An Expert Market report sponsored by Toast revealed that over half (56%) of U.S. food and beverage business owners say managing operational costs and maintaining profitability is their main challenge, with economic uncertainty being the second most common challenge, as 52% of respondents say economic uncertainty is a challenge for their business.
“As our research has shown, these have been tough times for business owners in the food and beverage market,” says Expert Market’s editor, Chris Maillard. “Inflation has been particularly difficult to deal with, and in a sector that is particularly reliant on energy-intensive kitchen equipment and the rental of prime sites, the rise in these bills has been tricky too. It’s great to see that optimism is still alive, though, and the smarter operators have dealt with the squeeze by making processes and systems leaner and more efficient, which will help them bounce back more quickly as the economy picks up.”
Key takeaways:
- Most common challenges for U.S. F&B business owners are managing operational costs and profitability (56%); economic uncertainty (52%); and coping with seasonality and fluctuations in business (37%).
- Financial and economic worries are weighing heavy on the minds of F&B business owners. This could indicate that a period of inflation in the United States, initiated by COVID-19, may well have impacted small businesses in this industry. Though inflation peaked at 7% in 2021 and has since decreased to 2.97%, it is yet to reach pre-pandemic levels of around 1.9% in 2018.
- Despite current woes, the food and beverage industry is optimistic about its future as predictions for 2025 suggest that concern about economic uncertainty will drop from 20% to 16%.
