Restaurants are leaning into diversified growth.

New revenue streams are officially in. Restaurant owners are seeking out new ways to increase sales and connect with customers, and they’re creating additional offerings to do so. The vast majority of restaurateurs we surveyed (90%) are planning to expand, and nearly half (43%) are planning to do so in a big way, versus only 34% in 2022.

Curious what other restaurants are doing? Here’s what the data shows:

43% of restaurants plan to expand substantially.
46% of restaurants plan to expand somewhat.
7% of restaurants plan to remain the same.
3% of restaurants plan to pare back somewhat.
0% of restaurants plan to pare back substantially.

For restaurants that are plotting to expand, there is a clear pattern: they’re embracing new ways to sell items that customers love the most. When asked what ways restaurateurs were planning to expand over the next 12 months, here’s how the responses stacked up:

36% plan to add meal kits or subscriptions.
35% plan to add events like cooking classes, trivia night, or karaoke.
34% plan to sell merchandise or other non-food products.
34% plan to add new options for catering.

"The Fricken Sauce and Satay Sauce are our top sellers, outselling our nearest two commercial items by over 400%. By offering these items as retail products, our customers can enjoy [them] at home, thus strengthening our brand presence."

– Mo Saad, co-owner of Fricken, Canberra, Australia

New revenue streams are also helping restaurants stay competitive. When asked what they needed to improve upon in order to better compete in today’s restaurant industry, over one third of restaurateurs (36%) identified the need to improve their hosting of events to encourage more in-person connections.

New revenue streams are providing tangible value for restaurants. For 48% of restaurateurs, 11-20% of their business’s revenue comes from outside of their core restaurant service as well as through retail items, classes, events, and more. Analyze your competitors and gather feedback from your customers to decide which opportunity will work best for your business. Utilizing tools like Square Feedback can give you helpful insight into what your customers crave.