaurants in 2019, Emirates Fast Food Co continued to see stable growth due to the strong equity of its McDonald’s brand and increasing number of outlets. Company activities to attract consumers included free loungewear with orders placed during the evening and through the night for one day only, as well as a summer camp for children, to encourage teamwork and instil discipline and confidence.

Healthier consumer consumption impacts limited-service restaurants

With a general trend towards healthier living in the country, limited-service restaurants have felt the impact of conscious consumption. This led to the launch of healthier product variants by big players, such as the Grand Chicken Caprese by McDonald’s, which was a limited time offer and tapped into the health and wellness trend.

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