The share of fast food visitors in Russia reached 45%

The share of Russians visiting establishments of the three major players in the fast food market — Vkusno — i dotka (successor to McDonald’s) Burger King and KFC with Rostic’s — was the highest in the last few years and reached 45%. Consumers have become accustomed to networks after their transformation due to the departure of foreign owners. In general, the fast food segment may be oversaturated, experts warn, as smaller players began to invest in the opening of new outlets.

In January-June 2023, the number of visitors to large fast food chains – Vkusno – i dotka, Burger King and KFC with Rostic’s – turned out to be the highest since the beginning of 2021 and amounted to 45%, follows from a study by Romir, which was reviewed by Kommersant . The share of Russians visiting these establishments at least once every six months in the same periods of 2021 and 2022 was 39.3% and 35.9%, respectively, in the second half of 2022, the figure was 41.8%. Burger King Russia Communications Director Ivan Shestov confirms that the number of customers in all three chains in the first half of 2023 is the highest since 2019.

The fast food segment was able to overcome the difficulties of the pandemic and the turbulence of 2022, explains Margarita Abramkina, director of customer service at Romir. The networks have gone through a business process overhaul or even a complete rebrand and are growing steadily, she adds. Now three players in the segment are actively advertising, adds Franshiza.ru expert Anna Rozhdestvenskaya. Networks do not slow down, but even slightly increase their advertising support, Ivan Shestov confirms. Therefore, Ms. Rozhdestvenskaya emphasizes, consumers are already accustomed to new brands.

Russians are primarily attracted by the affordable price of fast food, which is important given the increasingly difficult economic situation, notes Margarita Abramkina.

This year, most of them did not have the opportunity to travel abroad and spent the summer inside the country, which prevented the traditional seasonal outflow of consumers from fast food chains, adds Ms. Rozhdestvenskaya. RestCon CEO Elena Perepelitsa does not exclude that smaller fast food players could close some of the outlets, and now consumers have nowhere to go, except for market leaders. “Small establishments work for free, they do not have reports and it is impossible to track the growth of traffic, but it is still there,” says Sergey Mironov, vice president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers.

In January-June 2023, the number of purchases in fast food establishments across Russia increased by 8% year-on-year, the average check – by 10%, to 439 rubles, calculated in the Check Index.

This is confirmed by Focus Technologies, according to whose estimates, in the first half of 2023, traffic in fast food establishments in Moscow increased by 10% compared to the base year 2021, while the entire catering market in the city as a whole is characterized by a decrease in the number of guests by 3–5%.

Generations are actively entering the market, for whom visiting fast food restaurants is a sustainable consumer habit, Ms. Abramkina notes.

In addition, food is one of the ways in which citizens are struggling with ever-increasing stress, the expert says.

The market leader is still the Vkusno-i Tochka chain, which was visited by 33.5% of Russians in the first half of 2023. The figure for KFC and Rostic’s was 25.2%, Burger King – 15.5%, Romir specified. The press service of Unirest (which manages the KFC and Rostic’s brands) confirmed the figures, while other networks did not comment on them.

Ekaterina Gladnikova, Director of Brand, Strategy and Research at Vkusno — and Dot, believes that the growing traffic trend will continue. The fast food segment is becoming the main catering sales channel, refocusing customers from restaurants and cafes due to its affordability, she adds. The fast food market is waiting for oversaturation, because investors are now actively investing in this business, Sergey Mironov notes. According to Franshiza.ru, the demand for fast food franchises in January-June 2023 grew by 12% year-on-year.

Daria Andrianova, Anastasia Tikhomirova