Mexico's Evolving Foodservice Industry Serves Up More Than Just Tacos
by CHD Expert
Posted: 2015-09-04 15:34:13 EST

Mexico City, MX – Fish Tacos and Carne Asada Burritos will hopefully always be staple menu items at restaurants across Mexico, however as the global culinary scene continues to advance, the restaurant landscape in Mexico continues to become more diverse.

Next week, an estimated 20,000 foodservice professionals from around the world will visit Mexico City to attend ABASTUR, Latin America’s largest HO.RE.CA. Tradeshow (Hotel, Restaurant, Catering), and CHD Expert is excited to be attending.

In advance of the show, CHD Expert, the Global Foodservice Data and Analytics Company took the opportunity to evaluate Mexico’s restaurant and hospitality landscape as identified in CHD-FIND (Foodservice Industry National Database).

As of August 2015, FIND contains records on more than 90,000 operators in Mexico, consisting of roughly 74,000 restaurants and 16,000 hotels.

The 74,000 restaurants are broken down into approximately 55,000 Full Service Restaurants (FSR) and 19,000 Limited Service Restaurants (LSR). Table service is provided at FSR and the bill is paid after eating. This is different from LSR, where ordering and paying is generally done at the counter before food is served.

Further breaking down the restaurant landscape, 97% of FSR are Independent, and only 3% are Chains. Considering LSR, 74% are Independent and 26% are Chains. CHD Expert identifies a Chain as a brand with 10 or more units in operation. For comparison, in the USA approximately 90% of FSR are Independent, and 41% of LSR are Independent.

Considering the hospitality data, of the 16,000 hotels within Mexico, 94% are Independent units and only 6% are considered Chain. Furthermore, 14,000 of these Independent hotels offer guests the opportunity to dine at in-house restaurants.

Further breaking down the restaurant industry in Mexico, the top ten most prevalent menu types across the nation suggests a growing desire for foreign cuisine. Below are the top ten Menu Types in terms of unit volume.

Menu Type
1. Varied
2. Mexican
3. Pizzeria
4. Seafood & Fish
5. Coffee/ Tea
6. Fusion
7. Hamburgers
8. Italian - Pizza & Pasta
9. Family Style Steakhouse /Chop House
10. Japanese

Considering the data by region, Centro – Sur has the most restaurants throughout the country, with a reported 23,000 units, 14,000 of which are in Districto Federal (Mexico City). For a complete regional breakdown, please see Figure 2.

Obtaining insight to better analyze the market will allow for easier acquisition of new territory and the increased ability to capitalize on Mexico’s broadening market. Such detailed data is not readily available in developing markets like Mexico, and CHD Expert is proud to be leading the way with such robust information on the region.

“Mexico has so much to offer in terms of growth and expansion,” explains Guilherme ‘Gui’ Nunes, Business Development Manager for CHD Expert LATAM region.

“The data and information in FIND is not like anything that has ever been available to industry suppliers who sell products to restaurants and hospitality establishments in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Suppliers are now able to use operator intelligence to help guide their strategies from sales and marketing to logistics, and can truly work smarter not harder. I look forward to meeting with many industry experts at ABASTUR and discussing how data and insight can help them achieve growth across this rapidly developing region.”