With limited time for meals, fast food chains are taking over the youngest segment of the gastronomy market. In spare moments, hamburger joints offering home delivery and takeout attract significant attention from busy consumers who want quick, satisfying meals.
Classic chains have long dominated the scene. In the current market, McDonald’s and Burger King lead in Spain, holding about 33% and 38.3% market share in 2021, respectively. They expanded digitally and integrated online ordering into their operations. Burger King Spain reported a total turnover of 905 restaurants last year, comprising 585 owned locations and 320 franchised outlets, with revenue around 1.3 billion euros. McDonald’s locations, meanwhile, show the highest average annual turnover per site, roughly two million euros. The company plans to operate 700 stores in Spain by 2025, backed by a 250 million euro investment. In late 2022, the chain posted a net profit figure of approximately 1.98 billion dollars, according to the published data.
Differentiation in the profession
The competition between these two hamburger giants remains intense, with comparable business scales shaping the landscape. Yet the market now features newcomers who entered with a clear aim to stand apart from traditional fast food and elevate the concept beyond the junk-food stereotype. Some of these players embrace the label gourmet fast food, emphasizing higher quality ingredients and a more refined culinary approach.
One notable challenger emerged as a direct rival to Aleix Puig. Deleito, a hamburger chain led by another MasterChef alum, Albert Grass, opened in Barcelona in 2022. The company expects to close the year with four restaurants and turnover surpassing one million euros.
Goiko remains the most established name in Spain, boasting 107 restaurants nationwide and reporting 2021 revenues of 103 million euros. The group is controlled by the L Catterton fund, which acquired an 80% stake for 120 million euros in 2018. That same year, the company employed roughly 1,779 people and sold nearly seven million hamburgers. At year-end, there were reports that Uber founder Travis Kalanick was guiding the capital-raising efforts with his ghost kitchen venture.
New players
This year Goiko and Vicio were joined by a fresh challenger that is already reshaping the market. El Salseo launched with 29 stores across 24 Spanish cities, operating strictly through online orders. The venture started with a two million euro funding round, aided by a cryptocurrency-backed investment of 1.7 million from 60 investors, valuing the business at over eight million euros initially. The menu features burgers crafted by Ramses Gonzalez, a chef who earned a Michelin star for his CanCook restaurant in Zaragoza.
Meanwhile, the hamburger stand sector shows strong momentum. Fitzgerald closed 2022 with more than 1.5 million burgers sold and turnover exceeding 17 million euros in Spain. Founded in 2013 by Mario and Carlos Gelabert in Torrent, Valencia, the brand now operates 19 locations in the Valencian Community with a workforce of around 380 employees across Madrid and Albacete.
In addition to national chains, international players hold a stake in the market. The five men group concluded 2021 with revenues around 24 million euros and 30 stores in the country. The Restalia Group, which owns brands including Good Burger (TGB), remains a notable force. While disaggregated data are not always provided, the group sold about 13 million burgers and achieved total turnover of roughly 33.4 million euros in 2021.