The Irish foodservice, or the ‘eating out’ industry, experienced significant growth of 61% in value to reach over €8.2 billion this year.

That's according to Bord Bia’s 2022 Irish Foodservice Market Insights report released today (Thursday, October 3).

This represents an almost full recovery to pre-pandemic levels, but it is set against a forecast for modest growth of 11.6% in 2023 (predicted to be fuelled mainly by cost inflation, rather than consumer visits), according to Bord Bia.

According to the research, eight in 10 (76%) Irish consumers say that they are enjoying the social aspect of dining out now that Covid-19 public health restrictions have been fully lifted.

However, with eight in 10 consumers (77%) concerned about their finances, many are changing their out-of-home consumption to reduce costs.

The report identifies a number of growth opportunities for the foodservice sector in response to changing consumer behaviours.

This includes the rise in popularity of eating out on Thursday evenings rather than Friday; lunch and early dinners replacing late-night eating; and the return in demand for eating breakfast out of home. 

Maureen Gahan, foodservice specialist, Bord Bia said: “Certainly, for many companies, the boom seen in 2022 has been a welcome return to growth, but most acknowledge that looking ahead to 2023, projections are perhaps just as challenging as they were at the height of the pandemic.

“Today’s report identifies a number of trends and key imperatives for Irish food and beverage suppliers to familiarise themselves with in order to ensure that their own businesses remain relevant to industry needs moving into next year," she added.

The trends could include creating labour-saving products; providing transparency around environmental and sustainability messages; and enhancing communications around supply chain issues.

Within the report, Bord Bia has identified nine critical factors which the Irish foodservice sector and suppliers should consider moving into 2023.

These include: