Value is the cornerstone of quick service restaurants’ success and growth. When it comes to attracting customers, no other factor holds greater influence. Price has always been a primary consideration, but the widespread inflation in recent years amplifies its significance.
However, the QSR industry is inherently dynamic and diverse. While value and competitive pricing remain fundamental drivers that draw customers to these establishments, other considerations also sway their choice of a particular operator.
Encouragingly, nearly all Canadians engage with foodservice, and QSRs continue to be their most popular option. Despite this, a notable share of consumers anticipate reducing their QSR visits over the coming year. While whether this projection comes to fruition remains to be seen, it underscores a prevalent consumer sentiment. This highlights the importance for fast food restaurants to innovate their value proposition across multiple dimensions, particularly if growth decelerates.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Post-pandemic sales rebound and inflation’s impact on growth
- Channel shift: dine-in volatility, delivery app acceleration
- Role of technology in ordering, payment and labour efficiency
- Value perception vs pricing strategy amid economic challenges
- Menu innovation: crave-worthy classics, healthier twists and provenance
- Gen Z, newer Canadians and hybrid workers as cohorts of opportunity
Value is key to a QSR’s success, but it’s about more than just price. To stay relevant, operators can invest in their ability to provide more personalized service.
Joel Gregoire, Associate Director of Food & Drink Reports
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for QSR
- Opportunities
- Frictionless convenience for digitally native diners
- Address health without losing the crave
- Value 2.0: predictable pricing, tiered menus
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THE MARKET
- QSR value sales trend upward
- Graph 1: limited-service* sales by month, January 2019-July 2025
- Post-COVID, QSR sees an uptick in the share of total foodservice sales
- Graph 2: limited-service share of total food services and drinking places sales by month, January 2019-July 2025
- Canadian economic outlook: uncertainty, but also opportunity
- CPI hovers just above the 2% target, while retail food inflation remains elevated, but moderated in October
- Graph 3: annual change in CPI and retail food prices by month, January 2019-October 2025
- New policies aim to slow population growth by limiting immigration
- Population growth is poised to stagnate in the next few years
- Graph 4: projected population (medium growth scenario), 2025-45
- Hybrid work arrangements are here to stay
- Graph 5: work location, 2022 & 2025
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THE CONSUMER
- QSR usage and technology’s impact
- Despite the bevy of options, fast food remains the top go-to for Canadians
- Graph 6: types of restaurants dined at or ordered food from in the past three months, 2025
- Fast food remains foodservice’s foundation
- Graph 7: types of restaurants dined at or ordered food from in the past three months, 2022, 2024 & 2025
- Top takeaways: the evolving foodservice landscape
- Dining in at QSR shows greater volatility
- Graph 8: done at fast food restaurants in the past three months, 2022, 2024 & 2025
- Top takeaways: how consumers get fast food
- The case for and against third-party apps for operators
- Tech enablement offers value in addition to ease
- Graph 9: attitudes toward the impact of technology on foodservice, 2025
- Tech is a benefit, but lack of tech doesn’t have to be a barrier
- Tech helps create an inviting experience for Gen Zs
- Value’s importance at QSR
- A fifth of Canadians plan to cut back on QSR usage
- Graph 10: will visit or order from fast food restaurants more, the same or less over the next year, 2025
- Price is the main challenge for QSR traffic growth, but there are other factors at play
- Graph 11: discourages consumers from visiting or ordering from fast food restaurants more often, 2025
- Correspondingly, lower prices are the most cited way to draw traffic
- Graph 12: would encourage consumers to visit or order from fast food restaurants more often, 2025
- Perspective on visit drivers
- Value extends beyond price
- Graph 13: attitudes toward quality and foodservice, 2025
- Drivers of satisfaction at QSR
- Price and value remain top opportunities to bolster satisfaction as QSR gets ample credit for speed, consistency and food quality
- Graph 14: satisfaction with select aspects of foodservice restaurants, 2025
- QSR’s credit for speed points to its foundational importance
- Consumers want predictable pricing
- Graph 15: menu options consumers would like to see at fast food restaurants more often, 2025
- Top takeaways: menu options customers want from fast food restaurants
- High-low: what does a brand stand for?
- Graph 16: attitudes toward the quantity of menu items on quality and perceived quality difference between fast food and fast casual, 2025
- Differentiating between fast food and fast casual
- Craveability and health at QSR
- Room to provide more satisfying healthy menu options at QSR
- Most don’t expect fast food to be inherently healthy, but provenance supports a broader definition of wellbeing
- Graph 17: attitudes towards ingredients and health at fast food restaurants, 2025
- Case study: A&W
- Canadians primarily crave a quartet of menu options from fast food
- Graph 18: menu items most craved from fast food restaurants, 2025
- Elevate burgers and chicken/pizza
- Even among newer Canadians, burgers and chicken are the most craveable at QSR
- Graph 19: menu items most craved from fast food restaurants, newer vs established Canadians, 2025
- Daypart and frequency of QSR usage
- Dinner and lunch represent “prime-time” for QSR
- Graph 20: dayparts when fast food restaurants are typically frequented, 2025
- Graph 21: occasions when fast food restaurants are typically frequented, 2025
- Grow frequency among those already semi-reliant on QSR
- Graph 22: how often food is ordered from fast food restaurants, 2025
- Drive QSR growth among moderate customers by emphasizing value and meaningful innovation
- Graph 23: would encourage consumers to visit or order from fast food restaurants more often, by frequent or moderate usage, 2025
- Focus on lunch to drive growth with “moderate” QSR customers
- Graph 24: QSR usage by daypart, across frequent, moderate and light users, 2025
- Tactics to help bolster lunch traffic
- Who are more likely to be frequent fast food customers?
- Dealing for dads
- Demographic differences
- Generations and QSR: what findings show
- Younger generations seek variety and leverage tech
- Newer Canadians and QSR: what findings show
- Make ordering more accessible for newer Canadians, who are more avid foodservice consumers
- Remote workers and QSR: what findings show
- Encourage hybrid workers to treat themselves when going in to the office
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PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- New restaurant concepts help drive excitement, but can it be maintained?
- Compelling desserts can help bolster average eater cheques
- McDonald’s launch of McVeggie burger signals a shift for plant-based positioning
- Was that Colonel Sanders at a Blue Jays World Series Game?
- “Fanning” the popularity of fast food brands
- One doesn’t always have to be home for holidays
- Hacks help brands build connections with customers
- Agentic AI: the influencer of the future?
- Case study: McDonald’s uses AI to enhance customer experiences and boost efficiency
- Can AI help smaller or independent QSR operators?
- Shift in US travel sentiment can benefit Canada’s restaurant industry
- Graph 25: planned overnight trips to the US in the next 12 months, 2024 vs 2025
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APPENDIX
- Report scope/market definition
- Canadian consumer methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations
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