The global fast food market generated approximately US$477.1 billion in 2013 and it is forecast that by 2018, this market will exceed US$617.1 billion, according to a report by Transparency Market Research.
The US fast food market is worth nearly US$185 billion and it currently employs more than four million workers (10 million workers are employed globally).
In 2013, there were more than 230,000 fast food establishments in the US.
The market is defined upon the basis of sale of food and drinks that can be immediately consumed either on the premises or in areas shared with other food service operators, or elsewhere.
It can be broken down into Quick Service Restaurants and street and mobile vendors.
McDonald’s for its part has built 20-30 stores in most developing countries in the past few years.
Factors such as rising trend of eating out, spending on ready-to-eat food, and vast expansion of the fast food market in developing countries are propelling growth of the global fast food industry.
The global fast food originated in the North American and the European continents in the real terms.
These regions also currently lead the global fast food market in terms of revenue shares.
However, the market has observed a shift of choice of this consumer base towards healthier and organic varieties of fast food.
Longer working hours leave hardly enough time for home cooking, coupled with the rising desire of exploring new concepts of fast food will continue to allow innovative fast food chains to prosper.
A negative aspect of the enormous and continuously rising popularity of fast food market is the changing habits of eating, which some health experts suggest is leading to an unhealthy lifestyle.
However, smart fast food chains are becoming aware of the situation and have already started offering healthier options.
