IFMA Projects 4.9% Growth in Foodservice Industry Next Calendar Year

The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) has published its 2022 foodservice industry and segment growth projections. While the industry will not yet reach 2019 operator spend levels in 2022 (4% decline), IFMA projects 4.9% growth in 2022 compared to the current year.

The forecast utilizes calendar year 2019 as a benchmark and is based upon several key assumptions, including Covid-19 vaccine availability, domestic and international travel, and government regulations and mandates. The models were created in conjunction with Datassential, a leading foodservice research firm. 

  "While 2021 was a growth year compared to the difficult 2020 our industry faced, we are still not completely back to where operator spending was in 2019,” said Larry Oberkfell, IFMA President & CEO. “With continual changes in Covid-19 safety guidance, along with supply chain and labor challenges, our industry is still facing a number of headwinds."

  Key highlights from the segment comparisons to 2019 include: 

• The total restaurant category – including full-service and limited service restaurants – is projected to nearly return to 2019 levels by end of 2022 (2% decline).
• Quick service restaurants (QSR), which have performed significantly better than other segments overall, are expected to surpass 2019 operator spend levels by 7%. However, the fast casual segment will lag.
• Full-service restaurant segments, including Midscale and Casual Dining, will not see the same recovery as QSR, only reaching 81% and 91% of 2019 spend, respectively.
• Collectively, On-Site segments in 2022 are projected to only reach 84% of 2019 spend, constrained by slow recovery in the Travel & Leisure and Business & Industry segments.