Food & Beverage Industry 2025: Trends, Challenges, Predictions

Cover Image: Expert Market Food and Beverage Report 2025 - sponsored by Toast

The food and beverage (F&B) sector is juggling even tougher math in 2025. Wage growth and tariff pressures on one side, and the need to provide guest value, speed and consistency on the other.

Expert Market’s Food & Beverage Industry Report 2025, sponsored by Toast, distills the state of the industry from a nationally representative survey of 628 US F&B professionals. This year’s findings cover staffing shortages, the impact of wages and tariffs, where businesses are (and aren’t) adopting automation and AI, and how businesses are diversifying their revenue streams.

The operators winning right now are the ones who can “control the controllables”, such as pricing, product mix and helpful technology, to protect profitability. Staffing continues to be the top pain point this year, with many restaurants raising menu prices to keep up.

Below, we unpack all the data, highlight what’s changed (including why general business confidence is markedly positive this year) and share practical recommendations for 2025.

Key Food and Beverage Industry Trends in 2025

Labor is still the main headache. 38% of US F&B professionals name staffing (recruitment, retention and training) as their most significant challenge. Over 85% say labor issues are affecting operations today.
Wages and tariffs are pushing prices up. 62% have raised menu prices to offset wage increases; 60% report being directly affected by tariffs, with the most common tariff impact being increased menu prices (47%).
Ingredients are the big profitability threat. 76% say rising ingredient costs significantly impact profitability.
Consumer expectations have shifted, and most operators feel it. 80% report being impacted, with affordability/value the single hardest expectation to meet.
Confidence is up. 71% describe their business outlook for the next 12 months as positive.
Tech investment is near-universal, but automation isn’t mainstream yet. 98% invested in software/technology in the past year, yet 38% are not currently adopting automation.
Operators are betting on customer experience over back-office spend. 26% cite customer experience as the most important priority for long-term success; investment cuts hit people/HR hardest (53%).
Diversification is real. New revenue plays include expanded off-premise (33%), retail and consumer packaged goods (27%), and experiential offerings (21%).

All statistics are sourced from Expert Market’s Food & Beverage Industry Report 2025.

General Food and Beverage Statistics

The industry at a glance

Total workforce: Approximately 9.3 million people work in US restaurants and food service.
Full-service restaurants: There are around 250,186 full-service restaurants nationwide.
Quick-service restaurants: There are about 204,893 quick-service restaurants across the US.
Management roles: There are at least 915,000 food service and restaurant managers, with the vast majority employed in restaurants.

Statistics around what kind of businesses and persons make up the Food & Beverage industry in 2025. Source: Expert Market

Business size and count

Very small teams: Around 209,000 establishments employ between one and four people, and about 127,000 employ five to nine people.
Small to mid-size teams: At least 160,000 establishments employ 10 to 19 people, and around 168,000 employ 20 to 49 people.
Larger employers: About 42,000 establishments employ 50 to 99 people, roughly 8,000 employ 100 to 249 people, and 573 employ 250 or more.

Technology footprint

Investment: In the last 12 months, around 98% of professionals report investing in software or technology.
Core adoption: Point-of-sale systems are implemented by about 76% of businesses, and payment terminals by around 56%.
Operational systems: Inventory management software and kitchen display systems show strong recent uptake, with food-cost management software also widely adopted.
Automation status: Around two in five businesses say they are not currently adopting automation (approximately 38%).

New revenue streams

Off-premise growth: Approximately 33% of businesses are expanding off-premise dining.
Retail and packaged goods: Just over one quarter of businesses surveyed are adding retail or packaged products.
Experiential offerings: About 21% are introducing experiences to diversify revenue.

Sentiment snapshot

Business outlook: Approximately 71% report a positive outlook for the next 12 months.
Industry condition: Nearly 70% describe the current state of the industry as favorable.

Chart detailing the overall outlook of industry professionals for the next 12 months, considering the current industry and economic trends. Source: Expert Market

Challenges and Predictions for the Food and Beverage Industry

Labor shortages meet belt-tightening

Staffing is still the industry’s biggest operational headache for F&B businesses in 2025. 38% of professionals cite recruitment, retention, and training as their most significant challenge; meanwhile, more than 85% say labor issues are actively affecting day-to-day operations.

