How Does the 2024 Datassential 500 Shake Out?
by David Klemt
The annual Datassential 500 ranking is a valuable report that identifies industry leaders, the fastest growers, and segment performance.
Further, this yearly report shows the scale of restaurant business in the US. In a word, it’s gargantuan.
Looking at 2023 data, the top 500 chains in the US operated 238,152 units. And those 238,000-plus restaurants generated $417.13 billion in 2023.
For the former, that’s growth of 2.1 percent in comparison to 2022. And for the latter, the top 500 grew by 7.5 percent compared to last year.
Those numbers are from just 500 chains; the report doesn’t take into account other chains or independent operators. When we add all dining and drinking establishments in the US, the industry generated $1.09 trillion in 2023.
Again, the US restaurant business is a colossus.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, limited-service and quick-service restaurants are the top-performing segments by unit within the Datassential 500. In 2023, the LSR segment consisted of 212,469, and unit growth was up by 2.3 percent. The QSR segment reached 170,241, representing unit growth of 1.9 percent.
In fact, every segment but one saw unit growth in 2023. One may assume the segment that slipped was fine dining. That’s usually a safe bet, but the segment actually saw the most growth. It was midscale restaurants that suffered a bit of a blow, shrinking by 0.1 percent.
That means that LSRs, QSRs, full-service restaurants (FSRs), fast casual, casual dining, and fine dining all grew. Further, that growth ranged from 0.3 percent (FSR) to 4.6 percent (fine dining).
There are many more insights, so I encourage anyone interested to download the report for themselves.
Segment Shakedown
Before we jump into the top US chains, let’s take a look at how the categories break down.
Type of Cuisine
- American: 88
- Pizza: 70
- Desserts & Snacks: 69
- Sandwich: 47
- Coffee: 47
- Burger: 37
- Mexican: 36
- Salad & Healthy: 31
- Southern: 24
- Asian: 22
- BBQ: 12
- Steakhouse: 11
- Italian: 9
- Seafood: 9
- Greek & Mediterranean: 9
Growth by Segment: Unit (LSR)
- Salad/Healthy: +11.2%
- Coffee: +5.9%
- Other: +4.6%
- Dessert/Snack: +4.3%
- Mexican: +3.0%
- Chicken: +2.9%
- Pizza: +1.6%
- Bakery-Cafe: +0.8%
- Sandwich: -0.4%
- Burger: -0.4%
As we can see, Salad/Healthy LSRs saw almost double the growth by unit than the next-largest segment, Coffee.
Further, Sandwich and Burger shrunk slightly.
Growth by Segment: Unit (FSR)
- Regional/Ethnic: +7.6%
- Sports Bar: +3.8%
- Midscale: +0.3%
- Seafood/Steak: +0.1%
- Italian/Pizza: -0.9%
- American: -2.0%
Regional and ethnic full-size restaurants saw the most growth. In fact, they grew by twice the amount of sports bars, and several times more than midscale FSRs.
Growth by Segment: Sales
- Limited-Service Restaurant: $338.18 billion (+8.1%)
- Quick-Service Restaurant: $263.48 billion (+8.0%)
- Full-Service Restaurant: $78.95 billion (+5.0%)
- Fast-Casual Restaurant: $74.70 billion (+8.6%)
- Casual-Dining Restaurant: $55.57 billion (+4.8%)
- Midscale Restaurant: $20.05 billion (+4.5%)
- Fine-Dining Restaurant: $3.33 billion (+10.7%)
The good news is that every segment saw sales growth in 2022, with Fine Dining and Fast Casual experiencing the biggest increases.
Of course, that’s relative. Fine Dining generated just $3.33 billion in comparison to LSRs, which generated more than $338 billion.
Still, positive growth is always great to see.
Growth by Segment: Sales (LSR)
- Salad/Healthy: +17.0%
- Chicken: +11.9%
- Dessert/Snack: +10.1%
- Coffee: +9.8%
- Other: +9.3%
- Mexican: +9.1%
- Burger: +7.5%
- Sandwich: +7.2%
- Bakery-Cafe: +1.8%
- Pizza: +1.6%
Not only did Salad/Healthy lead the way in LSR unit growth in 2023, it’s the top performer in terms of sales.
Again, the good news is that the Datassential 500 saw LSR sales growth across the board.
Growth by Segment: Sales (FSR)
- Regional/Ethnic: +10.2%
- Seafood/Steak: +6.7%
- Midscale: +5.2%
- Italian/Pizza: +4.2%
- American: +3.8%
- Sports Bar: +3.2%
As far as FSR performance, every segment experienced growth, with Regional/Ethnic leading the charge.
The Top 5(00)
So, which US chains are at the top? Well, an accurate answer depends on segment, number of units, and sales.
Oh, and it also depends on whether we’re talking about which chains Datassential have identified as industry leaders, and which are the fastest growers.
Industry Leaders
According to Datassential, the top five US chains by number of stores are Subway (20,133), Starbucks (16,346), McDonald’s (13,449), Dunkin’ (9,580), and Taco Bell (7,405).
However, that ranking changes a bit when we look at through the lens of sales. In that case, the top five are McDonald’s ($52.91 billion), Starbucks ($29.98 billion), Chick-fil-A ($21.58 billion), Taco Bell ($13.95 billion), and Wendy’s ($12.29 billion).
Those are the industry stalwarts. How do the fastest-growing US chains stack up?
Fastest Growers
Looking at unit growth over the span of one year, the top performers in the US are 7 Brew (+373.7 percent), The Peach Cobbler Factory (+358.3 percent), Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken (+281.8 percent), KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot (+275.0 percent), and Foxtail Coffee Co (+176.2 percent).
Switching gears to sales growth over a single year, Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken led the way, growing by more than 500 percent. Hangry Joe’s is followed by The Peach Cobbler Factory (+332.5% percent), Nick The Greek (+304.7 percent), 7 Brew (+267.3 percent), and Pizza King Inc (+264.7 percent).
However, Datassential gets more granular in their 2024 report, breaking down the top five across multiple segments.
Top Ranked By Unit (Overall)
Top 5: Quick Service
- Subway
- McDonald’s
- Dunkin’
- Taco Bell
- Domino’s Pizza
Top 5: Fast Casual
- Starbucks
- Chipotle
- Panera Bread
- Wingstop
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Top 5: Midscale
- Waffle House
- IHOP
- Denny’s
- Cracker Barrel
- First Watch
Top 5: Casual & Fine Dining
- Applebee’s
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Chili’s
- Olive Garden
- Outback
Top Ranked By Unit (Growth)
Top 5: Quick Service
- 7 Brew
- The Peach Cobbler Factory
- Foxtail Coffee Co
- Cupbop
- Swig
Top 5: Fast Casual
- Hangry Joes Hot Chicken
- Just Love Coffee Cafe
- The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill
- Nautical Bowls
- Ellianos Coffee Co
Top 5: Midscale
- Snooze Restaurant
- Eggs Up Grill
- Kura Sushi Bar
- Another Broken Egg Cafe
- Maple Street Biscuit Co.
Top 5: Casual & Fine Dining
- KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot
- Topgolf
- The Juicy Crab
- Jinya Ramen Bar
- Hopdoddy Burger Bar
There are many more insights to be had, so please consider downloading your own copy of the 2024 Datassential 500 report here.
Image: Thiago Giardini via Pexels
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