How Does Europe’s Foodservice Market Compare To The U.S.?

We’ve known for a long time that the foodservice market in the Europe is significantly smaller than in the United States. New research from Peter Backman, principal at Horizons, the London-based research firm, details just how much smaller.

Backman toted up the populations and foodservice markets of the U.S. and the five largest sub-markets of the European markets. The combined populations of Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy are about equal to that of the U.S. But he calculates the foodservice market in the five countries is only 41% of the size of the market in the U.S. The big difference? What he calls the “popular” segments of the market: full-service and quick-service restaurants and drinking places. On the other hand, foodservice in hotels and in leisure operations is larger in Europe than in the U.S. Add together “popular” restaurants and lodging, and the combined market in the five European countries is still only 77% as large as in the U.S. He adds that the five account for about three-quarters of the total European foodservice market.

For information on Horizons research, go to hrzns.com.”””