Spaniards spend less on fast food than most EU countries

According to a new study, Spaniards are only beaten by Italy in buying the least fast food in Europe.

The study was run by the EAE Business School to analyze consumption habits during 2014 and the results are now out. Reportedly each person in Spain spends on average only €42.60 a year on fast food, with only Italians spending spending less.

According to Marta Riera, author of the report, explained there are two reasons for this.

“The fast food market is smaller in Spain than in the rest of Europe, and we are also more aware of the importance of consuming healthy products; we have the Mediterranean diet, and we make less use of these kinds of places.” 

While Spaniards spend less than most Europeans, they do, apparently spend more at each individual fast food restaurant visit with the average amount being €4.26, which is almost double that spent in the UK and Germany and triple that spent in the United States.

Among the various Spanish regions, three stand out for buying the most fast food - the Balearic and Canary Islands and Madrid - spending on average €98, €61 and €50 per inhabitant per year, respectively. The study attributes the higher figures to the amount of tourism in these areas. The regions that spend the least include Extremadura, La Rioja, Valencia and Aragon at between €20 and €30 a year.

During the period between 2008 and 2014, fast food spending did increase by a modest 5.73 percent, but the study sees the figure shooting up by around 50 percent in the next five years, what with economic recovery and the new and healthier fast food lines being introduced by major suppliers. Home delivery services being set up in various regions and an increase in the number of fast food establishments were also taken into account.

As to the fast food preferred by Spaniards, hamburger, pizza and sandwich joints are the most popular with McDonald's taking the lead with a 40 percent market share and around 500 restaurants all over Spain. Next in line is Burger King, the Pans & Co. sandwich chain, Rodilla and KFC. These companies rack up 74 percent of the Spanish food market.

On a more global scale, the Japanese reportedly spend the most on fast food at an average €231.35 per year per inhabitant, closely followed by Americans and Australians. Indians reportedly spend the least at an average of €9.30 per year.

Source: El Pais
Photo via Flickr by Ricardo Ricote Rodríguez/CC BY 2.0