Chart showing the areas of operation that are currently presenting the most significant challenges to industry professionals. Source: Expert Market

At the same time, rising costs have forced widespread cuts that have landed hardest on people and HR.

Overall, 74% of businesses have reduced investment, with the steepest reductions in spending on people and HR (53%). Other areas of reduced spending include overall hiring and staffing levels (38%), team training and development (19%), and employee benefits and welfare (15%).

That combination of persistent labor pressures alongside HR cutbacks risks prolonging hiring gaps and onboarding drag through 2025.

Chart showing the percentage of professionals who have had to reduce investments due to rising costs. Source: Expert Market

Costs, tariffs, and pricing: a “double squeeze” on margins

Operators are managing profitability amid a twin set of pressures: internal wage growth and external tariff effects.

Wages and benefits are the highest profitability pressure for 57% of businesses. In response, 62% say they have raised menu prices specifically to offset wage increases.

Chart showing answer to the question you had to raise menu prices specifically to offset wage increases?

Graphic showing answers to the question: 'Have you had to raise menu prices specifically to offset wage increases?'. Source: Expert Market

On the external side, 60% report being directly affected by tariffs. Like the response to wages, the most common tariff impact is increased menu prices (47%).

These two forces compound broader cost pressure from ingredients, with 76% of businesses saying rising ingredient costs significantly hit profitability.

Based on this, it’s likely that targeted menu pricing moves are to continue into 2026, paired with tighter cost controls and operators positioning their business on value for money.

Consumer expectations tighten the brief

Four in five businesses say shifting consumer expectations have affected operations over the past 12 months.

Affordability and value are the hardest expectations to meet (28%), followed by speed of service (20%) and consistent quality (13%).

Chart showing a year-over-year comparison of the challenges the industry is facing, where the lines represent 2024 and the bars represent 2025. Source: Expert Market

In practice, that means any price adjustments must be matched by visible value, such as faster service, reliable execution, and improved guest experiences. Otherwise, there is a threat to businesses eroding their customer base.

Technology pivots to operations, with automation still early

Investment in software and technology is near-universal, with 98% of professionals investing over the past year (up from 83% in 2024).

Adoption is concentrated in the “core stack” that directly controls costs and throughput: POS systems (76%), payment terminals (56%) and employee scheduling software (56%).

The fastest risers are inventory management and kitchen display systems, which are each up 12 percentage points year-on-year. Food-cost management software (+11% YoY) is also a growing area of investment, signaling a broader move to tools that quantify waste, optimize prep and smooth kitchen flow.

We asked industry professionals to 'Please select which of the following software or technology options are currently implemented at your restaurant or bar'

Chart showing responses to what software or technology options are currently implemented at respondents' restaurants or bars. Source: Expert Market

Even so, a large share of businesses say they are not currently adopting automation, suggesting 2025 is more about bringing selective pilots of fresh technology, rather than wholesale shifts in operations.

Diversification and confidence shape the near-term outlook

To buffer volatility, operators are widening revenue mixes.

Around 33% are expanding off-premise dining, by pushing into the takeaway and delivery market, while approximately 27% are adding retail and packaged goods, including branded items like bottled sauces and meal kits. Elsewhere, roughly 21% are introducing experiential offerings, such as ticketed tasting events, chef-led classes and themed dining nights.

Chart detailing the new strategies or initiatives that our respondents' businesses adopted to generate revenue beyond the primary, day-to-day food and beverage service. Source: Expert Market

That practical focus helps explain why broad sentiment is robust, despite the pressures: nearly 70% describe current industry conditions as favorable and 71% report a positive 12-month outlook (an increase of 19% year-on-year for industry sentiment).

This pragmatism will likely continue, with more diversification where contribution margins support it and continued emphasis on guest experience as the clearest lever to defend price and repeat visits.

Expert Market’s View: Our Recommendations for Food and Beverage Businesses in 2025

The F&B landscape remains demanding in 2025. Labor constraints, rising input costs and shifting guest expectations continue to test margins. Yet the sector is resilient. We’re seeing operators adapt with tighter execution, clearer value propositions for guests, and smarter use of technology to reduce waste and variability without compromising service.

