CCCMK Research Institute releases May 2021 "Industry Trends Report" and "Industry Weather Forecast"

2021.07.07 Press Releases
CCC Marketing Co., Ltd.

-Toward a counterattack, eating out is crossing the border into eating at home-

CCC Marketing Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "CCCMK Research Institute"), a research institute at CCC Marketing Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazuhiko Kitamura), which disseminates the thoughts of 70 million people, has published the May 2021 "Industry Trend Report" and "Industry Weather Forecast" ( https://www.cccmk.co.jp/thinktanks/industry-04 ) will be announced.

Eating out is shifting to eating at home in an effort to turn the tables

The situation for restaurants continues to be tough. Due to repeated declarations of emergency, measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and the ban on serving alcohol, izakayas and pubs in particular have been hit hard. It is said that the success of a restaurant depends on its ability to control costs and labor expenses, but due to the prolonged closure of business, many restaurant chains are finding it difficult to employ part-time and casual staff, and even after reopening, it will likely be difficult to set up a perfect sales system due to the operational burden.

Large stores in city centers have high rent burdens, and the number of restaurant chains, especially izakaya chains, that have already decided to withdraw is on the rise. On the other hand, convenience stores, cafes, and other street-front stores in city centers have been closing one after another due to the state of emergency declared last year, and city center stores are being relocated to a variety of different business types.

While many restaurant companies are accelerating the trend of reducing the number of stores, companies are continuing to take steps to improve their performance, such as strengthening their takeout options and expanding and deepening their business areas by utilizing delivery services, and the moves of companies to launch a counterattack by significantly reducing their management staff and reducing cost rates are gradually becoming more concrete.

In the fried chicken specialty store format, which is expected to meet demand for ready-made meals and which companies are accelerating the opening of new stores, the number of store styles that offer both eat-in and take-out options is increasing, and there is also a movement to differentiate by combining with other business formats. Although there is a certain demand for udon restaurants, they have lagged behind other types of restaurants in their takeout initiatives, and most chains have seen a significant decline in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this situation, some companies have emerged that have succeeded in increasing demand for takeout by combining fried chicken, which is expected to be in demand as a convenience meal. Other dining-out menu items that are strong in the demand for ready-to-eat meals include pork cutlets, pizza, and yakitori, and by combining these ready-to-eat menu items with existing business formats, the trend of strengthening takeout services, which have been weak, is expected to accelerate even further in the future.

There has also been a movement to use the company's own products and ingredients to focus on home-cooked meals rather than ready-made meals. Repeated business closures have made it difficult for many companies to procure goods steadily, leading to rising costs. In order to overcome this difficult situation, the company aims to improve business efficiency by selling its own products directly to households through stores and home delivery, taking an approach that differs from offering existing menu items as takeout. This move, which could be described as a new business model that combines food sales with eat-in options like supermarkets and convenience stores, is attracting much attention as to whether it can offer new possibilities for eating out.

Many restaurants are facing difficult circumstances, with many wondering whether they will be able to stay in business, but efforts to overcome this difficult situation have accelerated. How can we overcome the weaknesses of our existing business model and seize new sales opportunities? Beyond the wisdom to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, we predict the birth of a new growth format.

"Industrial Weather Forecast" for May 2021

Information provided by CCC Marketing Research Institute
・Awareness survey of social transformation and lifestyle changes from the consumer's perspective
・A survey to understand the characteristics of generations and regions based on data from 70 million people
・Disseminating survey results through online seminars
・"Industry Trends Report" and "Industry Weather Forecast" provide monthly reports on consumer trends and outlooks for seven retail industries

Overview of CCC Marketing Research Institute
・Name: CCC Marketing Research Institute (CCCMK Research Institute)
・URL: https://www.cccmk.co.jp/thinktanks
・Established: July 21, 2020
・Director: Minoru Niihashi


He is affiliated with domestic and international consulting companies and think tanks. He provides consulting services in a wide range of fields, from upstream to downstream, including developers, theme parks, luxury brands, department stores, hotels, restaurants, cafes, shopping malls, railways, energy, and food manufacturers.

Materials related to this matter

CCCMK Research Institute releases May 2021 "Industry Trends Report" and "Industry Weather Forecast"

Inquiries regarding this matter
[Inquiries from the press]
CCC Marketing Co., Ltd. Public Relations: Ando
TEL: 03-6800-4464

[Inquiries regarding the survey and CCC Marketing Research Institute]
CCC Marketing Research Institute Person in charge: Sugiura/Saito
cccmk-souken@ccc.co.jp