Market Trends of Belgium HRI Industry
Institutional (Catering) is Projected to Record a Significant Growth due to increasing per capita income.
Belgium, being a well-developed country, comprises high-income groups together with consumers raising the demand for natural, fresh, balanced, and innovative food daily delivered to their workplace. The institutional catering segment of the country is experiencing an upward thrust in the revenue graph and the number of service providers, aided by service providers collaborating with diverse institutional kitchens, including company canteens, restaurants of public institutions, hospitals, educational institutions, etc. The institutional catering segment is projected to grow during the forecast period.
Catering businesses have shifted their emphasis to providing healthier meals made with fresh ingredients in-house and reducing their reliance on frozen prepared foods. The industry is expanding as a result of the increased focus on implementing technology to enhance the customer experience and minimize the amount of time spent waiting for food. The need for specialized catering services has increased as a result of the rapid expansion of multinational corporations in the region. As a result, suppliers are enhancing their ability to offer both products and services while implementing performance-based criteria for performance evaluation and monitoring. All these factors act as major market drivers for the Belgium HRI Market.
Increasing Number Of Establishments in the Belgian Market
According to Brussels Horeca Federation, nearly a thousand catering outlets were launched in the Brussels region over the last 10 years, an insufficient quantity to fulfill the consumer demand. Besides, the decline in alcohol consumption together with the rise of the stay-at-home culture has affected the volume of sales of alcohol and the number of bars. Consequently, the utmost growth opportunities for the pub, club, and bar channel may be focused on tourism hot spots. However, the overall establishments in the HRI industry have witnessed extensive growth driven by consumer demand and purchasing power. According to Michelin, in Belgium as of September 2021, 23 restaurants had two Michelin stars, while there were 102 restaurants with one star. Moreover, food service establishments are developing a customer-centric approach or strategies, to increase the repetitive orders from them. Personalization, indulgence toward healthy eating habits, and reduction of food wastage have become some of the major concentration points for restaurants and other food service organizations in the market. Nonetheless, takeaway restaurants are gaining popularity among service providers for being able to cut numerous costs, from labor to space rent, while earning significant revenue in exchange. Considering all these factors, the market is projected to grow during the forecast period.
