“We’ve defined casual dining as full table service with a formulaic menu and an associated brand,” explains Breg.
The report is aimed at operators who are already active in the market or considering entering it, as well as firms that supply them with food, equipment and other essentials.
“Data on casual dining brands was collected across the UAE — including locations, brand types, year of entry and estimates on market value,” Breg expands.
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“The report also provides commentary on issues facing casual dining brand operators and future trends.”
The results of this study won’t be officially released until later this year — but Breg reveals a few of the key emerging trends to Caterer: “The rate of growth in brands has been stunning; there are currently over 200 casual dining brands in the UAE. Half of these were launched in the last two years — a striking 95% are less than six years old”.
Reasons for growth
Interestingly, this statistical success story is not as black-and-white as it first appears.
Considering these figures, you could be forgiven for thinking the casual dining sector is recession-proof. But as Breg explains, there are variables to be taken into consideration.
“The number of brand launches over the last two years [has been] driven by the fact that two large malls — Dubai Mall and Mirdif City Centre — were launched with the recession looming; or in fact, in Mirdif’s case, in the midst of the downturn.
“The large number of casual dining brands that entered the market during these openings distorts any analysis of the effect of the downturn,” he admits.
Indeed Mirdif City Centre boasts more than 79 food and beverage outlets. Making up a huge part of the portfolio is the contingent of casual dining options - including Mango Tree Bistro, More Café, Japengo Café, Al Forno and California Pizza Kitchen among others.
According to Mirdif City Centre vice president, Yousif Al Ali, variety is the key.
He believes the increasing number of casual options entering the region is good news for malls — explaining that the right F&B mix is “crucial” to a centre’s success — and he adds that despite the economic downturn, demand is still strong in this particular sector in comparison to many others.
“People tend to spend a lot of time in shopping centres in this region,” he notes.
“We kept that in mind — and there are endless options for customers to stop and refuel, each one unique not only in its offering but also in design and feel.”
But of course, finding the correct casual mix is not just a matter of taking the first names to come along, as Al Ali explains:
“When selecting the range of F&B options for the mall, we wanted to ensure that we gave our customers a real variety of tastes and experiences, so we looked to gather the best from around the globe and bring it all into one place,” he adds.
“The result is a mixture of old favourites, as well as a healthy dose of new dining options. In fact, more than a third of outlets at Mirdif City Centre are new and unique to the area.”
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