Driving the news: Saudi Arabia’s restaurant and mobile-food-service market added 17,807 commercial registrations in one year, taking the total to 179,494 by the end of the first half of 2026. The figure compares with 161,687 registrations during the same period in 2025, an increase of 11%, according to data that the Ministry of Commerce provided to Al Arabiya.
Why it matters: The expansion reflects strong consumer demand, tourism growth and the rise of Saudi food brands. However, operators also face higher rents, wages, raw-material costs and delivery-platform charges. In short, the market keeps growing, but growth alone does not guarantee profit.
Riyadh, Makkah and the Eastern Province Lead
Three regions hold the largest share of registrations. Riyadh leads with 48,989. Makkah follows with 47,098, and the Eastern Province ranks third with 25,677. Together, the three regions account for roughly 68% of the national total.
Zoom in: The pattern mirrors the wider economy. Saudi Arabia counted 1,918,512 active commercial registrations across all sectors at the end of the second quarter of 2026, a 12% rise on the previous year. Riyadh alone held 666,108 of them. Meanwhile, accommodation and food services made up 18% of the new registrations issued in that quarter, or 13,039.
However, newer data points to a cooler pace. The ministry issued about 50,000 new registrations across all sectors in the third quarter of 2026, well below the 128,000 recorded a year earlier.
Saudi Brands Scale up at Home and Abroad
Saudi brands have gained ground in franchising. Fahad Al-Saadoun, an executive at an international restaurant group and a member of the Restaurant and Cafe Owners Association, told Al Arabiya that the number of Saudi brands operating under franchise arrangements across sectors rose from 93 in 2020 to 744 by the end of the first half of 2026.
Monsha’at, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, provides a broader measure of the market. It counted 1,514 franchise brands in Saudi Arabia at the end of the second quarter of 2026. Local brands represented 744 of them, or 49.1%. The agency also said its Franchise Center helped 214 Saudi brands convert to franchise models and assessed the franchise readiness of 2,636 brands.
Saudi brands are also testing international markets. Eighteen expanded abroad during 2025, while more than 200 brands qualified or registered to offer franchises internationally, according to Al-Saadoun’s figures. Specialty coffee and innovative Saudi food concepts generated about 60% of requests to export brands.
The domestic franchise market now carries an estimated value of SAR60 billion ($16 billion), with more than 15,000 franchise outlets across sectors, Al-Saadoun explained. Still, he cautioned investors against measuring success by branch count alone.
“Owning three profitable and stable branches may prove more successful than operating 10 branches with weak returns,” he said.
That distinction matters as operators consider expansion. A recognizable concept can grow quickly, but inconsistent food, service or customer experience can weaken the brand. Therefore, disciplined expansion may deliver more value than rapid expansion.
By the numbers:
- 179,494: restaurant and mobile food registrations at the end of H1 2026, up 11% from 161,687.
- Top regions: Riyadh (48,989), Makkah (47,098), Eastern Province (25,677).
- SAR 84.8 billion ($22.6 billion): restaurant and café point-of-sale sales in 2025, up about 1.9% from SAR 83.2 billion ($22.2 billion) in 2024.
- SAR 25 billion ($6.7 billion): delivery app sales in 2025, up from SAR 17 billion ($4.5 billion); forecast of SAR 26.5 billion ($7.1 billion) in 2026.
- 7 million: daily purchases, or more than 321,000 per hour, worth about SAR 233 million ($62.1 million) each day.
- SAR 80 billion ($21.3 billion): estimated sales over the first 43 weeks of 2026, across about 2.8 billion purchases.
- 744: Saudi franchise brands in mid-2026, up from 93 in 2020.
- 202,000: projected restaurants and cafés by 2030, including 150,000 restaurants and 52,000 cafés.
- SAR 200 billion ($53.3 billion): potential total start-up investment under that scenario, supporting about 2.1 million direct jobs.
- SAR 75 billion ($20 billion): new capital needed to reach 150,000 restaurants, supporting about 750,000 direct jobs.
- 6 million: domestic and inbound tourists in 2025, spending nearly SAR 304 billion ($81.1 billion).
Investment openings run through 2030
The big picture: Al-Saadoun’s scenario assumes the population reaches about 50 million. It also assumes the Quality of Life Program targets hold. Under those assumptions, Saudi Arabia could host about 202,000 restaurants and cafés by 2030.
Today, the Kingdom has roughly 70,000 to 80,000 restaurants. Reaching 150,000 would require about SAR 75 billion ($20 billion) in new investment.
Tourism fuels this outlook. Visitors spent nearly SAR 304 billion ($81.1 billion) in 2025, and the Kingdom targets 150 million tourist visits a year by 2030. Likewise, Aleqt reported in January that the market could reach SAR 108 billion ($28.8 billion) by 2030.
Restaurants and cafés generated about SAR 84.8 billion ($22.6 billion) at point-of-sale terminals in 2025. Delivery app sales grew much faster than the overall market.
Still, bigger sales do not guarantee bigger profits, Al-Saadoun said. Rents, wages, raw materials and delivery commissions all push costs higher. Stable restaurants typically earn net margins of 10% to 15%, and some reach 20%. Others break even or lose money.
Some raw materials rose 50% or more amid geopolitical developments. Several restaurants absorbed those increases rather than raise prices.
The market also churns. In an earlier interview with Aleqt, Al-Saadoun said about 2,500 restaurants close each year, roughly seven a day. He blamed weak financial management, high labour costs, food waste and poor rent management.
Delivery Apps Squeeze Margins
Delivery apps now anchor sector sales. At the same time, they drain profits. Commissions and related costs can run from 30% to 35% of an order’s value. They can climb to 60% once advertising, discounts, promotions and in-app visibility costs enter the calculation.
Al-Saadoun urged a fair balance between platforms, restaurants and consumers. He also called for greater transparency in how platforms calculate fees and commissions.
What’s next: Al-Saadoun expects competition to centre on experience quality, operating efficiency and brand strength. New branches will matter less. He warned against “brand dilution,” which can follow rapid expansion, product changes or uneven quality across branches. Consumers pay for quality, experience, trust and reputation, not for the product alone, he said.
Opportunities will also reach beyond the major cities. Mid-sized cities, emerging tourist destinations, specialised restaurants and scalable Saudi brands all offer room to grow. Cloud kitchens, food manufacturing, packaging, supply chains and technology solutions follow the same path.
Al-Saadoun concluded that the sector remains promising. However, it has become more competitive and more professional. Success will depend on profit, sustainability and measured expansion.
