Fast Food and Quick Service Restaurant Market Report 2026

The fast food and quick service restaurant market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $323.46 billion in 2025 to $347.07 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to urbanization trends, busy consumer lifestyles, growth of franchise models, affordability of fast food, expansion of food chains.

The fast food and quick service restaurant market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $451.24 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growth in food delivery platforms, digital payment adoption, expansion in emerging markets, demand for quick meals, automation in kitchens. Major trends in the forecast period include growth of online and mobile ordering, expansion of delivery and drive through services, standardization of menu and operations, rising demand for affordable convenience food, focus on speed and operational efficiency.

The rising demand for travel and tourism is expected to drive the growth of the fast-food and quick-service restaurant market in the coming years. Travel and tourism reflect the expansion of the tourism industry and the increasing number of people traveling for leisure, business, and other purposes. For example, in May 2023, according to a report published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, a Spain-based specialized agency, international tourist arrivals rebounded strongly in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 80% of pre-pandemic levels with approximately 235 million travelers, representing more than a twofold increase compared with the same period in 2022. The tourism sector demonstrated strong resilience, as revised data for 2022 showed that more than 960 million international tourists traveled abroad, achieving a recovery of around two-thirds (66%) of pre-pandemic levels. Therefore, the increasing demand for travel and tourism is fueling the growth of the fast-food and quick-service restaurant market.

Major companies operating in the fast-food and quick-service restaurant market are concentrating on the development of innovative solutions, such as integrated restaurant management platforms, to address growing needs for operational efficiency, improved customer experience, and faster order processing. Integrated restaurant management platforms are digital systems that centralize essential restaurant functions, including point-of-sale operations, inventory control, kitchen workflows, and customer analytics, within a single interface, delivering real-time visibility and enhanced efficiency compared with traditional standalone systems. For instance, in June 2025, PAR Technology, a US-based restaurant technology company, launched an integrated restaurant platform designed to modernize quick-service restaurant operations in the post-2022 environment. The cloud-based platform supports multi-location management, customizable dashboards for monitoring sales and inventory, automated workflows to minimize manual errors, and analytics-driven insights to optimize staffing and menu performance. By unifying front-of-house and back-of-house operations, the platform enables faster service, improved order accuracy, and higher customer satisfaction, while also supporting mobile and online ordering for seamless omnichannel engagement across dine-in and delivery services.

In May 2024, Restaurant Brands International Inc., a Canada-based fast-food company, acquired Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. in a $1 billion transaction. Through this acquisition, Restaurant Brands International integrated the largest Burger King franchisee in the United States into its portfolio, supporting the company’s Reclaim the Flame initiative. The company also announced plans to invest an additional $500 million to accelerate the rebranding of more than 600 Carrols restaurants, with the goal of refranchising most of the acquired locations to new or existing smaller franchise operators over the next seven years. Carrols Restaurant Group is a US-based fast-food and quick-service restaurant operator.

Major companies operating in the fast food and quick service restaurant market are McDonalds Corporation, Burger King Corporation, Carrols Restaurant Group Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Del Taco Restaurants Inc., Jack In The Box Inc., Kotipizza Oyj, Restaurant Brands International Inc., Subway IP LLC, The Wendys Company, Yum Brands Inc., Starbucks Corporation, Dominos Pizza Inc., Coffee Day Global Limited, Dunkin Brands Group Inc., Hunt Brothers Pizza, Jollibee Foods Corporation, Little Caesar Enterprises Inc., Papa Johns International Inc., Arbys Restaurant Group Inc., Bojangles OpCo LLC, Boston Market Corporation, Cafe De Coral Holdings Limited, Captain Ds LLC, CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc., Checkers Drive In Restaurants Inc., Churchs Texas Chicken, Culver Franchising System LLC, International Dairy Queen Inc., El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc., Five Guys Enterprises LLC, Greggs plc, Hardees Food Systems Inc., Jersey Mikes Franchise Systems Inc.

North America was the largest region in the fast food and quick service restaurant market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the fast food and quick service restaurant market report during the forecast period. The regions covered in the fast food and quick service restaurant market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the fast food and quick service restaurant market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The fast food and quick service restaurant market include revenues earned by providing services related to sit-down restaurants, buffet-style eateries, takeaways, and fast-food dining. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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