Besides spending more on eating out every year, the number of restaurants grew as well. In 2018, the Netherlands counted approximately 15,500 restaurants, 915 more than in 2016. The leading full-service restaurant in terms of turnover was Van Der Valk. The hotel and restaurant chain from the Netherlands had a turnover of roughly 830 million U.S. dollars in 2018. Landal Greenparks, known for their holiday parks, generated 445 million euros and was ranked second. Regarding leading fast good companies in the Netherlands, it was no surprise that McDonalds was ranked first with just over one billion U.S. dollars of revenue in 2018. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) had a turnover of approximately 150 million U.S. dollars, whereas Burger King generated 138 million U.S. dollars in the Netherlands.
The catering sector in the Netherlands dealt with some revenue losses between 2009 and 2015, before seeing growth from 2016 onwards. In 2018, catering businesses had a total revenue of approximately 3.32 billion euros. Sodexo was the leading catering company with a revenue of 327 million euros, whereas Dutch caterers Albron and Vermaat Groep generated roughly 260 and 255 million euros, respectively.
According to a survey on consumer behavior and food waste, roughly 60 percent of the respondents were eating out at least once every two months in the Netherlands in 2019. However, it is a slight decrease compared to the previous year, when 67 percent indicated to do so. Regarding the question whether one sometimes asks for a doggy bag after dinner, 38.8 percent mentioned to want one in case of leftover food. It is a noticeable change compared to 2014, when just over 18 percent indicated to ask for a doggy bag. Furthermore, in 2018, 79.9 percent of the respondents said that restaurants should do more against food waste versus 68.5 percent in 2014. It marks the importance of discussing food waste in the restaurant industry.
