The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis. 

Some free information is available from the following market research specialists, ranging from industry news to executive summaries of the reports.

Euromonitor
A full listing of reference products and research reports for the fast food sector from Euromonitor, with a range of global, country and company level reports. Each report provides a contents listing and a useful executive summary reporting on the key trends in each country report.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors, including take-away and fast-food restaurants. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces global industryresearch reports.

Mintel
A full listing of reports from market intelligence provider Mintel on the fast food sector. Report summaries, table of contents and a sample report are available.

AHDB Potatoes

Market trends and analysis for the potato industry from AHDB Potatoes, a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. Includes consumption and processing figures for retail and food service usage in the UK.

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics produces an annual report Family Spending, including statistics on fast food consumption and expenditure in the UK.

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the Office for National Statistics collects financial information covering UK production, construction, distribution and service industries. Statistics available include:

• number of enterprises;
• total turnover;
• approximate gross value added at basic prices;
• total purchases of goods, materials and services;
• total employment costs;
• total net capital expenditure;
• total net capital expenditure – acquisitions;
• total net capital expenditure – disposals;
• total stocks and work in progress – value at end of year;
• total stocks and work in progress – value at beginning of year;
• total stocks and work in progress – increase during year.

The dataset Non-financial business economy, UK: Sections A to S includes statistics for:

• Restaurants and mobile food service activities (56.1)
  See Section I: Accommodation and food service activities

FoodDrinkEurope

FoodDrinkEurope produce an annual report Data & Trends of the European Food and Drink Industry, covering the structure of the industry, trade with non-EU countries, markets and consumption and world trends.

UK

The Office for National Statistics publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) includes average employment costs within this sector which can be found in Table 14. Average employment costs are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees.

The data includes average employment costs for:

• chefs, cooks;
• kitchen and catering assistants;
• restaurant and catering managers; and
• waiters, waitresses.

The annual Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), published by the Office for National Statistics, includes total employee and employment estimates for different industries for Great Britain and the UK. Figures are broken down to show full-time/part-time and public/private splits. The dataset Industry – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 includes statistics for:

• Restaurants and mobile food service activities (561)

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

UK

Gov.uk provides some guidance on the main legislation applicable to various sectors, including food, catering and retail.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a section on health and safety in catering and hospitality, which includes latest regulations affecting this industry.

The Food Standards Agency produces guidance on Running a food business. Covers a range of areas including setting up a food business, food hygiene and safety, imports and exports, general food law and operational and chemical safety.

Food and drink businesses: working with the EU
Guidance from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs for food and drink businesses on working with the EU from 1 January 2021. Areas covered include food labelling, importing and exporting, marketing standards, non-harmonised food products, employees and data protection.

Trade Tariff

The Trade Tariff is a useful Gov.uk database listing tax, duties and licenses for the import and export of goods between the UK and other countries. The database is searchable by product or commodity code and results can be filtered by date and country. Information also includes links to relevant conditions and regulations.

See import and export information for:

• prepared foodstuffs.

Atom Content Marketing guides

The Start Up Donut from Atom Content Marketing provides practical information on starting up and running a number of small business types. Guides cover a range of areas including market research, current trends, regulations, products and services, promotion and pricing. They include:

• Fish and chips
• Mobile takeaway
• Pizza delivery
• Sandwich bar

Nationwide Caterers Association

The Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) provides a series of Start up Guides for a wide number of quick service food businesses.

The websites of trade bodies in this sector are a useful source of industry overviews, contacts and statistics.

UK

• British Sandwich Association
• National Federation of Fish Friers
• Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS)
• Seafish

Europe

• FoodDrinkEurope

Americas

• National Restaurant Association (US)

Global

• International Hotel and Restaurant Association

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.

• Caterer and Hotelkeeper
• Chippy Chat & Fast Food
• Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)
• Restaurant Magazine

Fast food and snacks industry guide: British Library
British Library industry guides provide listings of resources for industry-specific information, including print directories and materials held by the British Library.

Contact the British Library Business and IP Centre for more information.

Articles and books in the Library collection

• View a list of articles and books in our collection on the fast food industry

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports by post or email through our document supply service.