75+ Restaurant Industry Statistics | The Ultimate List of 2022

Have you seen the restaurant industry statistics of 2022?

You definitely should.

The restaurant industry is undergoing dramatic changes. 

New players are emerging and we are seeing crazy shifts in business practices, while new trends and innovations are taking hold.

We have researched a ton of reports on the foodservice industry and put the most telling stats in an overview, sorted by topic.

These are the topics covered, each with its proper statistics: 

• Our Top 10
• Inventory Management
• Procurement
• Waste
• Restaurant Costs
• Revenue & Sales
• Franchising
• Delivery
• Technology
• Digital Transformation
• Social Media
• Growth
• Industry Challenges

Keeping up with the latest trends and benchmarks removes some of the uncertainties that are inevitable when estimating your next business step.

So let’s dig in straight away.

Restaurant Industry Statistics 2022—Our Top 10

We’ve put together a quick top 10, before hitting the complete list.

• When your inventory is taken regularly and accurately, your operation’s profits could increase by as much as 24% annually. (7shifts, 2021) 
• In some restaurants, up to 10% of food is wasted before hitting a plate (FoodPrint, 2021)
• The average restaurant startup cost is $275,000 for a leased building, $425,000 if you want your own and the recurring costs are between $48,000 and $75,000 per month. (Sage, 2021)
• The food and beverage sales of the US foodservice industry reached $789 billion in 2021, accounting for a 19.7% growth over the previous year. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)
• Improving customer reviews by half a star can boost revenues by 5% to 9%. (Pyments.com, 2022) 
• A new franchise opens every 8 minutes, during the course of a single business day. (Reference for Business, 2021)
• Food delivery is here to stay; in 2021, 53% of survey respondents – and 64% of millennial respondents – say that food delivery and takeout are ‘essential to the way they live’. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)
• Data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times as likely to retain customers, and 19 times as likely to be profitable as a result. (McKinsey Global Institute, 2021) 
• A mobile payment option is a must-have technology for diners according to 49% of restaurant operators. (Upserve, 2021) 
• 48% follow a social media account from a restaurant or food brand, and 21% have chosen a restaurant or fast food based on social media posts or photos. (Lunchbox, 2021)
• The United States restaurant point-of-sale (POS) terminals market is anticipated to grow with a CAGR of 6.85% or $4220 million over the forecast period, i.e., 2021 – 2030. (Research and Markets, 2021)
• By 2025, the use of QR code payments will grow 240% due to the cashless payment demands of the pandemic and reach a total of 2.2 billion. (Juniper Research, 2021)

Oops, we got carried away and made a top 12 instead of 10.

Anyway, let’s look at some more revealing restaurant figures.

Restaurant Inventory Management Statistics

In a foodservice operation inventories are ephemeral. Stock levels are subject to constant change. Sales, returns, goods receipts – even damage and theft – affect your stock levels every day. And we see that in the figures.

These Inventory Stats might surprise you: 

• When your inventory is taken regularly and accurately, your operation’s profits could increase by as much as 24% annually. (7shifts, 2021) 
• If you are tracking inventory, semi-regular and by hand, you can cut your food costs by another 5% by enlisting in smart inventory management software that can streamline inventory tracking and deliver insights about where the operation can improve on what’s coming in and going out. (7shifts, 2021)
• 43% of small businesses don’t track their inventory. And 21% report that they ‘don’t have inventory’. (Zippia, 2021)
• On average, U.S. retail operations have a supply chain accuracy of only 63%, which can result in significant delays and re-stocking issues. (Zippia, 2021)

The thing is: effective inventory control allows companies to keep costs down. Knowing what you have, what is in your warehouse, and how to manage the supply chain properly is the backbone of your business. Did you know that doing weekly stock counts can add up to 10% to your bottom line every year?

Restaurant Procurement Statistics

The purchasing process is an essential part of every foodservice operation. Kitchen staff should be skilled in buying the appropriate ingredients, in the correct amounts, at the right time, and at the best price.

Have a look at these Foodservice Procurement Stats: 

• U.S. restaurants on average reduced the number of vendors they worked with from 7 to 3 during the pandemic. (Choco, 2021)
• Restaurants usually rely on around 3 main vendors and a couple of additional suppliers for unique and rare items. (Blue Dog Beverage, 2021)
• 40% of a restaurant’s revenue is spent on ingredients. (Hospitality Technology, 2021)

An interesting one that goes with it:

• 50% of US households spend $110 a week on food at their local supermarket. (Brandon Gaille, 2021)

Restaurant Waste Statistics

Food waste. A problem that has been circulating for years. And every restaurant can relate to it. Food that is no longer fresh, ingredients purchased in too large quantities or semi-finished products for which there is insufficient demand, unfortunately, it all disappears into the dumpster.

