Chicago, Illinois-based Technomic has released the “Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report 2018 Forecast.” It focuses on segment- and menu category-level growth trends along with chain-level sales and unit counts for the leading operators in North America.
“We’re seeing some major movement within the Top 10 chain rankings based on our 2018 projections,” said Joe Pawlak, managing principal of Technomic, a management consulting firm that specializes in the foodservice business. “Several growth players that we’ve been watching over the past couple of years are starting to encroach upon chains that are struggling to overcome branding and operational challenges.”
Key trends and highlights include:
- After dipping to 3.0% in 2017, cumulative sales growth for the Top 500 chains is poised to increase modestly to 3.2% in 2018.
- The quick-service segment will generate increased receipts this year, propelled by the impressive sales growth from Taco Bell,
- Chick-fil-A and Domino’s, as well as another solid year from McDonald’s.
- Growth for the fast-casual segment is predicted to remain strong, but the days of annual double-digit sales growth have likely concluded.
- Sales growth for full-service chains is expected to improve marginally in 2018, after having slowed to 0.9% in 2017.
The forecast was developed as an extension of the annual Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Technomic leveraged year-to-date performance data from its Transaction Insights tracking as well as investor releases from publicly held companies. Each chain’s growth trajectory from prior Top 500 reports was also considered.
For more information about the report, visit www.technomic.com.