2023 Australia Annual Fast Food & QSR Report

In 2023, the Australian consumer experienced record population growth, escalating cost of living pressures, and a decline in real retail sales. Despite these challenges, Australians continued to dine out and takeaway, the food and beverage industry saw total sales increase by over 10%*, or 4.2% after adjusting for inflation.

Absorbing the growing demanding, a net new 227 outlets were opened by major restaurant chains, according to the 2023 GapMaps Fast Food and QSR annual report which tracks the largest 31 brands within the sector.

The report reveals a number of brands are continuing to expand; the eight fastest growing brands opened a net new 184 locations. This included major expansions from well-established chains such as KFC, Hungry Jack’s and Pizza Hut as well as the continued build out of the Zambrero, Guzman y Gomez and Grill’d networks.

While Subway and McDonald’s, the two largest store networks, continued their expansion with the opening of 27 and 25 new stores, respectively, both brands strategically optimized their networks by exiting several locations. Consequently, each brand achieved a net new store growth of five locations. This reflected the industry’s commitment to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and market dynamics.

The geographic distribution of new store growth was widespread across the country, with growth areas presenting opportunities for major brands. Additionally, the development of Entertainment and Leisure Precincts (ELPs) within major Shopping Centres emerged as a strategic avenue for emerging brands. Consideration of effective service within the AUD 7.6 Billion Food Delivery sector continued to influence decisions on store expansion and optimization.

Entering 2024, the majority of Australians now have a significantly greater choice of Quick Service Restaurants. While over 75% of all Australians have lived within 3km of a Subway and McDonald’s for a number of years, now close to 52% of all Australians can access 10 or more QSR brands within 3km of home. The access to these brands varies significantly across each capital city as brands in suburban settings typically cluster in or around major shopping centres. As part of the 2023 annual report, GapMaps maps this variation in brand access across major capital cities and allows clients to explore this analysis in detail within the GapMaps Live platform.

GapMaps track the location of over 1,500 brands within Australia and this provides insights on where brands are clustering and the observable expansion and optimisation strategies of each brand. In addition, GapMaps has partnered with CommBank IQ to provide insight on the real spending habits of consumers at a local level, including on food delivery spending. This detailed analysis of supply and demand within the sector empowers GapMaps users to better understand, optimise and grow their store networks.

*as measured by the ABS retail sales series on Cafes’, restaurants and takeaway food services for the 12 months to December 2023.