Restaurant Consulting and Market Research Industries

[Alex Rosenfeld]

Hi, folks. Hope you're having a good weekend. I'm trying to get a better understanding of the restaurant consulting and market research industries. Given that this is the "Restaurant Life" forum, I figured some people here might have some exposure to this space, and thus some guidance and insights to offer. Here are some of the questions I'm trying to answer...

1) What is the overall size of these industries (e.g. annual revenues)?

2) How are these industries structured? Are there are a concentrated number of major/national players? If so, who are they? If not, is the industry fragmented regionally or by specialization?

3) What categories of restaurant establishments are most likely to avail themselves of these services?

4) What services (including publications and databases) are provided by these firms? What is the typical pricing for these services?

5) How much does the average restaurant spend annually on these services, either in absolute dollars or as a percentage of restaurant revenue or expenses?

6) One area I'm particularly interested in is menu development/engineering. What kind of consulting and/or market research services, if any, do restaurant utilize in this area (e.g. dish selection, pricing, etc.)? Are these services generally used on a one-off basis (e.g. before the restaurant's opening) or on an ongoing basis? Does there exist any publications or databases that cover menu and pricing trends on a national and/or market level? What is the typical pricing for these services?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I've been digging around for industry overviews covering this space but have come up empty so far.

Best regards,

Alex