Takeout and delivery’s trajectory on a global scale. A few operator bright spots emerge in an otherwise challenging year. Drone delivery takes flight in Texas. Consumer finances take a hit. Plus, a small business perspective on Tariffs. These stories and more This Week in Foodservice.

Consumers continue to crave the convenience of delivery when it comes to ordering restaurant food. And this is not just a U.S. phenomenon.

Delivery accounted for 21% of the global foodservice market in 2024, per a study called “The World Market for Consumer Foodservice” from Euromonitor.

Data from Euromonitor. That’s a 12% increase compared to 2019. Delivery will account for 24% of the market by 2029, per Euromonitor projections. In contrast, on-premises dining is expected to total 52% of all transactions by 2029, a 3% decline from last year.

The global consumer foodservice industry grew 5.5% in 2024 compared to the previous year for a total of $3.2 trillion in sales, per Euromonitor.

“Inflation and economic uncertainty remain major concerns for consumers. Despite global transactions recovering to pre-pandemic levels, indicating strong demand in the industry, consumers are still cutting back on spending and opting for more affordable options,” said Rocio Franco, sr. consultant at Euromonitor International.

Foodservice News

• While customer traffic related to away-from-home dining may be down overall, a few bright spots have emerged, per data from Placer.ai. Take the full-service restaurant segment, for example. In May, both casual (1.8%) and upscale dining chains (4.6%), overall, saw visits increase year-over-year. Among specific types of restaurants, steakhouse chains saw the biggest boost between March and May, with visits up 2% year-over-year during that period. Also, among limited service restaurants, coffee chain visits were up 3.5% year-over-year, outpacing both fast-casual and QSR chains. Short visits (under ten minutes) are driving visit growth for both coffee chains and fast-casual chains.
• Restaurant operators remain uncertain about future sales and the economy. That data comes from the latest Restaurant Performance Index. The study of National Restaurant Association members shows 33% say their sales will improve in the next six months, which is down 16% from January of this year. Also, the same study shows operators’ outlook for the U.S. economy continues to darken. Only 20% expect the economy to improve in the next six months, which is down 11% from January. Despite this darkening outlook, 53% of operators said they plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion, or remodeling during the next six months. That was up slightly from 52% last month.
• In the future, customers might have to look to the sky to see their food deliveries arrive. That’s because drone delivery via DoorDash has taken off in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, per various published reports, including this one from Yahoo! Finance. Participating restaurants include Papa Johns and the Brass Tap. Deliveries occur between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. via self-operating drones that can carry up to 6.6 pounds. DoorDash and its drone partner tested this in the Texas towns of Little Elm and Frisco.
• Beverages continue to ride a tidal wave of momentum. For proof, look no further than Taco Bell’s Live Mas Café, as the chain’s beverage-forward spinoff is about to hit a growth spurt, per a QSR magazine story. Taco Bell plans to open 30 more Live Mas Cafes in its existing units by the end of 2025 in California, Dallas and Houston. This growth spurt is part of Taco Bell’s plan to reach $5 billion in beverage sales by 2030.
• Smaller concepts are forcing bigger changes in the coffee segment. As Restaurant Dive explains, consumers’ desire for different coffee-related experiences is driving some of this change.
• One of the fastest-growing coffee concepts just opened its first U.S. location. Luckin Coffee opened two units in New York City, per a Restaurant Business story. The chain made its debut in China in 2017 and its business model focuses mostly on mobile order and takeout. Over the past year, Luckin Coffee has opened more than 5,500 units and has more than 24,000 locations.
• Del Taco plans to bolster its Colorado presence. The chain plans a phased reopening of 17 restaurants it closed in the state earlier this year, per a Restaurant Business story. These will operate as corporate locations.
• A Slim Chickens franchisee has filed suit against the chain, per a Franchise Times story. According to the suit filed by R-Solution Holdings, the company “promotes Slim Chickens as a lucrative and scalable franchise opportunity, (but) the reality is starkly different.” The franchisee alleges Slim Chickens intentionally misleads prospective franchisees “with inflated financial metrics and misleading disclosures, inducing substantial investments that are susceptible to widespread losses.”

Economic News

• Consumers' finances took a hit in May, per data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income declined 0.4% and disposable personal income decreased 0.6%. In addition, personal consumption expenditures declined 0.1%. The annual core PCE rate is now at 2.3%, per a CNBC analysis. The U.S. Federal Reserve core PCE rate a better benchmark as to the state of the economy and targets inflation at 2%, a level not seen in 2021.
• May sales of new single-family homes declined 13.7% compared to the previous month, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is also 6.3% less than May of 2024. May’s 623,000 homes sold is less than the six-month average of 671,000 and the one-year average of 676,000 units sold, per a CNBC analysis. Economists had projected sales of 695,000 units for the month.
• New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 16.4% in May compared to the previous month, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents the largest increase in 11 years but the data was skewed by a large number of new contracts reported by Boeing, per multiple published reports. Excluding transportation new orders increased 0.5%.
• The number of job openings came in at 7.8 million in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This represents a 6-month high according to various published reports, including this one from Reuters.
• Economic uncertainty continues to take its toll on small businesses, per data from Alignable. In June 44% of small businesses reported a decline in sales due to tariffs, per Alignable. This is 18% greater than May. The average reported revenue decline is 13%, but 20% of business owners report losses of more than 25%. Industries most affected include wholesale trade (72%), restaurants (71%), retail (57%) and manufacturing (56%). Other business segments reporting losses include travel/lodging (52%), construction (52%), agriculture (50%), transportation (47%), and healthcare (35%). A majority of leaders in these sectors expect conditions to worsen in the months ahead, Alignable added.