Restaurant activity remains on the rise. According to the DBK Sector Observatory, the restaurant sector’s turnover will reach 25.7 billion euros by the end of 2022, after growing by 32.6% in 2021 and 33.2% in 2022.
Thus, after the slump in activity in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, the following two years were marked by growth in demand, in a context of revival of private consumption and reactivation of tourism.
Table-service restaurants recorded sales of 20.3 billion, 35.8% more than in 2021, although still below sales in 2019. Sales of non-table-service restaurants – fast food and traditional self-service establishments – already far exceeded pre-pandemic business, at 5.4 billion, 24.1% higher than in 2021.
By type of service, on-premise and take-away revenues increased sharply in 2021 and 2022 following the end of the confinement and social distancing measures. Delivery continued its upward trend, although its growth rate slowed down in the face of the return to on-premise consumption. Overall, delivery sales represent around 9% of the total restaurant market.
Throughout 2023, activity in the restaurant sector has maintained its upward trend, albeit with a clear slowdown, due to the comparison effect compared to normalised figures and the weakening of economic activity. Thus, it is foreseeable that the total value of sales in the sector will close 2023 with a growth of around 8%, approaching 28,000 million euros.
The supply of restaurants has shown a positive trend since 2021, with increases in both the number of restaurant management companies and premises, reaching almost 84,000 establishments. About three quarters of these operate independently, while 24%, just over 20,000, are organised in chains.
The business structure is highly fragmented as a result of the presence of a majority of small companies. The top twenty operators had a combined share of 15.64% of the total business value in 2022.