And these Food Industry Waste Stats confirm it:

• In some restaurants, up to 10% of food is wasted before hitting a plate (FoodPrint, 2021)
• In the United States, food waste is estimated at nearly 40 million tons — or 30–40 percent of the food supply. (U.S Food and Drug Administration, 2021). 
• About 17% of global food production may go wasted, with 61% of this waste coming from households, 26% from food service, and 13% from retail (UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP), 2021).
• Only 47% of restaurants track food waste. (Nation’s Restaurant News, 2021)
• While the world wastes about 1.4 billion tons of food every year, the United States discards more food than any other country in the world: nearly 40 million tons — 80 billion pounds — every year. That is estimated to be 30-40 percent of the entire US food supply and equates to 219 pounds of waste per person. That is like every person in America throwing more than 650 average-sized apples right into the garbage. (RTS, 2021).

Restaurant Costs Statistics

When planning your restaurant expansion, it is important to have all your costs in full view. You have to understand in detail where the money goes. 

We list some Foodservice Cost Stats:

• The average restaurant startup cost is $275,000 or $3,046 per seat for a leased building. Bump that up to $425,000 or $3,734 per seat—if you want to own the building. (Sage, 2021)
• The recurring and ongoing costs for restaurants are between $48,000 and $75,000 per month. (Sage, 2021)
• The average cost of replacing a restaurant worker is $5,864. This is how these costs add up: pre-departure = $176, recruiting = $1,173, selection = $645, orientation and training = $821, productivity loss = $3,049. (Toast, 2021) 
• The median pay of workers in the food and beverage industry is $24,130 per year or $11.60 per hour. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021)
• Food costs are generally 28% to 35% of total costs for a restaurant. That goes up when food is lost or spoiled. (Oracle, 2021) 
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food increased 1% from September 2021 to October 2021, and food prices were 5,3% higher than in October 2020. (Economic Research Service, 2021)

Restaurant Revenue & Sales Statistics

Aah, revenue. The dream of every boss, director, operator, and so on. But what do they actually look like? 

And btw, revenue is the money your restaurant generates. Not to be confused with profit margin — which is the amount of revenue left over after you have paid all of your operating expenses. But do not worry, you will find both topics, with sales added, below.

The Restaurant Revenue Stats we think you should know in 2022: 

• The food and beverage sales of the US foodservice industry reached $789 billion in 2021, accounting for a 19.7% growth over the previous year. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)
• In addition, the limited-service restaurant segment in the US made $339 billion in 2021 while the full-service segment earned $255 billion. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)
• Furthermore, the projected sales of eating and drinking places increased from $548 billion in 2020 to $609 billion in 2021. (Restaurant Dive, 2021)
• The U.S. foodservice industry is forecast to reach $898 billion in sales in 2022. (National Restaurant Association Releases, 2022)
• Improving customer reviews by half a star can boost revenues by 5% to 9%. (Pyments.com, 2022) 
• Sales can increase by up to 14% if the restaurant offers a range of payment options. (Lunchbox, 2022)
• Menu prices have increased nearly 4% through June 2021. (National Restaurant Association, 2021) 
• The range for restaurant profit margins typically spans anywhere from 0 to 15%, but the average restaurant profit margin usually falls between 3 to 5%. (Toast, 2022)
• Out of foodservice guests with a positive experience (Deloitte, 2021):
  • 60% said they’d dine at that restaurant more frequently. 
  • 39% said a good experience would encourage them to spend more. 
  • 41% recommended the restaurant to family and friends. 
  • However, 73% of guests who had a poor experience that was not resolved by restaurant management told their family and friends about the poor experience. 

Restaurant Franchising Statistics

Once the restaurant has been set up, and the restaurant owner is generating profits, the next step for most restaurant businesses is its expansion. Restaurant owners often turn to the franchise route for restaurant expansion because of lack of time and the resources required to run multiple company-owned restaurants.

