Some households continue to be under financial pressure, thus reducing participation in the fast food market in Germany. Entry-level menu items and dynamic pricing strategies will help support Germany fast food market growth over the next five years.
The Fast Food Market in Germany – Current Landscape
The majority of Germans who recently visited specific fast food outlets were satisfied with their visit, supporting the growth of the segment. Customer service is the most likely to drive satisfaction, allowing operators to promote their human capital more strongly.
Despite this, fast food outlet participation declined slightly in 2024. This is due to some lower-income households opting out amid continued financial pressures. Emphasising affordability through value-driven marketing and entry-level menu items like snacks is essential to counteract this development.
While dinnertime drives the highest levels of participation in the fast food market in Germany, a wider choice of breakfast and snack options could help expand occasions. Convenient breakfast options, such as handheld and snack-sized items, and sweet-and-savoury snacks offer growth opportunities here.
Fast Food Restaurants in Germany – Market Statistics
- Germany Fast Food Market Growth: Long-term growth of 37% is forecast between 2023 and 2029.
- Germany Fast Food Market Opportunities: Reduced prices during off-peak hours would encourage 65% of fast food consumers to eat in/order takeaway. Dynamic pricing strategies can support this, but clear and transparent communication will be crucial to retain consumer trust.
Germany Fast Food Market Report – What’s Inside?
Key Topics Analysed in this Report
- Germany fast food market drivers, including the impact of inflation, sustainability regulations, and emerging technologies like AI.
- Types of fast food outlets visited, consumer participation and changes in consumer behaviour.
- Satisfaction with fast food outlets, with customer service driving consumer satisfaction.
- Consumer behaviours, attitudes, and preferences towards fast food outlets.
- Analysis of key players’ strategies, including expansion plans, menu innovations, pricing strategies, and marketing initiatives in the fast food market in Germany.
Report Scope
This Report covers the fast food restaurant market in Germany and is primarily based on Mintel’s exclusive primary research of consumer attitudes, and Mintel’s observations of the trends in the German fast food restaurant market.
Mintel’s market size is based on value sales through fast food/limited-service food outlets, including:
- Self-service restaurants
- Snack bars (establishments with little or no seating and serving a limited range of food, including consumption on the premises or for take-away)
- Sausage stands, stalls and, trolleys
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report was written by Eliana Riera-McInnes, Research Analyst at Mintel. Eliana joined Mintel in 2022, focusing on consumer and market trends in the German foodservice sector. She has worked in different areas of the foodservice industry, including business strategy, market research, operations and marketing. She holds a BA (Universidad Metropolitana), a BSc (Université du Vin) and a MA (Humboldt University of Berlin).
Despite economic challenges, a core segment of consumers is unwilling to compromise on fast food, with opportunities that can encourage consumer participation by leveraging emerging technologies for co-creation innovation.
Eliana Riera-McInnes
Research Analyst – Foodservice
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The five year outlook for fast food restaurants
- Market context
- Rising menu prices across foodservice are both tempering and boosting fast food sales
- Graph 1: consumer price index, 2023-24
- AI will increasingly personalise the fast food experience
- Mintel predicts
- Fast food/limited-service outlets are poised for continued growth
- Market size & forecast
- Value sales of fast food/limited-service outlets to grow to €21.7bn by 2029
- Opportunities
- Expand fast food occasions with convenient breakfast and snacks
- Leverage AI to cultivate loyalty via co-creation innovation
- Use the growing popularity of loyalty programs to enhance personalisation
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The German economy
- 2024 remains challenging
- Graph 2: key economic data, in real terms, 2019-25
- The inflation rate is 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
- Menu prices continue to rise…
- Graph 4: consumer price index, 2023-24
- …impacting spending on fast food outlets
- Graph 5: action taken if a restaurant/food outlet increased its prices due to the VAT increase, 2024
- Health and wellbeing
- As Germans seek to indulge, fast food will thrive…
- Graph 6: type of dish ordered in the last three months when eaten out or ordered takeaway/home delivery, 2024
- …but investing in better-for-you, better-for-the-planet choices will pay off
- Sustainability issues
- Packaging waste continues to grow, with fast food outlets as important contributors
- EU packaging regulation will put the spotlight on tackling packaging waste
- Emerging technologies
- Germans’ familiarity with AI technology is growing
