CHICAGO - During a year when restaurants experienced steep declines in traffic, sandwiches and burgers saw growth at QSRs and full-service restaurants last year, the NPD Group reports.
"Sandwiches, burgers and wraps were the most resilient food category in this economic downturn," said Bonnie Riggs, NPD€™s restaurant industry analyst. "The reason is it€™s one of the few categories that has mass appeal. Sandwiches, burgers and wraps are accessible, customizable, affordable, portable, and can be dressed up, gourmet-style, or dressed down."
NPD€™s CREST service noted that total servings of deli/other, chicken, and wraps servings totaled 12 billion in 2009, a 1 billion servings increase since 2005. Total burgers served in 2009 were 9.3 billion, up 800,000 servings since 2005.
Lunch contributed 48% of the 2009 growth in the category, with six out of ten sandwiches and burgers coming from QSRs.
"Moving forward we€™re likely to see more operators and chains jump on the sandwich, burger and wraps band wagon, capitalizing on the growth of this category," Riggs said. "Considering how well-established the category is, it€™s amazing to me to see that there still is room for more growth."