Some figures about that: 

• Every year, an average of about 300 new brands start franchising in the U.S. (Frankart Global, 2021)
• A new franchise opens every 8 minutes, during the course of a single business day. (Reference for Business, 2021)
• More than 80% of all franchises are local or regional brands, while 16% of them are national or global franchises. (Frankart Global, 2021)
• An initial investment of about $250,000 is required for more than 50% of all franchises to open. (Frankart Global, 2021)
• The U.S. has 750,000+ active franchised outlets. (Goldstein Law Firm, 2021)
• Across America, a total of about 1,644,100 people are employed in franchise businesses. (Statista, 2021)

Restaurant Delivery Statistics

Food delivery and the apps that go with it have been booming in the last few years. This is partly due to the pandemic, but also simply due to digitalization in the foodservice industry and everyday life. 

You don’t need stats to understand that the shift from home-cooking to pre-made meals and home-delivery has accelerated. It’s interesting to see, though, that delivery isn’t so much taking share of wallet from traditional dine-in but rather from retail. 

Sure, delivery also takes market share away from dine-in QSR and fast-casual, but these types of businesses almost always operate their own takeaway and delivery channels. It means that the revenue is redistributed across their own sales channels and not lost.

Let’s see how this shift reflects on the Food Delivery Stats:

• Nearly everyone orders food delivery in the US; 86% of Americans have ordered food delivery at least once a month. (GloriaFood, 2022)
• Two years ago only 18% ordered delivery, last year 29%, while now 61% order delivery at least once a week. (Deloitte, 2021)
• There are more than 45 million smartphone food delivery app users. (eMarketer, 2022)
• As of March 2020, 38% of American consumers had ordered food via a food delivery app. By March 2021, 47% of Americans had used a food delivery app, illustrating just how significantly the pandemic affected the food delivery industry. (Bloomberg Second Measure, 2021)
• Food delivery is here to stay; in 2021, 53% of survey respondents – and 64% of millennial respondents – say that food delivery and takeout are ‘essential to the way they live’. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)
• Consumers, on average, spend 10% more on delivery orders than takeouts. (Paytronix, 2021)
• 27% of people who use food delivery services are willing to pay extra for fast delivery. (GloriaFood, 2021) 

Restaurant Technology Statistics

Technology is unstoppable in today’s society. Restaurant operations are flocking to technology to make their business processes more efficient and profitable, and curb workforce turnover.

The Hospitality Tech Stats say the same thing:

• 95% of operators say that tech improves the overall efficiency (Toast, 2021) 
• For restaurant and hotel chains that do $50 million in annual sales, a supply chain automated with the proper software can mean savings of $500k – $2 million or more… every year. (Hubspot, 2021) 
• A mobile payment option is a must-have technology for diners according to 49% of restaurant operators. (Upserve, 2021) 
• 30% of restaurant customers say technology options make it more likely they will order delivery (that means ramping up your POS capabilities!). (Deloitte, 2021)

Restaurant Digital Transformation Statistics

This section is similar to the one above. But Technology and Digital Transformation are not the same things.

Technology or IT transformation has a clearly defined final state and objective, while digital transformation does not have an ‘end state’. This is because the digital transformation process is a continuously evolving process that involves effectively managing changes in customer behaviour, industry, and technology over time.

Check out our Digital Transformation Stats:

• Yearly store sales per unit can be increased by $16,000 by using digital menu boards. (Presto, 2021) 
• Data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times as likely to retain customers, and 19 times as likely to be profitable as a result. (McKinsey Global Institute, 2021) 
• A ginormous 94% of U.S. restaurant industry diners base their dining decisions on online reviews. (Tripadvisor, 2021) 
• 70% of U.S. consumers prefer digital online ordering for off-premise delivery and with pandemic shifts, 79% of people have a restaurant app and 57% have a third-party delivery app. (Deloitte, 2021)

Restaurant Social Media Statistics

You can then go on to subdivide Digital Transformation into Social Media. Another important one.

Over the years, social media platforms have utterly transformed the marketing and advertising landscape. There is no doubt that social media has completely revolutionized our lives on a personal level, and it has also had an unprecedented impact on how businesses approach marketing.