- AI will increasingly personalise the fast food experience
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Fast food outlet participation
- Fast food participation sees a slight decline
- Emphasise affordability as lower-income households opt out
- Graph 7: fast food outlet participation in the last three months, by net monthly household income, 2023-24
- Concrete, value-first communication will resonate with thrifty Germans
- As fewer Germans eat out at fast food restaurants, a flexible experience becomes a must
- Graph 8: fast food purchase channel, 2023-24
- Fast food consumption frequency remains strong
- Graph 9: frequency of eating food from a fast food outlet in the last three months, 2023-24
- Despite health concerns, 16-34s are ordering fast food more frequently
- Types of fast food outlets visited
- Comforting classics continue to lead fast food preferences
- Graph 10: type of fast food outlets visited in the past three months, 2023-24
- Doner kebab outlets remain a favourite despite price-break controversy
- Tap into the love for doner kebab in menus
- Younger Germans frequent a larger variety of fast food outlets
- Graph 11: repertoire of type of fast food outlet used, by age, 2024
- Foster loyalty by harnessing the power of AI for co-creation innovation
- Mealtime preferences
- Dinnertime leads fast food occasions
- Expand snacking occasions by broadening choice
- Convenient breakfast options will cater to busy lifestyles
- Graph 12: frequency of eating fast food, by type of meal eaten, 2024
- Examples of portable fast food breakfast items
- Harness chicken’s versatility…
- Graph 13: lunchtime participation at fast food outlets, by type of outlet visited, 2024
- …to cater to a wider range of occasions and consumers
- Satisfaction with fast food outlets
- Fast food consumers show high levels of satisfaction with fast food outlets
- Graph 14: satisfaction with factors of most recently visited fast food outlet, 2024
- Customer service drives fast food outlet satisfaction, with scope to promote it more strongly
- A wide range of fast food restaurant/outlets ensures high customer satisfaction
- Shine the spotlight on your human capital
- Tap into play and nostalgia for mood-boosting innovation
- While not a driver of customer satisfaction, sustainability is an expectation
- Cut packaging waste by promoting reusable tableware for eating in
- Behaviours towards fast food outlets
- Financial worries continue to prompt value-driven behaviours among fast food restaurant patrons
- Graph 15: behaviours towards fast food outlets, 2024
- Promote visits during off-peak times…
- Graph 16: agreement that “reduced prices during off-peak hours would encourage me to eat in at or order takeaway food from fast food outlets during those times”, by gender and age, 2024
- …by (carefully) leveraging dynamic pricing
- Healthier, plant-based fast food needs to venture beyond salads and meat substitutes
- Leverage popular healthier food trends
- Encourage healthier lifestyles by promoting holistic health
- Attitudes towards fast food outlets
- Fast food outlets see demand for loyalty programs
- Graph 17: attitudes towards fast food restaurants, 2024
- Use the rising popularity of loyalty programs to enhance personalisation
- Deliver personalised discounts and promotions
- Engage better-off women/non-binary consumers under 55…
- …with premium, better-for-you fast food
- Pizza Flor proudly targets women seeking to align health with indulgence
- Target younger men with a choice of sweet and savoury snacks
- Graph 18: attitudes towards fast food outlets, by gender and age, 2024
- Satisfy both sweet and savoury cravings with sweet & salty snacks
- Beware of information overload that confuses instead of prompting sustainable choices
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LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
- Value
- Fast food brands emphasise low prices
- McDonalds’ highlights value for money with its new burger
- Menu development
- Fast food brands are reinventing their products for portability
- Domino’s fosters innovation via mash-ups
- Use of ‘doner’ is under threat as Turkey seeks its protection
- New market entries and expansions
- Taco Bell and Krispy Kreme to break into the German market
- A smashburger success story: Goldies on an expansion path
- Events
- Taylor Swift quadruples pizza sales in concert cities
- Advertising and marketing activity
- McDonald’s leverages celebrity power with the Tokio Hotel twins
- Burger King highlights the diversity and affordability of its plant-based options
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MARKET SIZE, SEgmentation AND FORECAST
- Despite a challenging 2023, fast food/limited-service outlets experienced significant growth
- The value of fast food/limited-service food outlets is set to continue growing into 2024…
- …and beyond
- Value sales of fast food/limited-service food outlets will grow approximately 37% by 2029
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- Key Driver Analysis
- Key driver output
- CHAID analysis 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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