UK fast food growth fuelled by openings as existing stores lose traffic
Chains increased their footprint by 2.2% in 2025, adding 1,169 outlets.
UK fast food growth is being driven by new store openings rather than stronger customer demand at existing sites, according to Meaningful Vision.
Fast food traffic grew 0.9% in 2025, outperforming restaurants and pubs, which declined by 6.9%.
However, like-for-like fast food traffic fell 1.3%, showing that operators are relying on expansion to deliver growth.
“Most of the growth came from new openings, not from the natural growth of customers per store,” Maria Vanifatova, CEO and founder of Meaningful Vision, said at the QSR Media UK Redcat Conference & Awards 2026 in London, UK
The pressure has continued into 2026, with February recording the weakest traffic performance so far after growth slowed following a stronger April and May last year.
Fast food chains increased their footprint by 2.2% in 2025, adding 1,169 outlets, whilst 70% of chains expanded. Chicken led the growth, with outlet numbers increasing by 6.5%.
Meaningful Vision’s analysis of 130 QSR brands found that 71 brands grew traffic year-on-year, but around 80% of those gains were linked to new store openings rather than stronger performance from existing locations.
Chicken has emerged as the strongest-performing QSR segment, with around 2,100 chain outlets in the UK and 11% of total QSR traffic.
The category grew traffic by 6.2%, with 13 of the 17 largest chicken chains growing in the first quarter of 2026.
Customer visits are also shifting towards the middle of the day, with lunch and afternoon occasions growing whilst breakfast and evening traffic decline.
Meanwhile, menu inflation remains a challenge, with hospitality prices rising by around 8% in early 2026.
Vanifatova said brands are increasingly using location-based pricing strategies, with price differences between stores becoming more common.
“For example, the price difference for a Big Mac between locations can reach 25%,” she said. “Some areas are less price sensitive, so you can raise prices and get more margin, but it requires more data.”
Vanifatova said operators will need to balance value, innovation, and data-led decision making as competition increases.