Our Social Media Stats show that: 

• Social media users increased by more than 400 million (+9.9%) over the past 12 months to reach 4.55 billion in October 2021. (We Are Social, 2021)
• 48% follow a social media account from a restaurant or food brand, and 21% have chosen a restaurant or fast food based on social media posts or photos. (Lunchbox, 2021)
• 41% of people have decided to eat at a specific restaurant based entirely on positive social media feedback. (TouchBistro, 2021)
• More than 70% of consumers are likely to order food from a restaurant that engages people on social media. (MGH, 2022)
• With 77% of the US population active on social media today, there is no better place to keep up with trends than the bustling platforms of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. (Statista, 2021) 

   Facebook = most-used channel

• Facebook remains the largest social networking platform in the world with 2.89 billion monthly active users. (Statista, 2021)
• Meanwhile, 18.3% of US adults have made a purchase on Facebook, higher than the rates of Instagram (11.1%) and Tiktok (1.4%). (eMarketer, 2021)

   Instagram = photos

• There are over 1.2 billion Instagram users. (99 Firms, 2022)
• The Instagram ‘#food’ garnered 391.9M mentions and is ranked at 27th place in 2021. (Hootsuite, 2021)
• 90% of Instagram users follow a business. (99 Firms, 2022)
• Instagram has the highest average engagement rate per post for restaurants at 1.31%, higher than Facebook (0.40%) and Twitter (0.11%) (Socialinsider, 2021).

Restaurant Growth Statistics

This overarching section includes several topics already discussed. Here we focus on statistics that show the growth of restaurants.

Have a look at our Growth Stats:

Market

• The global foodservice industry’s projected worth was $3 trillion in 2020 and is expected to reach $4.1 trillion by 2026, with an annual growth rate of 5.4%. (Global Industry Analysts, 2021)
• The U.S. foodservice industry workforce is projected to grow by 400,000 jobs, for total industry employment of 14.9 million by the end of 2022. (National Restaurant Association Releases, 2022)
• The market size:
  • of the Fast Food Restaurants industry is expected to increase 15.8%. (IBISWorld, 2021) 
  • of the Full-Service Restaurant industry worldwide was estimated to account for 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020. This figure was forecast to grow to as much as 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027. (Statista, 2021) 
  • of the Global Cloud Kitchen market size is expected to reach $118.5 billion by 2027. (Business Wire, 2021)

Payments

• By 2025, the use of QR code payments will grow 240% due to the cashless payment demands of the pandemic and reach a total of 2.2 billion. (Juniper Research, 2021)
• The United States restaurant point-of-sale (POS) terminals market is anticipated to grow with a CAGR of 6.85% or $4220 million over the forecast period, i.e., 2021 – 2030. (Research and Markets, 2021)

Delivery

• Global installs of food delivery apps increased by 25% in 2020 compared to 2019, and are up by a further 21% in 2021. (Adjust, 2021)
• The number of people using food delivery services across Europe is expected to reach 96.9 million by 2024. (Statista, 2021)

Restaurant Industry Challenge Statistics

Ready to see what the challenges were for restaurants in 2021 – and will be in 2022?

Then be sure to check out our Foodservice Challenges Stats:  

In 2021:

• 59% of restaurant operators report having higher total labor costs as a percentage of their sales compared to pre-pandemic levels. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)  
• 89% of full-service restaurant operators say that their current staffing levels are below normal. Meanwhile, 74% of limited-service restaurant operators say that their current staffing levels are below normal. (National Restaurant Association, 2021) 
• 74% of restaurant operators reported that recruiting employees was their top challenge as of June 2021 – the highest level ever recorded. (National Restaurant Association, 2021)

For 2022:

• Labor shortage: It’ll be tough for restaurants to find all the labor they need to operate at 100% operational efficiency and productivity. (Modern Restaurant Management, 2022)
• Supply chain: Supply chain issues will be a key challenge in 2022. There will either be long waits for products, they are too expensive, or restaurants won’t be able to get everything they need. (Modern Restaurant Management, 2022)
• Third-party delivery: Restaurants can generate cash flow but not profit; they’ll have to figure out how to make money using these services. (Modern Restaurant Management, 2022)

Conclusion

Running an F&B business is no walk in the park these days. Restaurant industry statistics indicate that the sector is undergoing major changes. On the other hand, they also show that the future is looking bright for companies that are flexible enough to absorb the changes.

What should you take away from all these figures?

I’ll summarise: 

• Check your inventories several times a week. Doing regular stock counts will boost your margins dramatically.
• Try to find ways to keep food waste to a minimum. It’s great for the environement and your bottom line.
• Do not worry if your revenues were down in 2021 due to the circumstances. Prices and sales will increase. It is now up to you to do better in 2022!
• Make sure you have a presence, both offline and online — use social media, showcase your dishes. 
• When there’s demand and you have the capacity than offer delivery. Don’t even think twice about it.
• Offer mobile payment. Cash is on the way out.
• Technologies — such as a BoH integrated POS system  — make your business processes much more efficient and will help you grow.