North America

With Canadian consumers increasingly interested in different food options, healthier choices, and more adventurous recipes, the image of trucks and stalls only offering fast food is disappearing. Stalls have innovated and introduced new items to…

Self-serve services are gaining popularity, appreciated for offering a more convenient and efficient way to order food. Consumers can customise their orders at their own pace and pay for their meals without interacting with staff. This gives…

Rising operating expenses, such as wages, energy, delivery, insurance and rent, partnered with lower consumer demand to reduce restaurants' profitability in 2023. In addition, restaurants have increased levels of debt to continue operating, which,…

With full-service restaurant being a competitive landscape, remaining top of mind among customers is increasingly important. In addition to traditional communication channels, marketing approaches include connecting to consumers through chatbots on…

The foodservice industry continued to show strong sales growth in 2023. However, much of this growth was driven by inflation, with operators, labour, rent and food costs having significantly increased. As such, the main driver of value sales in 2023…

The travel and tourism industry has shown a strong recovery across 2021 and 2022 and in 2023, it was very close to reaching pre-pandemic value sales levels. As such, consumer food service through travel was the best-performing non-stand-alone…

The federal beverage alcohol duty was set to increase by 6.3% on March 2023, which would have forced some bars and restaurants out of business. However, the federal government decided to cap the increase at 2% on April 2023, which will stay in place…

The major storyline for self-service cafeterias in the US in 2023 was its continued rebound as pandemic-era health restrictions receded. Self-service cafeterias was particularly hard-hit in the depths of the pandemic, due to logistical concerns about…

2022 and 2023 saw some of the highest rates of inflation that the US had experienced in years. As ingredients costs increased, and a tight labour market pushed labour costs higher, brands across limited-service restaurants increased menu prices to…

While inflation affected customer traffic across consumer foodservice categories, full-service restaurants saw a stronger decline in traffic, as some consumers traded down to fast casual and fast food. While growth after the COVID-19 decline helped…

After three years of having at least a period of time in the year when COVID-19-related restrictions affected restaurant visits, many operators looked forward to 2023 as the first year of a return to normalcy. High inflation and its reverberating…

The sale of food through drive-through has continued to grow, and in 2023 remained elevated above the pre-pandemic level. The growth of drive-through ordering was fuelled by the desire to avoid human interaction during the pandemic, but has stuck as…

2023 represented the first full year of a post-pandemic world for most people in the US, and the return to somewhat normal life helped to drive recovery for categories within cafés/bars that had struggled during the peak pandemic years. In…

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with rising income inequality being among the key ones. Nevertheless, addressing the income inequality through catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Middle Class…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with income inequality, mass migration and rising uncertainty about another crisis being among the major ones. Nevertheless, within this lie untapped opportunities. This…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. In 2023, global inflation is expected to ease from its peak in 2022, but remaining significantly above-trend. Geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market are…

Now in its seventh edition, this report explores the top digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this edition touch on topics such as second-hand shopping, community group buying,…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. Global inflation is reaching a peak, although geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market remain key risks. The impact varies between countries, with…