5 growth builders and busters for healthcare foodservice

A State of Foodservice study put a spotlight on several of the issues and opportunities that noncommercial operators have in common with restaurants and c-stores. It also spotlighted the areas where they’re different.

Drilling down even further, the report looks at the differences between noncommercial categories, and there it gets more interesting and nuanced.

For example, operators across all segments see great sales-building potential in sandwiches in the coming year. But hospital operators peg salads as the greater growth area for their businesses, while senior living, nursing home and long-term care operators don’t expect any particular menu category to carry their growth.

Read on for the results of our annual cross-segment study, conducted in partnership with FSD’s sister publications covering restaurants and c-store operations, as well as Technomic, the research arm of our parent company Winsight. 

When it comes to the state of the business, noncommercial operators are generally optimistic—69% say they expect conditions to improve—but less so than restaurant and c-store operators.

Within noncommercial, hospital operators were the most optimistic among those in our survey, with 73% anticipating better days ahead, compared to 68% of colleges and 70% of business and industry operators who feel the same. Foodservice operators in nursing homes, long-term care facilities and senior living communities were the least optimistic, with only 66% forecasting improved conditions.

Legislative issues, such as healthcare regulations and minimum wage, are a pain point for all operators, but noncommercial segments were more affected by healthcare legislation than commercial and retail.

Nursing homes, long-term care facilities and senior living facilities, which face healthcare regulations beyond employee benefits, were especially burdened—78% named healthcare as the biggest government issue facing their business.

In addition, these same groups, as well as hospitals, were more likely than other segments to name sodium mandates as a big legislative issue facing their business.

While all the buzz these days seems to be around breakfast and snacks, about three out of 10 operators across all segments (c-stores, restaurants and noncommercial) look to build business at lunch.

Hospitals were particularly bullish about lunch, with almost half of respondents naming it as the daypart with the greatest sales growth potential.

More pessimistic about pinning their hopes to the clock, 65% of nursing home, senior living and long-term care operators responded that they do not expect sales growth in any daypart.

Hospitals, like other operators in the survey overall, see big growth potential in sandwiches and salads. But while college and university operators named sandwiches in particular as the No. 1 growth category for their menus in the next year, hospitals crowned salads as the top opportunity. Breakfast also made hospital operators’ top-three list.

Senior living, nursing home and long-term care operators picked the same three menu categories as growth drivers—sandwiches, salads and breakfast. But it’s important to note that half (51%) don’t expect to see sales growth in any key menu categories.

Asked where they see the greatest business-building potential, 42% of hospitals ranked catering as high or extremely high. Catering beat out other opportunities, including delivery and mobile ordering (which were still among hospital operators’ top three business-boosting prospects).

Senior living and long-term care operators saw the greatest business-building potential in dine-in seating, followed by catering and delivery.