Trends and Facts About Food Franchises
The Canadian food industry is thriving on the basis that eating out is a popular past time and an integral part of socialization (for both business and pleasure). The restaurant hospitality industry is diverse and illustrates the variety of cuisine available in Canada's territories.
The Food and Beverage sector in Canada generates more than $112 billion in production value, making it Canada's second largest manufacturing industry.
“Unlike U.S. consumers, Canadians continue to include eating at restaurants as part of their lifestyle,” says Robert Carter, Senior Manager, NPD. "It would appear the convenience of restaurant meals is not a cut back consumers are willing to make."
The industry's 6,900 businesses directly employ more than 270,000 Canadians and represent more than 18% of the total manufacturing shipments in Canada.
The growth consists of 1% increase in numbers of visits and a 2% increase in the average spending in restaurants. Food retail is the leader at a 15% growth in traffic and spending. In addition, quick service brands are leading the restaurant sector with a reported 2% growth in spending, as Canadian diners begin seeking out affordable but healthy meals.
Quick service restaurants (QSR) are the fastest growing restaurant industry in Canada. According to IBISWorld, Canadian quick service restaurants have seen an annual growth of 2.8% over the past five years, while Canadian full service restaurants have experienced a 1.4% growth for the same period.
In Canada, there are more than 184,000 food service operators nationwide.
This is broken down to:
- 84,000 full-service restaurants
- 50,000 food retailers
- 5,000 drinking places
Major segments of food franchises include: QSR, bakery & donut franchises, coffee shop franchises, ice cream and frozen yogurt franchises, vegetarian & vegan food franchises, pizza franchises, and healthy snack vending machine franchises.