What is the foodservice market in Ireland comprised of?

The foodservice market represents all food consumed out of home and includes restaurants, pubs, hotels, coffee shops, workplace catering, hospitals, education and vending machines.

How big is the foodservice market in Ireland?

Bord Bia has just completed its Foodservice Market Insights Report for 2019 and it shows that Irish consumers will spend €8.55bn this year on out-of-home food purchases. This is up 4.5% on last year, which is quite strong. The market seems to be growing, as consumers spend more time out of home as a result of longer working hours and longer commutes.

How does the foodservice market compare to the food grocery market?

The foodservice market in Ireland is smaller than the amount of food bought in supermarkets. About 33% of Irish consumer spending on food is in foodservice outlets. Two thirds (66%) of food spending is done in supermarkets. However, the foodservice market is growing faster than retail. The portion of every euro that Irish consumers spend on food out of home versus food in the home is starting to swing.

How does Ireland compare to other countries for foodservice?

In the US, 50% of all consumer spending on food is done out of home, which is the highest level in the world. European countries and the UK are similar to Ireland, with about 33% of spending on food done out of home.

What are the largest sectors within the Irish foodservice market?

The largest section of the foodservice market in Ireland is limited service restaurants, which accounts for 35% of all out of home spending. Limited service restaurants include traditional fast food outlets, fast-casual restaurants and food-to-go outlets such as deli counters. The next largest section is food and non-alcoholic beverage spending at hotels and accommodation, which accounts for 18% of foodservice spending. Food and non-alcoholic drinks sold in pubs accounts for 16%, while full service restaurants, or traditional table service restaurants account for 12% of the market. Coffee shops and cafes account for 6% of the market and that’s really been growing quite quickly.

Is the sector facing any challenges?

The Irish foodservice market has seen growth rates of 5% to 6% per annum in recent years and these are not sustainable forever. So I think we will start to see a plateau or potential slowdown in the growth of the sector. In saying that, the growth rate is still looking strong at over 4% per annum up to 2021. The first quarter of 2019 was very strong, but there’s definitely been a deceleration in the foodservice market since then.

What has caused this deceleration?

Statistics show tourist numbers are down in Ireland for 2019. And tourists account for a large part of the out-of-home market in Ireland, because they’re eating in pubs, restaurants and hotels when they’re here. Visitor numbers from the UK have flattened this year and the UK tourists that are coming to Ireland are spending less due to a weak sterling. So that’s definitely a concern for the sector.