What’s the deal with the fast-casual restaurants?

Fast-casual restaurants generally don’t offer complete dining services. Still, they have quality better than that of fast-food restaurants and, therefore, lies somewhere intermediate between fast-food and full dining at a restaurant.

Dig a bit deeper into its history!

This concept first started in the 1990s but became popular more than a decade later towards the end of the 2000s when the economic recession shook the world. Much younger crowd, especially in the 20s and the early 30s, shifted their food habits to these kinds of fast-casual restaurants.

Fast food vs. fast-casual vs. fine dining:

What’s the difference among all these three close spectacular dining experiences?

Fast food and fine dining are the two major segments that have always defined the American food industry. Moreover, the fast-casual has swept in between the two, and as a matter of fact, it’s multiplying.

A fast-food restaurant compromises the quality of the food as it includes preservatives, artificial ingredients, and less of a fresh touch. On the other hand, fast-casual restaurants consider more fresh vegetables and meat for the final food and, therefore, is a much healthier choice than fast-food restaurants.

Besides this, a fast-food restaurant is less expensive than a fine dining restaurant, making this food industry sector even more affordable and healthier than fast foods.

Why do people love this whole new no-waiting industry chapter?

These types of restaurants offer a better quality of food than fast-food restaurants, which is a spectacular deal for all people of different ages. As it combines both the aspects of fast food and fine dining, it’s a way more practical choice for all the people in today’s days.

The world is changing, and people, irrespective of their age and profession, shift towards a healthier lifestyle. People are now busier than they were a decade back, with more work and higher aspirations. Combining both these aspects, fast-casual restaurants have occupied a convenient space in people’s

day-to-day lives. They are now getting better quality food at lower prices, which has led to a casual-food industry growth.

The people’s busy lifestyle is forcing them to adopt a non-formal ambiance to have a cool and time-saving meal in the midst of work in a metro city. For all these reasons, it’s beyond saying these easy-to-go restaurants prove to be a blessing for all the college students and daily professionals.

Let’s check some data:

Let’s take the example of Shake Shack, a burger chain which originated in New York City, is a fast-casual restaurant chain which is attaining heights by providing meal comparable to fine dining yet at a faster pace.

The restaurant chain’s revenue stood at 151 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2019, a 21.9 percent growth over the year. These restaurants are expected to grow by around 8.3 percent compared to 4.2 percent for the fast-food restaurants. Here, McDonald’s revenue decreased by 4 percent in 2019 over the past 12 months.

What’s the Future of this fast-casual industry sector?

The sector will be expanding for sure with days to come, given the people’s changing mentality towards healthier foods and a comparatively faster and informal way of having a meal in the week’s busy working hours. Generally speaking, the price is another crucial area as it’s also quite affordable and cheaper than many fine dining options.

How’s the fast-food industry reacting?

The fast-food industry is aware of this change in consumer behaviour and the trends that will define the future market. McDonald’s declared in 2018 that they started removing preservatives and artificial colors from their foods to provide the best burgers to their customers. 

Final thoughts on the hot-deal of the food industry

It’s beyond doubt that the sector will match the fast-food segment’s heights if not rule the entire food industry. One reason why this restaurant industry is so competitive is that there are plenty of options, and the number of chains is lower than in other sectors. Hence, this is good news for the customers as they can now receive better quality from each restaurant. But, indeed, the food industry elements are going to change with ample space for fast-casual restaurants.