The growth of premium QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) presents a new area for rights holders to target about sponsorship

Quick Service Restaurants – such as McDonald’s, Subway and Domino’s – are known for providing fast, convenient, and affordable, basic-to-medium food quality options. However, driven by a shift in consumer preferences towards healthier and more environmentally friendly lifestyles, a new wave of chains is showing that fast food can also be high-quality.

They do this by using higher-quality premium ingredients and a more ‘elevated’ dining experience. It’s where speed meets sophistication.

This so-called “premiumisation of QSR” (sometimes referred to as “Quality Service Restaurants”)  is happening around the world, with affluent and younger demographics in particular, showing they are willing to pay more for convenience combined with premium ingredients:

• In Europe, ‘sustainability, provenance and food quality’ are cited as emerging qualities that will help the overall QSR market grow by a projected 40% between now and 2033.
• In the US, the growing popularity of health-conscious fast-food options and plant-based foods, particularly in the ‘fast casual dining’ market (as it is known there), is driving overall sector growth.
• Further points available in full Insights article.

Premium QSR and sponsorship

The rise of premium QSR is a particularly viable opportunity for rights holders because the wider QSR sector is a traditionally strong user of sponsorship. Premium QSRs combine the scale of QSR chains and the values of lifestyle brands but avoid some of the negative associations around fast food. This makes them more attractive partners for rights holders. A number of recent deals have centred around the following angles:

• Youth engagement: Gen Z and Millennials are hard-to-reach key target markets for up-and-coming QSR brands, which rights holders can offer direct access to:
  • Chipotle x Evolution Championship Series: Chipotle continued its Esports strategy to connect with key consumers who are active gamers, to build brand relevance within this culture.
  • Further points available in full Insights article.

• Lifestyle branding: Points available in full Insights article

• Global expansion: Points available in full Insights article 

Who you can target next

caytoo has identified several premium QSR brands showing strong growth signals, making them timely prospects for contacting about sponsorship:

• Blank Street Coffee: New York-based luxury coffeehouse growing aggressively in the US with increasing presence in the UK.
• Messina Gelato: Australian gelato brand known for inventive, high-quality flavours, scaling internationally with a first outlet in Singapore.
• Further brands available in full Insights article.