Abstract
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Product coverage
Consumer foodservice by chained/independent; Consumer foodservice by type;
Consumer foodservice by type and chained/independent
Executive summary
Consumer foodservice achieves rapid growth
Consumer foodservice has grown rapidly in Saudi Arabia, driven by increases in
the GDP, which have been fuelled by rising oil prices and which have led to
higher disposable incomes for all citizens. This growth has also been
supported by the strong culture of eating out, which provides citizens with
one of the few sources of entertainment, owing to the absence of bars and pubs
in Saudi Arabia.
Religious tourism has a positive impact
More than two million people visit Saudi Arabia on an annual basis during the
Hajj season. In addition, approximately another million people visit the
country throughout the year to perform Umrah with the highest number of
visitors arriving during the holy month of Ramadan.
The high number of visitors, whether for religious or other reasons, has a
large and positive effect on the performance of consumer foodservice,
especially sectors such as fast food, full-service restaurants and cafés/bars
(owing to the popularity of coffee shops).
Increasing popularity of shopping centres
The number of large-scale developments for shopping centres in all regions of
Saudi Arabia increased significantly over the review period. This has boosted
the popularity of fast food outlets, coffee shop outlets and ice cream
parlours in particular. Due to the extremely hot climate, many people tend to
stay indoors where there is air-conditioning, for example in shopping centres,
which is a major reason for the increasing popularity of shopping centres in
Saudi Arabia. The lack of entertainment options has also given shopping
centres an edge, as people often opt to socialise in them. A large number of
new shopping centres are expected to open in Saudi Arabia over the forecast
period.
Self-service cafeterias remains unpopular whilst street stalls/kiosks gains
Self-service cafeterias outlets are unpopular due to the high living standards
in Saudi Arabia, where local people have become accustomed to being served
both in their own homes and when outside of their homes. Therefore
self-service cafeterias outlets tend to appeal more to expatriates who work in
large corporations or in schools and leisure centres. On the other hand,
street stalls/kiosks has gained in popularity, as such units experience an
increase in demand during periods such as the holy month of Ramadan when vast
numbers of people purchase food from them owing to their convenience.
Outlook for consumer foodservice is positive
Consumer foodservice is expected to perform well over the forecast period
owing to factors such as population growth and an increased number of
expatriates as well as the high level of disposable income fuelled by high oil
prices. Furthermore, with legislation that bans the consumption of alcohol and
limitations on entertainment facilities, expenditure on consumer foodservice
is expected to remain high and to result in healthy constant value growth over
the forecast period.
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