To navigate the year ahead, we recommend focusing on the levers you can control: operational and financial discipline, people strategies that retain and upskill staff, a practical core tech stack, cautious and realistic use of automation, and disciplined diversification into revenue streams that deliver immediate, tangible returns. Below, we set out our recommendations in full.

Lead with customer experience

Our report shows a connection between strong customer focus with a more positive business outlook in 2025. Faced with pressures they can’t fully control, operators are making a deliberate choice to prioritize product and customer experience. These are levers that can drive immediate, tangible revenue and help maintain confidence.

Bringing this focus to life can be through practical strategies highlighted in the study: menu and product innovation, developing or enhancing loyalty programs, expanding online ordering and digital channels, and marketing and brand-building initiatives.

Paired with customer-facing tech (such as feedback tools), these actions strengthen perceived value and make necessary price adjustments easier to explain to guests.

Let core tech carry the load while automation matures

It’s clear that operators are prioritizing practical tools that directly improve output and cost control.

That means building around the essentials: point of sale for clean order flow and payments; inventory and food-cost software to reduce waste; kitchen display systems to coordinate tickets; and employee scheduling to align labor with expected demand. This core stack can help deliver immediate, controllable gains in consistency and efficiency.

By contrast, AI and automation remain early for much of the sector and are framed as supporting staff rather than replacing roles. Treat them as a measured, next-step layer on top of the above core stack, and as things to phase in selectively where the specific tools clearly strengthen service and stability.

Expand beyond the dining room

Then there’s the topic of diversification and practical ways to add revenue outside day-to-day service.

We recommend considering expanded off-premise (takeout and delivery), retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG), and experiential offerings. Some operators are also testing subscription services, strategic partnerships and new brand concepts.

Keep it disciplined, however, by choosing the few that fit your brand best, standardizing how they run, and reviewing their contribution regularly so each addition earns its place, without adding unnecessary complexity.

Stabilize your team to steady your service

Above all, staffing remains the toughest constraint, so you must prioritize keeping the people you have and helping new hires become productive quickly.

For new hires, starting with clear job ads and a consistent interview process should help keep things transparent, as well as following through with structured onboarding that breaks training into short, repeatable modules for each station.

Thereafter, make schedules predictable and fair, publishing them in advance and aligning headcount to expected demand. Giving teams simple tools for shift swaps and time-off requests, and using cross-training to maintain coverage when people are absent, should also contribute to keeping staff happy.

Offering recognition to those performing to a high standard, providing safe, efficient equipment, and setting up straightforward operating practices overall should reduce staff churn too, and help service stay consistent on busy nights.

Make clear choices and stick to them

One final key note to make based on our report is around linking stronger sentiment to decisive, data-backed choices in areas businesses can directly control.

Rather than trying to tackle every issue at once, we therefore suggest focusing effort where it moves the needle fastest. That’s essentially the points above we’ve discussed: the guest experience and product quality, a practical operations tech stack that improves consistency, and revenue streams you can execute reliably.

Use that focus to shape day-to-day decisions. Keep customer-facing value obvious when prices change, prioritize projects that deliver immediate returns, and scale only the diversification plays that fit your kitchen and brand.

The common thread is clarity. When teams know what matters most, and budgets reflect it, confidence follows. That discipline is how operators are creating stability in a demanding year and laying the groundwork for steadier growth ahead.

Methodology

Our methodology was designed to capture the current state of the US food and beverage industry from the perspective of active operators and leaders.

The study focuses on how businesses are balancing persistent pressures, including rising costs, staffing and shifting consumer expectations, against progress made through technology, innovation and operational discipline.

Respondents included bar and restaurant owners, chefs, general managers, and service and operations managers.

Population and sample size

A total of 628 qualified responses were collected via an online survey of professionals actively working in the US food and beverage industry, providing direct insight into those responsible for day-to-day decision-making.

Data collection

The survey was fielded in August 2025 through a third-party research panel provider to ensure a broad, impartial sample across regions. Data cleaning and quality controls were applied to remove incomplete or inconsistent responses and to maintain the validity of the dataset.

Data analysis

We analyzed the 2025 results and, where appropriate, compared them with findings from our previous report to highlight notable changes year over year. This approach allowed us to reveal the relationships between challenges, priorities and confidence reported by industry professionals.

Food and Beverage Industry Trends 2025: Key Challenges and Future Predictions