Two things the foodservice industry has got wrong

Two narratives are shaping foodservice strategy right now and I take a closer look in this week’s issue.

The first is the rise of singles as a driver of out-of-home growth. The headline figures are real - but when you dig into the underlying demographic data, the picture is more complicated and the implications for where to focus are quite different from what most commentary suggests.

The second is the idea that value-led operators are the safe bet in a squeezed market. Some are. But the cost pressures hitting the low end right now - wages, energy, food inflation, and a customer base under its own financial stress - are creating a split. The scaled chains have the tools to weather it. Much of the long tail beneath them does not.

With nearly a third of hospitality businesses reportedly holding no cash reserves, the question isn't whether attrition follows. It's how significant it becomes and what the value segment looks like on the other side.

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