CHICAGO -- There are more than 49,000 hamburger restaurants in the United States. The hamburger restaurant landscape continues to grow, with approximately 1.6 hamburger restaurants for every 10,000 Americans, according to the foodservice data and analytics firm CHD Expert.
In 2014, independent burger restaurants grew 6.7% in units, whereas chain burger restaurants showed limited overall growth. The fast-casual segment, however, is still on the rise, with four of the top-10 fast-casual growth chains being classified in the burger segment.
Independent burger restaurants make up 14% of the entire burger market.
Almost 50% of the 92 hamburger chains are considered fast casual, offering a trendier atmosphere and fresh ingredients, while charging a higher price. The top-five quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains in terms of number of units nationwide include McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Sonic Drive-In and Jack In the Box.
Some nationally recognized chains such as In-N-Out Burger and White Castle enjoy cult-like followings that elevate their burgers above consideration as just a simple quick meal.
In-N-Out devotees are willing to cross state lines just to order the Double Double, an Animal Style burger or any other of items on the chain’s not-so-secret “secret menu.” In-N-Out expanded beyond its California roots with locations in Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Texas. The chain plans to open a location in Oregon later this year.
Nearly 100 years ago, White Castle standardized the hamburger and pioneered the fast-food model in America, becoming the first widely recognized chain burger restaurant.
Other regional chains have a huge footprint in the areas they serve. For example, with more than 700 locations, southern burger chain Whataburger has penetration into 10 states, with more than 80% of their units located in their home state of Texas.
Considering the entire U.S. limited-service restaurants (LSR), the hamburger menu type makes up more than 14% of the LSR landscape, second only to the pizza menu type. The trend of creating the “better burger” in the industry seems to be an ongoing competition in this category. Any foodservice provider that sells a service or product that could assist restaurants in the creation of the better burger should not ignore the burger cuisine.
With more than 7,000 independent hamburger restaurants nationwide, there is a lot of opportunity to sell unique products into this market that has created a trend that Americans seem to love.
“The burger market in the United States is a multi-billion-dollar business,” said Brad Bloom, vice president of sales and marketing at Chicago-based CHD Expert for the Americas. “Americans visit hamburger restaurants en masse and have turned many of the top burger restaurants into household names. As this landscape continues to expand, new opportunities for generating profitability begin to present themselves to manufacturers and suppliers. Each new trend represents a new opportunity for growth, be it with a new startup concept restaurant or an established chain.”
Click here to access the 2015 Burger Trends Report.
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