• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to navigation
Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Connect
    • Custom Events
    • Slack
    • RSS
    • Send us a Tip
  • Advertise
  • Consulting
  • About
The Spoon
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Advertise
  • About

Report: The Restaurant Industry Could Lose $300B by the End of 2020

by Jennifer Marston
August 13, 2020August 12, 2020Filed under:
  • Business of Food
  • Coronavirus
  • Delivery & Commerce
  • Featured
  • Restaurant Tech
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Technomic has revised its forecasts for the rest of 2020 and into 2021, according to a news release the firm sent out this week. The reason for these new numbers? You guessed it: the pandemic. Speaking in this week’s announcement, Joe Pawlak, a managing principle at Technomic, said to expect “continued decline” in restaurant sales for the rest of the year but “aggressive growth” in 2021.

“Few industries have felt the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic quite like foodservice,” he wrote, adding that restrictions (e.g., reduced capacity, no bar seating) “are wreaking havoc, especially on the segments that depend upon on-premises consumption.”

In light of that, the firm has made revised forecasts based on Best, Middle, and Worst Case scenarios. While the bulk of those numbers are behind Technomic’s paywall, the firm did release some telling facts based on the new forecasts:

  • Based on the Middle Case scenario, the restaurant industry will grow by 21 percent in 2021, but sales will still be down 11 percent compared to 2019 sales.
  • The restaurant industry is expected to lose between $250 billion to nearly $300 billion in sales for 2020, depending on the scenario.
  • QSRs are faring the best of any restaurant type at the moment; full-service restaurants and bars are struggling the most.

The firm also notes that the state of the industry’s prospects are “directly tied to medical advances related to COVID-19” such as a vaccine. 

It’s no secret that spikes in COVID-19 cases are in part tied to the reopening of states’ economies, of which restaurants are a major part. Just this week, the New York Times noted that “Data from states and cities show that many community outbreaks of the coronavirus this summer have centered on restaurants and bars, often the largest settings to infect Americans.” In a separate article, it also noted that indoors, the six-feet-apart rule for social distancing is misleading because “people think they are protected indoors and they’re really not.” Little wonder, then, that the CDC lists indoor dining as the highest-risk setting of all restaurant formats for spreading of the virus. the virus becomes easier to spread at a restaurant that offers on-site dining, even with reduced table capacity, according to the CDC.

None of that makes for an exactly encouraging scenario restaurants face in the coming months. Even in a Best Case scenario, full recovery will be slow at best. As we putter towards that prospect, businesses are best advised to keep their foot on the gas when it comes to offering off-premises formats.   


Related

Technomic: Over Half of Restaurant Operators Will Spend More on Tech in the Future

Of all the things in the restaurant industry accelerated by the pandemic, technology adoption has been one of the biggest. That’s unlikely to change in the near future, a point underscored by new survey data from Technomic that notes 68 percent of restaurant operators “believe their technology spend will either…

Technomic Survey: Three in Ten Consumers to Eat Out Less Amid COVID-19 Fears

Even as the outbreak of coronavirus/COVID-19 continues to evolve and grow, we still don't have a clear idea of exactly how much it will fundamentally change our entrenched, traditional behaviors. Are handshakes a thing of the past? Is working from home the new normal? Will we travel less for both…

Week in Restaurants: A Few More Predictions for 2020

Ghost kitchens might take the prize as the hottest dining trend to watch right now, but it’s not the only one poised to make an impact on the restaurant industry in the coming months. As this week ends and another year begins, here’s a roundup of a few more 2020…

Get the Spoon in your inbox

Just enter your email and we’ll take care of the rest:

Find us on some of these other platforms:

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
Tagged:
  • off-premises orders
  • restaurant tech
  • Technomic

Post navigation

Previous Post iFood and Speedbird Aero Bringing Drone Food Delivery to Brazil
Next Post Allergy Amulet Raises $3.3M for Food Allergen Detection Device

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get The Spoon in Your Inbox

The Spoon Podcast Network!

Feed your mind! Subscribe to one of our podcasts!

Is Posha the Robotic Heir to the Thermomix? The Founders Sure Hope So
From Aspiring Pro Surfer to Delivery Robot CEO with Coco’s Zach Rash
Mark Cuban to Speak at SKS 2025
This Culinary Tech Inventor Thought He Could Build Some Parts For His Latest Gadget in the US. Then He Called Around.
Thermomix Has Long Been a Leader in Cooking Automation, But Now They’re Going Full Robot

Footer

  • About
  • Sponsor the Spoon
  • The Spoon Events
  • Spoon Plus

© 2016–2025 The Spoon. All rights reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.