IFMA looks at operator spending for the rest of 2024, while digital kitchens remain in bloom for a fast-casual chain. Also, we look at some of the fastest hiring chains and the rise of solo dining This Week in Foodservice.

The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association has revised its projections for operator spending in 2024 slightly downward to 0.5% for the year from its original estimate of 0.9%. This is also less than the industry’s 0.8% growth rate for 2023 as reported by IFMA. IFMA attributes 2024’s minimal growth to “continued demand from higher-income consumers for restaurant occasions.”

Looking at growth rates by industry segment, fast-casual sales will grow by 1.3% for the year, which is greater than IFMA’s original projection of 0.9%. IFMA also projects that quick-service restaurants will grow by 0.7% for the year.

In contrast, IFMA projects sales at midscale restaurants will decline 0.7%. IFMA revised its projection for casual dining to flat growth, compared to its previous 0.5% increase due to “consumer trade down to lower cost occasions.”

Collectively, IFMA projects on-site segments in 2024 will grow 2%, largely because their recovery from 2020 was slower than that of restaurants. The collegiate and corporate dining are expected to lead on-site growth at 2.0% and 2.8%, respectively.

Given the potential of declining energy prices and lower interest rates, IFMA expects consumers to drive the industry to a 1.0% growth rate in 2025. Restaurant sales will grow 0.8%, while projections call for the total on-site category to grow 1.4%.

Foodservice News

• In a deal involving two contract feeders, Whitsons Culinary Group has acquired Arbor Management, per a release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Itasca, Ill.-based Arbor Management is a foodservice management company serving the public K-12 schools and higher education markets. Whitsons, which dates to 1979, is a large foodservice management company that specializes in the K-12 segment.
• Oak View Group’s Rhubarb Hospitality Collection has acquired The Brewery, a London-based large-scale event venue. Oak View Group acquired RHC in 2023 and the company now has more than 2,500 employees in the U.K. The Brewery, located in the city of London, hosts more than 500 events annually, per a release announcing the deal.
• Digital kitchens remain in bloom for Sweetgreen. The chain plans to open seven restaurants featuring its automated makeline known as the Infinite Kitchen, Restaurant Dive reported. Sweetgreen also plans to retrofit two to three existing restaurants. The company opened its first remodel with an Infinite Kitchen last month in New York and the chain reports higher throughput at that location. Sweetgreen acquired the Infinite Kitchen platform when it purchased Spyce back in 2021.
• A new wrinkle has emerged in the plans for TGI Fridays to merge with the chain’s largest franchisee. Hostmore previously agreed to purchase the casual dining chain for $220 million and the combined entity would have 179 company-owned units. The plan is to sell all of these units to existing or new franchisees, who will then operate these restaurants and pay a royalty to the combined group, per a FSR story.
• Krispy Kreme’s second-quarter success provides one key lesson: diversification has its benefits. In reporting a 7% quarterly increase in sales, Krispy Kreme did not cite one specific reason for the growth but several. Notably, digital sales were up 22%, Nation’s Restaurant News notes. And its Delivered Fresh Daily business, which includes grocery stores, convenience stores, retailers, McDonald’s and more, grew by 18%. In addition, organic revenue grew by 8.4% due to a variety of specialty donut selections, including one with Dolly Parton.
• Some operators seek to grow via acquisition. Others by building locations. For c-store chain Casey’s growth means both. In July, Casey’s purchased the parent company of CEFCO Convenience Stores, which has nearly 200 units, including 148 in Texas and 50 locations spread across Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, C-Store Dive reports. And for its most recent fiscal year, which ended in April, Casey’s reported 42 new builds and 112 acquisitions. Overall, Casey’s has more than 2,600 locations spread across 17 states. These steps are part of Casey’s previously stated goal of building or buying 350 units between its 2024 and 2026 fiscal years.
• A trio of foodservice operators were among the 15 fastest hiring companies in the U.S., per data released by Indeed, an online job matching and hiring platform. They are Wawa (no. 7), Red Robin (no. 9) and Papa John’s (no. 14).
• Walmart continues to collaborate with quick-service restaurant chains. The big box retailer inked a deal to bring Knuckies Hoagies and Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ to some of its locations, as restaurant development + design reports.
• The challenging operating environment has Outback Steakhouse looking at some menu options. To help drive traffic in the near term, the casual dining chain launched the Aussie Aussie Aussie, a $14.99 value meal that includes soup or salad, an entrée and a side and a slice of cheesecake, per a Restaurant Business report. Longer term, Outback is looking at a smaller, simpler menu that features existing “higher satisfaction” items as well as unique new items and will focus on abundance and value.
• Portillo's is testing ordering kiosks in Chicago area locations, per a company release. The chain plans to install ordering kiosks in additional restaurants in California later this month. The kiosks are meant to “complement, not disrupt Portillo’s dine-in experience. The kiosks work alongside existing ordering channels, providing guests with more ways to order.” The chain also notes implementing kiosks is not meant to replace labor but rather allow Portillo's “to strategically redistribute team members to other high-value areas of guest service.”
• Solo dining is on the rise. Over the past year, reservations for one person have increased 4%, the largest increase of any party size per a Restaurant Hospitality story citing OpenTable data. Operators are taking notice and the appropriate steps to make customers dining alone feel welcome. This may include having a bar area that includes more single-seating options and community tables.
• Commercial foodservice equipment manufacturer Waring will open a European distribution facility next month. The 330,000-square-foot facility will operate from Northern France, providing access to a European road network and key ports of Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Dunkirk, per a company release.
• Leave it to actress Cate Blanchette to take foodservice fashion to a whole new level. While attending a fan event for her new movie “Borderlands,” the Australian star strolled the red carpet sporting a designer top made out of 102 antique spoons, CNN reports. Designer Ellen Hodakova Larsson sourced the antique spoons in the Swedish countryside and often uses heirloom objects in her work “to change the fashion industry’s perspective on circularity.”

Economic News

• The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.1% in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Final demand prices rose 0.2% in June and were unchanged in May. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand advanced 2.2% for the 12 months ended in July.
• The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 2.2 points in July to 93.7, the highest reading since February 2022. However, this is the 31st consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. Inflation remains the top issue among small business owners, with 25% reporting it as their single most important problem in operating their business, up four points from June.
• Consumer credit increased 2.4% during the second quarter, per the U.S. Federal Reserve. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 1.2%, while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 2.9%. In June, consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 2.1%.
• Initial jobless claims declined by 17,000 for a total of 233,000 for the week ending August 3, 2024, per data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Economists polled by Dow Jones had projected initial jobless claims to total 240,000 for the week, per a CNBC story. The 4-week moving average was 240,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week.