Europe’s foodservice market has climbed to €361.2bn in annual spend, but stable headline figures are concealing a fundamental change in who is driving that growth and what they expect from it, according to new research from Circana.

Speaking at the European Foodservice Summit in Madrid, Edurne Uranga, VP Foodservice Europe at Circana, set out findings that challenge long-held assumptions about how different generations behave across Europe’s bars, restaurants and fast food outlets.

Across the five largest European foodservice markets — Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Italy — spend rose by 1.4% in the year to June 2026, even as visits fell by 0.7%. The average eater check climbed 2.1%, pushing total spend to €361.2bn.

“At first sight, European foodservice looks remarkably steady,” Uranga said. “Spend continues to grow, visits have moved marginally and consumers are still eating out. However, that apparent stability is deceptive as behaviours across generations evolve.”

“Age is no longer a straightforward guide to behaviour,” she continued. “Our data shows a much more complex picture, with technology, health, economic pressures, changing lifestyles and life stage all reshaping consumer choices. It’s evident that the future foodservice consumer will not simply behave like a younger version of today’s older consumer.”

Population share is a poor predictor

Circana’s analysis found that generational weight in foodservice traffic does not mirror population share. Gen Z accounts for 16% of the population across the five largest markets but makes 39% more foodservice visits than its population share would predict. Millennials and Gen X also over-perform relative to their size. Baby Boomers, despite representing 29% of the population, record an index of just 60.

Generation Alpha, the youngest cohort, already acts as a gateway into the category — though its spend skews toward retail-based immediate consumption channels rather than traditional foodservice.

The gap is most pronounced in branded restaurants. Branded concepts account for 29% of commercial restaurant spend overall, rising to 40% among Generation Alpha, 35% among Gen Z and 35% among Millennials, against 24% for Gen X and just 16% for Baby Boomers. Circana links this to younger, digital-native consumers placing greater emphasis on immediacy and personalisation — expectations that recognisable branded concepts are well placed to meet through digital and delivery channels.

Gen Z’s deliberate health choices

Conscious health is one of the clearest markers of generational change. Circana found that 12% of Gen Z practise intermittent fasting, against 7% of the overall population, while 24% focus on high-protein consumption and 20% favour organic or natural products. A further 13% report avoiding coffee altogether.

For operators, Circana argues this points beyond adding individual better-for-you menu items toward rethinking how the wider offer reflects changing routines and priorities. Digital convenience is also set to deepen further with Generation Alpha, whose delivery share already runs at 1.3 times the population average — and seven times that of Baby Boomers.

Millennials are dining alone, and spending more

Occasion structure is shifting too: almost 60% of foodservice occasions today involve just one or two people, and solo dining alone accounts for a third of all main-meal visits. Contrary to the assumption that solo dining skews older and more isolated, Circana’s data shows it is Millennials driving the trend — spending around 70% more per solo visit than the same consumers spend when dining in a group.

The opportunity isn’t fully realised yet, however: solo diners are markedly less likely to order dishes such as fish, seafood, pasta or noodles than the same consumers ordering in a group, suggesting menu formats and portion sizes haven’t caught up with the occasion.

Gen X wants product, not just price

The research also complicates assumptions about Gen X and value. While 69% cite cost-of-living pressures as a concern, price is not their top consideration when choosing a restaurant. Product offer ranks first at 35%, followed by convenience at 33% and price at 27%.

“Gen X is highly conscious of cost-of-living pressures, yet product and convenience still have greater influence on restaurant choice than price,” Uranga said. “Consumers can be financially cautious while continuing to prioritise experiences that they feel are worth paying for because they make their lives easier.”

The untapped baby boomer opportunity

Baby Boomers remain the clearest example of an underserved generation — and the data suggests the issue is timing rather than appetite. Evening occasions are notably under-indexed among this group, as tiredness drives a preference for heading home earlier. Yet where Baby Boomers do eat out, they linger: they disproportionately favour lunches stretching beyond two hours, running against the broader market trend toward shorter occasions.

Branded restaurants have particular headroom here: branded concepts capture just 16.1% of Baby Boomer spend, against 29% across the market overall — a sizeable, currently untapped opportunity for operators willing to design for a slower, more sociable occasion.

Recognising the shifts

Circana’s framing is that the market’s headline stability is obscuring the scale of change underneath it. “A €361 billion market may appear stable, but the deceptive calm masks a consumer base that is changing,” Uranga concluded. “Operators that recognise these shifts early will be best placed to stay relevant and unlock future growth.”

The clearest strategic signal for brands is that today’s generational differences won’t stay confined to the generations exhibiting them. Circana expects digitalisation, wellbeing and personalisation to become more widespread across the population over time, meaning operators optimising purely for current older or price-sensitive consumers risk building for a market that is already receding.

The dual challenge Circana identifies — meeting the immediacy and personalisation demands of younger, digitally native diners while designing genuinely differentiated propositions for an underserved Baby Boomer population — suggests there is no single template for growth. Instead, the operators that gain ground are likely to be those treating life stage and lifestyle, not age alone, as the starting point for menu design, format and occasion strategy.