This report offers an in-depth review of the UK fast food industry. Know what drives visitation to restaurants and how to respond to changing consumer perceptions with the data-backed analysis offered. Accelerate your insight strategy today.
There’s a rise in Britons dining out, up from 24% in 2021 to 47% in 2024, post-pandemic. Takeaway orders fell to 72% in 2024, but convenience remains crucial. Fast food outlets thrive by offering dine-in, delivery, drive-through, and click-and-collect options to suit various preferences.
Younger fast food consumers aged 16-44 prefer fresh options like salads and sushi, providing chains with an opportunity to attract them with healthy choices. Salad chains like The Salad Project and Urban Greens are gaining traction in London, hinting at potential for salad concepts in the UK market.
British consumers are more flexible in their fast food habits, moving away from traditional evening dining. Morning and afternoon fast food occasions have increased post-pandemic, suggesting a broader role for fast food in daily diets. This opens up opportunities for operators to expand menus and target new customer segments.
Fast food apps are more popular among younger age groups, with 48% of tech-savvy 16-34 year-olds using them compared to only 12% of the less digitally inclined 55+ group. German Doner Kebab’s app gained 270,000 downloads by December 2023, showing the trend towards mobile ordering. User-friendly apps like GDK’s cater to the rising mobile tech reliance for tasks such as food ordering.
In this Report, Mintel analyses consumers’ decision-making process with regards to fast food outlets.
Although fast food outlets are often characterised by the takeaway nature of the food and drink, a significant proportion also offer an eat-in facility. In many leisure and retail park locations a drive-through facility accompanies the main restaurant. Home delivery is a new growth strategy for this market.
The main meal items are served hot, usually from a counter, with the emphasis on speed of service and consistency of product. The format of each brand is typically standardised, with the consumer being able to expect the same offering and standards throughout the country.
Although small in number by comparison, some outlets in this market, including selected McDonald’s restaurants, offer a more sophisticated eat-in facility including the option of table service.
The market size comprises categories including burger and chicken shops, kebab shops, fish and chip shops, pizza outlets, sandwich shops (eg Subway), noodle bars, burrito/taco shops and traditional British cafés.
This report was written by Trish Caddy. Trish Caddy currently writes a range of UK foodservice reports and has been called upon by some of the UK’s leading media to comment on key insights and trends shaping the UK eating-out market. Before joining Mintel, Trish worked as a chef in London.
UK consumers want affordable, quality fast food. To attract and keep customers, restaurants should focus on fresh, diverse menus, a welcoming atmosphere, and efficient, personalised service.
Trish Caddy
Associate Director, Foodservice
Mintel is the world’s leading market intelligence agency. We show you how consumers think today and tomorrow. As a trusted partner to industry leaders, we deliver game-changing insights to businesses across the globe, fuelling their marketing and innovation strategies that will shape the future.
Access high-quality market research with every purchase of Mintel’s consumer reports. Here’s what else is included in your report purchase:
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more$ 6,300 – $ 26,000
Mintel’s 2024-25 Global Outlook on Sustainability: A Consumer Study is designed to help you understand what brands and companies should prioritise in order to educate consumers and ensure...
Find out more$ 2,995
The UK lunch out-of-home (OOH) market faces a double-edged sword. This rising cost of living continues to squeeze consumer spending, with a 5 percentage point year-on-year decline in...
Find out more$ 2,995
The cost of living crisis has prompted consumers to tighten their budgets, prioritising essential expenses. In response, restaurants have adapted by introducing value-driven promotions and budget-friendly menu options....
Find out more$ 2,995
The cost-of-living crisis has undoubtedly impacted consumer habits, but sustainability seems to be holding strong. 47% of diners now prioritise eco-friendly options when deciding where to eat/order from,...
Find out more$ 2,995
The dining scene continues to evolve, with consumers seeking fresh options that cater to dietary preferences, social media influences and environmental concerns. Trish Caddy, Associate Director - Foodservice ...
Find out more$ 2,995
The expansion of convenient food ordering and collection channels such as drive-throughs and mobile kiosks is helping the takeaway market to continue its momentum. Trish Caddy, Associate Director...
Find out more
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
We utilize Mintel Reports, Trends and Comperemedia to mine for insights across the numerous business verticals that Epsilon serves, such as CPG, automotive, telecom, healthcare/pharma, retail and financial services.
By integrating Mintel insight into new business opportunities, we have been able to gain the competitive edge necessary to advance partnerships with global brands and key business players.
For our organization, it’s about depth and breadth. Having one without the other doesn’t enable success in our business.
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more
