THE RESTAURANT

SURVIVAL GUIDE

FAST CASUAL 2014

Fast Casual Pulling To Win

The fast casual segment is still positioned as the darling of the restaurant industry through

its continued success and innovation. It has been the fastest-growing concept over the last

decade and will continue to grow and steal market share. Though this segment is still a

smaller part of the overall restaurant market, fast casual concepts are exploding onto the

scene and increasing in popularity – and unlike traditional quick-service restaurants, the

market for fast casual is far less saturated.

With a market size sitting at about $31 billion, the fast casual segment is predicted to

grow 10% in 2014 – with unit expansion as a major driver of this growth. Coming into

2014, fast casual unit growth was up 6%, totaling 16,215 units in the U.S.

Driven by historically high levels of pent-up demand among consumers, restaurant sales are expected

to hit a record high of $683.4 billion in 2014 – an increase of 3.6% from 2013. And 2014 marks the fifth

consecutive year that the fast casual segment’s growth has surpassed that of every other restaurant segment.

But it won’t be a year without challenges.

Source: National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Trends Survey, 2013

Top challenges expected by limited-service operators in 2014

Building & Maintaining Sales Volume 18%

Government 16%

Recruiting & Retaining Employees 14%

The Economy 14%

Food Costs 9%

THE RESTAURANT

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Or opportunities.

Source: Technomic’s Top 150 Fast Casual Chain Restaurant Report

2012 U.S. Sales

Bakery Cafe

Mexican

Sandwich

Chicken

Asian/Noodle

$6.1 Billion

$5.7 Billion

$4.4 Billion

$3.3 Billion

$2.6 Billion

{ UP 10.3% FROM 2011 }

{ UP 13.8% }

{ UP 16.9% }

{ UP 11.3% }

{ UP 15.6% }

IN 2014, RESTAURANT SALES

ARE EXPECTED TO HIT

$683.4BILLION

FAST CASUAL

2014

So What Does This Mean To You?

Even with the fast casual sector’s stellar success, sometimes restaurants face a

stalemate in the push to increase revenue. Real estate accessibility will be a key

factor as hoards of new players enter the market and vie for locations that are

2,500 - 3,000 square feet. As these new concepts enter the market, more pressure

will be placed on existing brands to differentiate themselves, cater to specific

demographics and be highly innovative – especially in terms of menu, dayparts,

atmosphere, service style and technology.

This continued expansion and sales growth is great news, but the largest slice of

the pie will go to the brands that understand exactly who their customers are, what

their customers want, and that have the right tools needed to pinpoint locations

that put them in close proximity.

By harnessing the power of customer data and analytics, you can tackle your most

complex challenges – and see your brightest opportunities.

All of your analytic solutions are deployed in SCOUT, Buxton’s proprietary web-based

platform, and are tailored to your customers and markets so that you can eliminate

guesswork and base decisions on real data, leading to higher sales. SCOUT is where

your solutions come to life and make the insights and answers that Buxton provides

immediately executable.

Not Just Answers, But Big Answers

GET TO KNOW US.

1-888-2BUXTON

buxton@buxtonco.com

www.buxtonco.com

Buxton’s analytic solutions can help quantify the potential your brand has when:

Prioritizing new markets for expansion

Infilling existing markets

Determining franchise territories

Testing new concepts

Planning new marketing initiatives

Developing catering, delivery and other business lines

Testing new daypart opportunities

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With SCOUT, you can get the answers you need anytime, anywhere.

GET TO KNOW US. 1-888-2BUXTON | buxton@buxtonco.com | www.buxtonco.com

GREAT BRANDS GROW WITH US