Despite a trend towards healthier food and perhaps less meat, the existing and new fast food chains do not pay much attention to this. In the Netherlands, but also elsewhere in the world, the number of fast food chains is rising sharply.
Consultancy firm Van Spronsen & Partners published a report on the fast food sector on Monday 28 January. The Netherlands had a total of 2018 fast food restaurants in 422, an increase of 17% compared to 5 years earlier. This puts our country in the middle bracket across Europe (coverage per number of inhabitants).
The Netherlands scores average
Austria and France are the countries with the largest supply in Europe. By the way, this concerns McDonald's, because at Burger King they are Spain and Sweden and KFC is doing well especially in the United Kingdom (UK). The Netherlands scores average across the board.
In 5 years' time, existing and new restaurant chains built 60 new branches in our country. Large cities and places with a lot of traffic are especially popular. In any case, it concerns locations where many young people come: they are the target group. For that reason, Zeeland and Drenthe have considerably fewer fast food restaurants.
McDonald's undisputed number 1
In addition to fries and burgers, fast food restaurants also include catering establishments such as lunchrooms, ice cream parlors and grill rooms. McDonald's remains the largest chain in the Netherlands. The American group has 4 times as many branches as the numbers 2 and 3. New trendy concepts for citizens and other products account for a small part of the market. Burger King has the largest growth strategy. It aims to open 10 new branches per year in the Netherlands.
New technology also plays a role in increasing the number of orders. By letting customers order themselves, McDonald's has succeeded in increasing the order amount by an average of 10%. The first chains, including the above, are now experimenting with a delivery service. As a result, an even higher turnover is expected.
European fries needs
Compared to other destinations, the European chips market may not grow as fast in percentage terms. However, if you look at the absolute tons, the European Union is the most important thing for potato processors. Bas Alblas, CEO of Lamb Weston, also achieved that recent at. The sales figures are very high this season.
The most recent figures (October 2018) show that the 5 largest European French fries producers have exported more than 7% more fries, compared to 1 year earlier. The price level is also increasing, which has to do with rising potato prices. Exports are expected to level off in the last 2 months of the year. The processing figures have already shown this.
Of the more than 5 million tons exported by the EU-5 in 12 months, 75% remains within the European Union. Total sales increased by 8%. The total export value also increased. Belgian French fries producers continue to trump the Dutch processors with their export volume.
United Kingdom
When we look at October, exports were more than 5% higher and exports to other countries were almost 10%. Viewed over the whole year, the decrease even increases by 20%. The UK is the largest European buyer. Brexit will therefore have a major impact on the country's French fries needs, in which it is far from self-sufficient. The question is what a tariff increase will do to the export figures.
Outside the European Union, Saudi Arabia is currently the largest buyer of European chips. China and Mexico record the largest percentage increases.