In 2022, Australian households spent, on average, 24.8% of their food and non-alcoholic beverage budget on eating-out. Whilst this figure has dropped since pre-pandemic levels, with almost of quarter of our food spend going to foodservice, our love to consume out-of-home food remains a vital part of our culture.
Putting this result into context, over the three year period from 2020 to 2022, retail spend on food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 17% whilst the Foodservice Dollar climbed back to 24.8% (from a low of 13.7% at the start of the pandemic).
Aside from the obvious fact that people are no longer confined to their homes as during lockdown, the foodservice sector has still had to content with supply chain issues, inflation and staff shortages, hence the Foodservice Dollar is not quite at its pre-pandemic level of 37.2%.
When times are tough, Australians tend to trade down their choice of outlet, but with approximately 58,000 commercial foodservice outlets across the country, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to out-of-home food options.
The AFS Market Size data for the annualised procurement of food & non-alcoholic beverages for 2022 is now available. Containing data on over 170 product categories across all commercial and institutional channels, this report is essential for organisations serious about growing their foodservice business.