Market Assessment of a Casual Dining concept entry into the UAE market

• Overall F&B market in UAE has grew at a health rate in the past, and is recovering at a higher pace from the pandemic led disruptions. The casual dining and social drinking concept are mainly popular among western immigrants living in the Emirate
• Post pandemic, demand for healthy food and vegan food have accelerates, which can be leveraged to bring in a USP for the store, vegan burger, or healthy food in the menu can help market the outlet. Consumers spend about 14% in food and drinks in UAE and the spending is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% (for alcoholic drinks) and 3.1% for food and non-alcoholic beverages
• Casual dining market in UAE is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% during 2022-2026, and will reach total trade value of US$1,265 million. The sector will take another 4 years to offset the impact of pandemic related disruption, as the emirate is expected to surpass pre-pandemic sales only by 2026.
• Shift towards food delivery has created a cascade of trends to improve customer experience and increasing traffic. To improve the customer experience in their restaurant, and a necessity to ensure hygiene, food outlets are investing in technology. Over 60% of the restaurants mentioned their willingness to invest up to 20% of their revenue in technology

Table of Content:

Market Analysis

• UAE Casual Dining market overview
• Casual dining future trends
• Trends on dining out
• Trends on delivery
• Structure of the market for casual dining
• Fast changing buying/ consumer habits
• Disposable income / location / buying habits / preferences / characteristics and traits going forward
• Risk analysis

Competitor Assessment (Supply side analysis)

• F&B demand and trends
• Average sales/ ticket size, peak busy periods, fast moving items, etc.
• Potential for dine in, delivery and external catering to parties and events
• Pricing, positioning and product features
• Traffic times – peak times
• Location of stores, central kitchen, other logistic needs
• Employee strength, nationality overall service standards, etc.

Demand Side Considerations

• Average spends
• Price considerations
• Delivery vs walk-in
• Lunch time vs dinner time preference
• Extent of the menu
• Need gaps, particularly for superior products

Product and marketing activities (Extension of Competitor Assessment)

• Menu analysis – what items in the menu will likely work in this market
• Target market definition – what segment of the market should the restaurant target
• Pricing – perspective on pricing, with recommendations for specific menu items, based on competitor pricing or differently
• Need or otherwise for flexibility in pricing
• Service standards and ‘Diner Experience’
• Other elements in the marketing mix that could facilitate market penetration, and establish the brand
• Supply Chain, Production and Tech related analysis

Location and Rental Analysis

• Recommended potential store location types across UAE
• Retail F&B rentals across location types in UAE

Opportunity Assessment

• Critique existing concept proposal for the Project
• Suggest unique selling points and key attractions for the Project
• Propose concepts for the different units of the Project based on the demand analysis findings
• Assess the key success and risk factors