Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s Germany Eating Out Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, foodservice trends in Germany, and consumer behaviours affecting your industry. Get a 360° view of the sector including a growth forecast to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Topics Analysed in this Report
- A detailed outlook on the eating out market in Germany, including market drivers and expert insights.
- The impact of inflation, the expiry of the reduced VAT rate, and the 2024 UEFA European football championship on dining out in Germany.
- The evolution of foodservice participation, including types of restaurants and food outlets chosen for eating out or ordering takeaway.
- How do consumers choose a restaurant or outlet: Recommendations from friends, family or a food guide, and reviews from social media personalities.
- Attributes that would encourage consumers to pay more for a dish, including locally sourced ingredients, large portion sizes, and special cooking or preparation techniques.
- Consumer behaviours towards restaurants and food outlets, including comfort with using ordering technology, preference for individual dishes over set menus, and openness to sharing personal information in exchange for personalised offers.
An Overview of the Eating Out Market in Germany
As economic stability returns and foodservice inflation normalises, German consumers’ willingness to spend will increase, particularly among better-off households.
Moreover, the expiry of the reduced VAT rate in the eating out market poses further challenges to the German foodservice sector, with 43% of consumers affirming they would eat out or order takeaway less often as a response. To retain customer loyalty, transparent communication on pricing and demonstrating added value are key.
Dining Out in Germany: What Consumers Want and Why
- The Impact of Inflation on Dining Out in Germany: Amid rising menu prices, consumers will cut back or trade down, however, 75% of foodservice users remain willing to pay more for dish attributes they consider valuable. Operators can emphasise value offers that include local ingredients and demonstrate enhanced quality to encourage spending. Another way to entice consumers are limited-time specials which ignite excitement with their while-supplies-last exclusivity.
- The UEFA EURO and the Germany Foodservice Market: The UEFA EURO offers a chance to boost sales by going beyond live showings of the event to leverage the enhanced consumer sentiment and tourist spending with targeted strategies, like promoting pre- or post-match deals, or offering a haven with screen-free zones.
- Foodservice Trends in Germany: Family and friends’ recommendations hold the most sway over German consumers’ choice of outlet, but the anticipated rise in influence of AI in the decision-making process underscores the importance of quality, AI-friendly digital content to ensure visibility.
A Forecast for the Out-Of-Home Dining Market Germany
- Growing digitalisation and automation in the industry will spur growth as both convenience and operational efficiency improve in the out-of-home dining market Germany.
- The rising influence of AI on consumer choice may unevenly impact growth, to the benefit of digitally savvy operators, making AI-friendliness of digital content key to their success.
To learn how to connect with your audience, purchase our Germany Eating Out Market Report 2024 in full. Reveal lucrative innovation opportunities to help your business grow during times of financial uncertainty.
Brands Discussed in this Report
Panera Bread, Jamie Oliver Kitchen, Mamida Pizza, Kebap with Attitude, Burger King, Coca-Cola, Oliver&Bonacini, KFC, Pret A Manger, L’Osteria, Vapiano, McDonald’s, Amici Club, The Fork, Noumi P-Berg, getvoila, Wolt, Uber Eats, Dashi Diner, Luuv Café, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Sweetgreen, berlinfoodventures, Google, Starbucks, Pinkberry, Kodawari Ramen, Horváth, Blockhouse, Café Botanico, Tiny Farms, and many more.
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Expert Insights on the Germany Foodservice Market
This report, written by Eliana Riera-McInnes, Research Analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight foodservice trends in Germany and add expert context to the numbers.
Our Germany eating out market research highlights that transparent communication, added value, and flexible offerings are key to engaging cost-conscious German consumers facing higher menu prices due to the reduced VAT expiry.
