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£ 5,000 – £ 21,600
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£ 2,195
The UK foodservice market faces challenges due to the cost-of-living crisis, with consumers cutting back on dining out and operators delaying investments. High interest rates and household bills...
Find out more£ 2,195
The UK pub and bar market is expected to grow 5% year-on-year in 2024, demonstrating resilience and steady growth despite economic challenges. This reflects changing consumer habits and...
Find out more£ 2,195
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£ 2,195
Cafés and coffee shops remain resilient in the face of challenging economic conditions. While many consumers have become more selective about their spending on discretionary items, coffee is...
Find out more£ 2,195
The dining scene is constantly evolving, as consumers look for dining experiences that cater to taste, nostalgia, and unique cooking methods. Trish Caddy, Associate Director - Foodservice Market Definitions Mintel's bi-annual...
Find out more
Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
We use Mintel to inform our thinking and reinforce strategy. If you’re presenting new ideas, it’s essential they are underpinned by robust data and evidence, and clearly rooted in fact.
Mintel gives us all that. It’s a great brand and one that is trusted by clients.
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.
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 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.
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more
