The foodservice market - France

Traditional catering is defined as table service catering, excluding bars, cafeterias and fast food outlets. [INSEE] This sector is historically important in France, as gastronomy has a special place in the country's culture, despite the many obstacles to its development that are slowing its growth. In addition, the emergence of new competitors is penalizing traditional foodservice, just as fast food is driving overall growth in the French foodservice sector (you can find our study on thefast food market here). Operating in a highly competitive and dynamic environment (with the development of online delivery), each brand needs to stand out from the crowd, relying in particular on the good reputation of its cuisine, its geographical positioning, positive word-of-mouth and intelligent digital communication that is sensitive to online reviews and ratings. E-reputation management and the digitization of business management appear to be potential growth drivers for the sector, particularly in a country where more than 2/3 of the population claim to pay attention to reviews and refuse to enter a restaurant rated below 3.5/5. In addition, the Covid-19 epidemic had a major impact on the restaurant sector, bringing business to a standstill for several months. While the recovery is slow and gradual, it does highlight avenues for growth, as suggested by the success of delivery services, whose sales rose by 47% in the wake of the pandemic, and of takeaway sales during the confinement period. More specifically, some restaurants have decided, in light of the crisis, to strengthen their competitive edge by focusing on the quality of their products, for example by exploiting the growing success of organic, gluten-free or locally-produced products.