Fast food market grows slower in Spain

SPANIARDS and Italians spend less on fast food than those of other European nationalities, a new study by the EAE Business School confirmed. 

The results from study, which analysed consumer habits from 2014, found that the Spanish spend €42.60 per year on junk food, while Italians spend even less. 

The author of the report, Marta Riera, gives two reasons why fast food vendors are less frequented in Spain, with the Mediterranean diet being one of them. 

A greater awareness of dietary health, according to Ms Riera, is present in Spanish culture and combines with the fact that there are fewer fast food outlets in Spain compared to other countries. And even those which do exist, Ms Riera claims, aren’t too popular with Spaniards, who make “less use of these kinds of places.”

Despite their nation’s apparent aversion to unhealthy convenience foods, Spaniards spend more than other Europeans when they make it inside their favourite fast food joint, with their average spend per person amounting to €4.26, almost double that spent by consumers in the UK and Germany. 

Regionally speaking, the report reveals that the biggest spend is in areas with a high amount of tourism. Topping the list are Balearic Island consumers, who spend €98.00 per year to sate their junk food lust. Those living in the Canary Islands and Madrid follow close behind, with inhabitants spending €61 and €50 per year, respectively.    

The fast food market is still relatively small in Spain but is expected to grow by as much as 50 per cent over the next half decade, claims the report, which goes on to explain that the country’s recovering economy will embrace the new and healthier dishes introduced by fast food vendors as well as the novelty of online ordering with home delivery and more chains popping up among traditional restaurants and tapas bars.

In the current climate, McDonald’s is the market leader with a 40 per cent share.