More than 13.3 thousand new food service businesses have opened in Ukraine this year, according to the Unified State Register. At the same time, more than 10.6 thousand food outlets have ceased operations. This year, the growth of new cafes and restaurants has more than halved. Half of the cafes and restaurants that closed this year had been in operation for less than a year and a half.
13,373 new food service outlets were opened in Ukraine this year. This is 5% less than in the same period last year. September was the most active month, with 1,699 new establishments opening.
At the same time, 10,645 cafes and restaurants ceased operations over the same period. Overall, this year’s growth of new entrepreneurs amounted to +2,728 establishments. For comparison, last year’s increase amounted to 6,004 new businesses.
The largest number of new HoReCa fops were opened this year in Kyiv (1,693), Dnipropetrovs’k (1,323), Lviv (1,136), Odesa (1,113), and Kyiv (1,054).
The restaurant business in Ukraine is currently predominantly a women’s business: 66% of new business owners are women. In some regions, this figure exceeds 70% – in particular, in Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Zakarpattia, Cherkasy, and Rivne. In no region do men prevail in terms of the number of new openings.
A quarter of the fops closed this year had been in operation for less than six months. In general, the median life of small and medium-sized businesses in HoReCa is 17 months. The oldest restaurant fop that closed this year had been operating since 1992.
Despite the decline in the number of new establishments, according to the Ukrainian service Poster, the revenue of public catering establishments increased by 6%, but this cannot be called a significant success. Attendance decreased by 9%, so the growth is due to higher prices rather than an increase in customers. The average check in restaurants has grown by 11% since the beginning of the year.
“Revenue growth of 6% is not real earnings, but catching up with inflation. The average check grew due to higher food prices and operating expenses for rent and payroll. The industry’s problems are exacerbated by the outflow of employees after legislative changes to the age of 18-22 and a decrease in the purchasing power of the population.
Despite the challenges, we do not currently see a massive outflow of customers at Poster – the number of existing establishments and those preparing to open remains within the average. The winter months are always a stressful test for the industry – not everyone passes it successfully, but in the spring new establishments open and the market is renewed,” comments Rodion Yeroshek, CEO and co-founder of the Ukrainian restaurant automation company Poster.
According to Poster, attendance has dropped across Ukraine this year. Looking at the top 5 big cities, it looks like this:
Lviv – -8%.
Odesa – -6%.
Kyiv – -13%.
Dnipro – -11%.
Kharkiv – -7%.