Eliana Riera-McInnes
Research Analyst – Foodservice
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The five year outlook for the foodservice market
- Market context
- Expiry of the reduced VAT rate adds to economic pressures facing the foodservice industry
- Graph 1: action taken if a restaurant/food outlet increased its prices due to the VAT increase, 2024
- UEFA EURO poised to boost tourism spend and consumer mood
- Mintel predicts
- Market size and forecast
- Higher menu prices and consumer adaptation strategies are fuelling growth
- Foodservice value sales are forecasted to grow ~20% by 2028
- Opportunities
- Enhance family offerings to boost growth
- Use limited-time specials to counter trading down and boost excitement
- Go beyond live game viewings to capitalise on the 2024 UEFA EURO
- Prepare for the rising influence of AI on restaurant/food outlet choice
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The German economy
- 2024 is expected to be more challenging than initially predicted
- Graph 2: key economic data, in real terms, 2019-25
- The inflation rate is slowly bouncing back to more conventional levels
- Inflation is still the key factor affecting consumers’ finances…
- …confidence and expenditure
- Graph 3: financial confidence index, 2022-24
- The impact of the economy on foodservice
- Foodservice prices increasingly outpace overall inflation as VAT relief expires…
- Graph 4: evolution of consumer price index, 2022-24
- …further impacting foodservice spending
- Graph 5: action taken if a restaurant/food outlet increased its prices due to the VAT increase, 2024
- Better-off consumers will help support foodservice sales
- Graph 6: plans to spend on food in restaurants/takeaways in 2024 compared to 2023, by financial situation, 2023
- Transparent communication will be essential to get consumers on board with price rises
- Foodservice will need to prove enhanced quality to justify higher prices
- Graph 7: action preferred by consumers if companies had to make changes to either product or pricing as a result of rising prices, 2023
- Sporting events
- UEFA football championship expected to boost tourism spending…
- …and potentially lift consumers’ mood
- Health and wellbeing
- Germans strive to eat healthier, but are struggling to do so
- Foodservice will need to take action to support healthier choices…
- …to protect the market going forward
- Potential to foster holistic health in foodservice
- Sustainability
- Sustainability sits relatively low on Germans’ list of priorities, but companies still need to lead the charge
- Graph 8: important factors when buying food & drink, 2022/24
- Sourcing origin and packaging will be in the spotlight
- Germany’s sustainability agenda puts the onus on organic ingredients
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Foodservice participation
- Foodservice participation remains strong…
- …supported by a strong value offering and marketing activity…
- …and by consumers in need of a break
- Takeaway habits are becoming increasingly established, in particular among those better-off
- Graph 9: takeaway/home delivery participation, by financial health, 2024
- Expansion of takeaway and delivery services increases participation across most German regions
- Graph 10: takeaway/home delivery participation, by region, 2023-24
- German restaurants are the top eating out spot
- Graph 11: restaurants and food outlets visited when eating out, 2024
- Italian restaurants win with families with younger children, and German ones with those with older children
- Graph 12: German and Italian restaurants/food outlets visited when eating out, by presence of children in household, 2024
- Foodservice will need to act to keep families engaged
- Diversifying children’s menu offering…
- …could offer an opportunity for growth
- Pret UK launches Little Starts – its first full children’s menu
- Affordable, more-casual eating out spots are gaining ground, to the detriment of more-traditional establishments
- Graph 13: annual changes in restaurants and food outlets visited when eating out, 2023-24
- Budget-friendly kebab shops and bakeries lead takeaway ordering
- Graph 14: restaurant and food outlets used for ordering takeaway, 2024
- Alternative takeaway options make some progress, led by widening choice and trading-down behaviours
- Graph 15: annual changes in restaurants and food outlets used when ordering takeaway, 2023-24
- Fast food restaurants might need a strategic shift as eating out trumps takeaway participation
- Graph 16: fast food restaurant participation, 2023-24
- Visitation drivers
- Word-of-mouth carries the most weight on foodservice outlet choice
- Online reviews increasingly drive choice among younger Germans…
- Graph 17: types of information driving choice of restaurant/food outlet, by age, 2024
