Why Is chicken outperforming the UK fast-food market?

Chicken grew 7.3% in Q1 and has now accelerated to 10.5% in the second quarter.

Chicken restaurant traffic rose 10.5% year on year in Q2 2026, whilst burger visits fell 4.0%, with the14.5 percentage-point gap showing how differently consumers are behaving across the UK fast-food market, Meaningful Vision said.

Overall fast-food traffic was still down 0.9% in Q2, but that average masks significant differences between segments. Ethnic quick-service restaurants grew by 4.9%, whilst bakery and sandwich traffic was close to flat at -0.4%. Coffee visits fell by 2.3%.

Chicken was already growing strongly in Q1, when visits increased by 7.3% year on year. Growth accelerated to 10.5% in Q2. 

Burger traffic moved in the opposite direction. Visits fell by 2.6% in Q1, before the decline deepened to 4.0% in Q2.

Ethnic quick-service concepts also strengthened, with traffic growth rising from 3.4% in Q1 to 4.9% in Q2. Bakery and sandwiches remained broadly stable, improving from -0.6% to -0.4%, while coffee slipped from -2.1% to -2.3%.

Outlet data points in a similar direction. Chicken store numbers increased by 6.3% year on year in H1 2026, well above overall fast-food outlet growth of 1.0%. That combination of rising customer demand and store expansion points to a category with strong momentum. 

Ethnic concepts also expanded rapidly, with outlet numbers up 5.4%.

Burger and coffee operators added stores too, but the increase in locations was not matched by growth in customer visits. Burger outlet numbers rose by 2.1%, whilst traffic fell by 4.0% in Q2. Coffee-shop numbers increased by 0.8%, while visits declined by 2.3%.

“The fast-food market is becoming increasingly divided. Chicken and ethnic concepts are attracting more visits even as overall fast-food traffic remains slightly negative, while burgers and coffee continue to lose customers," Maria Vanifatova, CEO of Meaningful Vision, said.

She pointed out that there is a strong correlation between store expansion and traffic performance. More openings do not automatically mean stronger underlying demand. New stores can support total traffic growth, while also increasing competition within individual locations. 

"As networks expand, traffic per store becomes an important measure of whether growth is being driven by genuine consumer demand or simply by having more outlets," Vanifatova said.

Meaningful Vision’s foodservice market intelligence tracks traffic alongside outlet expansion, allowing operators to compare changes in consumer preferences with changes in the competitive environment in each location.

In H2 2026, the test will be whether chicken can sustain double-digit traffic growth, and whether burger and coffee operators can reverse the decline in visits.