Hot Topics Case Study: Foodservice Price Wars

This report is part of a case study series on trending topics in consumer goods, foodservice and packaging. It covers the ongoing price wars in the foodservice industry in 2025. It highlights the challenges faced by operators due to ingredient volatility, tariffs, rising labor costs, and inflationary pressure and possible solutions to alleviate this pressure.

Operators in the foodservice industry are facing new cost pressures, leading to the need for significant cutbacks in various areas such as staffing levels, food quality, and brand identity. Affordability is a key factor influencing restaurant choice, but service and experience also play a significant role in consumer decisions. Operators need to be transparent about any compromises made and to appeal to loyal customers by being honest about any changes. Overcoming skepticism of automation technologies to improve operational efficiency in the face of rising labor costs will be crucial.

Scope

• New cost pressures make value deals less possible without making significant cutbacks elsewhere. Operators are compromising staffing levels, food quality, and even brand identity due to menu item and ingredient replacements.
• Automation is becoming more critical to long-term operational cost efficiency as labor costs rise. However, the foodservice industry must move beyond the current phase of pilots and testing, towards permanent integrations of technologies.
• Despite a persistent cautious consumer spending environment across markets, financial reporting by foodservice operators reveals discounted sales are driving much of the revenue growth and accounting for a significant portion of total sales. However, the mix of value deals and increased cost pressures is hurting profits.

Reasons to Buy

• Gain in-depth analysis of the performance of major foodservice chains and their strategies in response to market dynamics.
• Understand your target audience better through consumer spending analysis.
• Explore innovative solutions to navigating ongoing market pressures in foodservice.