- …highlighting the importance of facilitating feedback
- Social media is becoming a source of culinary discovery
- Build social media into the customer journey
- Take advantage of Germans’ engagement with brands on Instagram
- Graph 18: top four social media platforms used in the last three months, by age group, 2023
- Behind-the-scenes social media content is likely to resonate with transparency-seeking Germans
- Sweetgreen shows how and who grows its ingredients
- Collaborations with lesser-known local influencers can maximise impact
- Prepare for the rise of AI-powered search engines and personal assistants…
- …by strengthening content’s AI-friendliness
- Attributes that would encourage paying more for a dish
- Leverage menu specials and locally sourced ingredients to tempt Germans to trade up
- Embrace limited-time dishes to boost excitement…
- …and counter trading down
- Graph 19: willingness to pay more for ‘special’ dishes from restaurants/food outlets, by anticipated action if prices for dishes increase due to the VAT hike, 2024
- Limited-time specials offer a chance to innovate via collaborations
- Harness customisation options to encourage upgrading with ‘chef’s recommendations’…
- …and by enabling younger men to size their dish up
- Graph 20: willingness to pay more for a large-portion dish from a restaurant/food outlet, by age and gender, 2024
- Local sourcing trumps organic to justify a higher price tag…
- Graph 21: attributes consumers would be willing to pay more for in dishes from restaurants/food outlets, by age, 2024
- …but organic can help give local ingredients a sustainability boost
- While organic certifications may pay off, so can other sustainable initiatives
- Take advantage of the added value of special cooking and preparation techniques
- Enhance the variety and flavours of local ingredients with special preparation and cooking techniques
- Behaviours towards eating out
- Germans expect greater flexibility and personalisation from foodservice
- Graph 22: behaviours towards eating out, 2024
- The rigidity of set menus loses appeal as consumers seek to limit spending and opt for more-casual concepts
- Ease decision fatigue whilst granting flexibility with streamlined, curated menus
- Both set menu and individual ordering strategies can draw inspiration from one another
- Germans are embracing digitalisation in foodservice
- Graph 23: foodservice consumers who find find it easy to use technology for ordering takeaway or ordering in restaurants/food outlets, by age, 2024
- Digital ordering offers the chance to boost convenience and sales…
- …but operators need to be mindful of the potential drawbacks
- Only one in five patrons plan to watch the EURO 2024 at foodservice venues
- Go beyond live viewings to capitalise on the football tournament buzz
- Graph 24: foodservice users who intend to watch the 2024 UEFA European men’s football championship at restaurants/food outlets, by age and gender, 2024
- 2024 UEFA EURO strategies for foodservice
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LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
- Fast food providers go head-to-head with €5.99 value menus
- As sales become harder to earn, foodservice providers are turning to discounting apps to boost sales
- Is the future of fine dining more affordable and more casual? Times are a-changin’ for Berlin fine dining
- Nobelhart & Schmutzig embraces higher accessibility while holding true to its values
- Tech ordering solutions become increasingly commonplace in Germany’s food outlets
- Foodservice providers are leveraging funny TikTok influencers as part of their marketing strategy
- Berlin Food Stories: what a successful modern food guide looks like
- More international brands continue to bet on the German market
- Lieferando extends sponsorship partnership with UEFA
- Advertising and marketing activity
- KFC targets the sports-watching crowd with its Snackdome
- McDonald’s promotes its seasonal special, the Big Rösti
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MARKET SIZE, SEgmentation AND FORECAST
- German foodservice has shown resilience despite tremendous challenges
- Higher menu prices and consumer adaptation strategies fuelling growth
- The value of the foodservice market will grow by approximately 20% by 2028
- In the medium term, value-consciousness is set to linger, but willingness to spend will improve…
- …while tech solutions will boost convenience and growth longer term
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
- Appendix – market size and central forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size – value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
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