Has the burger sector exploded? Over the past few years Spain has seen an outrageous boom in burger consumption, and the market has answered with a new concept almost every week.
Burgers have consolidated as one of the pillars of fast food in Spain and have taken on serious weight in casual dining too. The phenomenon reflects not only a shift in what Spaniards want to eat, but a transformation in the quality and the variety of what is on offer. We do not know which came first, the chicken or the egg. What we do know is that consumers are asking for more and better burgers, and that the market has responded. The question is whether the burger bubble bursts.
Some key figures on the Spanish burger sector
Looking at burgers within Spanish fast food, growth has been sustained since the pandemic. In 2022 the sector turned over 4,680 million euros, an increase of 18.6% on the previous year. Growth continued in 2023 with a rise of 10.9%, putting sales at 5,330 million euros. For 2024 there is still no exact total, but the estimate points to around 5,400 million euros, which would mean growth of between 6% and 7% on 2023.
What is clear is that the role of burgers inside that market keeps growing. In 2023, burger restaurant sales rose 12.4% to 3,175 million euros, representing roughly 60% of the entire Spanish fast food market.
On openings: in 2024 the 47 leading brands in the burger segment operated a combined 2,957 outlets, turning over 2,853 million euros and employing almost 40,000 people. And that is only 47 brands. The real burger boom has been driven by the small independents. The brave ones.
The forecasts for all of them stay very positive: the consumer is not going to get tired of burgers.
Not everything that shines is fast food
The rise of the burger is not only about eating more of them. It is also about diversification and a genuine improvement in quality. A wave of concepts calling themselves premium or gourmet has appeared, built on innovation and on quality — quality of product and quality of brand. Because having a gourmet product is no longer enough. If your brand is not gourmet too, nobody will ever get as far as tasting it.
That is why we keep seeing closures in this market. It is not that the concept does not work: it is that it never managed to connect with its audience, and in a market this competitive that is paid for dearly.
Brands that know how to connect are the ones that survive
The burger boom in Spain is a reflection of how fast food has adapted to what consumers now demand: quality, variety and innovation. But above all they are looking for real brands that connect with them, brands that can offer a distinctive experience inside the restaurant and outside it. At home. On social media. In every single piece of communication.
Honest, efficient omnichannel management will be the best weapon any brand has if it wants to compete in the burger colosseum. And the battle is going to be a long one. Better to be ready.
