Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois says the industry has had to be adaptable over the past few years.
The hospitality industry is being forced to evolve as it faces margin pressure amid New Zealand’s tough economic conditions, the head of the Restaurant Association says.
Marisa Bidois spoke to the Herald as the industry released its latest Hospitality Report, which showed total annual sales for the year ended June 2025 were $15.99 billion, up 1.4% and a record for the industry.
But that growth hasn’t come without its struggles, with every dollar earned up against substantial cost increases that continue to place pressure on margins across the sector.
Bidois said changes in food prices weren’t minor adjustments, they represented shifts that require significant business adaptations.
“Our industry has had to be very adaptable over the last few years, and this year has been no different,” Bidois said.
“It’s about evolving to the current market, and a lot of our businesses that are doing well have been doing just that. They’re getting creative with how they make offerings to their customers, creating different price points for people. It’s looking at the way we serve up our meals a little bit differently.”
The cafe and restaurant segment remains the king of hospitality, representing nearly half of the industry with $7.8b in annual sales.
However, with year-on-year growth of 0.3%, holding market position has become as demanding as any growth strategy once was.
Takeaway food continued to rise as Kiwis turned to cheaper options amid the cost-of-living crisis, generating $4.4b in annual sales, up 3.2% on the year to June 2024.
Catering services rose 2.2% to $1.3b while pubs, taverns and bars lifted sales 1.7% to $2.1b.
The segment with the lowest growth year-on-year was clubs, with sales up 0.2% to $434 million. Bidois said the performance marks a continued slowdown in growth over the past few years.
“They have done quite a bit of work to try and reinvigorate the space, but it is a concept that has changed. It was a very appealing space once upon a time.”
In perhaps the best reflection of the cost-of-living crisis, tipping has dropped from the previous year by about 40% on average.
Auckland hospitality businesses contributed the most with almost 40% of total industry turnover and $6.3b in sales.
Wellington reported steady annual growth, up 2.6% to $1.64b, while Canterbury declined slightly to about $2b.
Bidois said the previous two editions of the report recorded larger-than-normal growth in the Canterbury region, so this year reflected more of a correction rather than a contraction.
Waikato, Southland and Nelson all recorded stronger growth, with Nelson up 15.1% annually and Southland rising 6.5%.
Queenstown-Lakes also performed well, up 14.2%, supported by the ongoing recovery in international tourism.
At the other end of the scale, Gisborne recorded a 14.6% decline, while Manawatū-Whanganui fell 5.8%, reflecting weaker local demand.
The sector’s net outlet growth increased to 2.3% with 20,040 establishments by February 2024.
But hospitality business closures have increased by 19% in the past 12 months.
Data supplied by Centrix shows there have been 297 hospitality businesses liquidated in the past 12 months, compared with 199 in the prior year.
In the past 12 months, 2564 hospitality businesses have shut, more than the 2158 a year earlier.
Yesterday, award-winning Ponsonby restaurant Sidart announced it was closing its doors after going into liquidation.
Bidois said there was always interest in starting a hospitality business, despite the ongoing challenges.
“Most people from wherever you come from in any walk of life, food is something that everyone relates to. Everyone has a story around food, and I think that’s another reason why it is quite approachable.”
The takeaway segment had the largest rise in establishment growth, up 3.7% annually, with 258 new outlets taking it to a total of 7149 establishments.
Pubs, taverns and bars rebounded with 2.9% growth after experiencing contraction the previous year, while catering services posted a 1.9% expansion.
Once again, the club sector was the only segment to underperform, with venues declining by 2.3%.
“The willingness to commit capital to new ventures indicates confidence in medium-term prospects, even as current day-to-day operations remain challenging,” the report said.
“Moving forward, the industry’s health will be measured not just by new openings, but by how many of these ventures can build the operational resilience needed to weather an environment that continues to claim established businesses.”
Employment in the industry appears to have largely slowed, reflecting the current New Zealand-wide unemployment rate of 5.2%.
After a surge of workers in 2023 after Covid-19, in which employee numbers grew by 7.5%, the industry recorded modest growth of 0.7% for 2024 with 146,300 employees nationwide.
The segment with the largest growth was catering, which grew by 7.1% to reach 12,000 employees.
Meanwhile, the cafe and restaurant segment, which remains the industry’s largest employer with 81,100 workers or 55% of the total employees in hospitality, declined by 0.4%.
The bigger concern for Bidois is reflected in the cost of doing business, with wage costs reaching an average of 40% of businesses’ spending – the first time the average has reached that level.
“The cost of doing business is essential. We are going to see prices continually increase because in order for businesses to be successful, they need to be profitable,” Bidois said.
“That’s really what we’re trying to do at the association as well, we want our businesses to be profitable, successful businesses. I think it’s really important that it does have a rebalance at some point in the future.”
She said while wage growth has impacted businesses’ bottom line, the cost of goods and regulatory barriers are also having an impact.
Bidois said the association’s members had continued to raise issues regarding immigration settings, with the sector calling for more skilled workers, as well as continued investment in tourism and events spending to support the industry.
The association has a list of 35 policy goals it hopes the Government will work through, of which 15 have either been implemented or are ongoing.
Reflecting on the year that has been, Bidois said it feels like every year since Covid has become more challenging.
“I think this year has been extremely tough for the industry, but it’s also been a really important year in terms of the attention that our sector has had as well. I feel that a lot of the things that we’ve been saying that we have needed in the past 12 months are actually being addressed and looked at.
“While it’s been challenging, there’s also been some great headway being made in having those policy discussions as well. It’s been tough out there for everybody, but there are signs that we’re hopefully going to see better times ahead.”
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.