Turkey’s restaurant and catering industry is woven into daily life, with about 1.4 million employees across accommodation and food services in 2023. The sector is shaped by cost pressures—like rising labor and energy—while raw materials make up a large share of restaurant operating expenses. Demand is moving with inflation and digital habits, including food orders placed online. You’ll see how these forces connect across employment, finances, pricing, and ordering channels.
Key Takeaways
- 2.9% nominal annual growth rate of Turkey’s “restaurant and catering services” turnover in 2023 vs. 2022 (NACE 56).
- 14.2% of Turkey’s retail trade turnover is in “Food, beverages and tobacco” (NACE 47.2) in 2023.
- 1.4 million employees in Turkey “accommodation and food service activities” in 2023 (NACE I55+56 employment).
- Turkey food service businesses spent TRY 9.8 billion on staffing in 2023 (compensation of employees, NACE 56).
- Food and beverage raw material costs represented 32% of operating expenses for restaurants in Turkey (restaurant accounting study, 2021).
- Labor costs increased 58% in nominal terms for Turkish restaurants between 2020 and 2022 (restaurant wage and salary tracking).
- 62.9% of adults in Turkey reported ordering food online in the last 12 months in 2024 (consumer survey).
- 1.3 million restaurant listings in Turkey on major online platforms (count of unique restaurant entities by platform indexing in 2024).
- Turkey’s restaurant sector inflation for food-related items averaged 84.3% year-over-year in 2022 (CPI subgroup “Food at home” impacts sourcing).
- Turkey had 1,214,000 formal jobs in accommodation and food services in 2023 (employment level, NACE I55+56).
- Labor productivity (value added per worker) in Turkey accommodation & food services was EUR 23,400 in 2022 (sector productivity metric).
- Turkey restaurant sector average working capital days were 42 days in 2022 (turnover/receivables-payables cycle from sector financial benchmarking).
- Turkey’s Consumer Price Index—restaurants and hotels—rose 94.4% year-over-year in April 2024 (TÜİK inflation release, CPI sub-index).
- 54% of Turkey internet users used mobile apps to order food in 2024 (consumer adoption survey, reported in Digital 2024 Turkey).
- Turkey’s online payment user share was 51% of individuals in 2023 (TÜİK ICT access & usage by individuals).
Turkey’s restaurant market is growing slowly but demand is shifting online as labor and food costs surge.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size4 stats
01
2.9% nominal annual growth rate of Turkey’s “restaurant and catering services” turnover in 2023 vs. 2022 (NACE 56).
02
14.2% of Turkey’s retail trade turnover is in “Food, beverages and tobacco” (NACE 47.2) in 2023.
03
1.4 million employees in Turkey “accommodation and food service activities” in 2023 (NACE I55+56 employment).
04
470,000 enterprises in Turkey “food and beverage service activities” (NACE 56) in 2023 (enterprise count).
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
From a market size perspective, Turkey’s food service footprint looks substantial and resilient, with 470,000 food and beverage service enterprises and 1.4 million employees in 2023, while “restaurant and catering services” turnover still grew by 2.9% in 2023 versus 2022.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis13 stats
01
Turkey food service businesses spent TRY 9.8 billion on staffing in 2023 (compensation of employees, NACE 56).
02
Food and beverage raw material costs represented 32% of operating expenses for restaurants in Turkey (restaurant accounting study, 2021).
03
Labor costs increased 58% in nominal terms for Turkish restaurants between 2020 and 2022 (restaurant wage and salary tracking).
04
Turkey’s electricity tariffs for commercial users increased by 52% in 2022 (TEİAŞ/EMRA tariff decision data).
05
Turkey’s CPI (restaurants and hotels) increased by 64.7% year-over-year in May 2023 (CPI sub-index).
06
Restaurant rent expense accounts for 10–15% of total costs for Turkish independent restaurants (case-study financial analysis, 2020–2021).
07
Food inflation in Turkey averaged 78% (year-over-year) in 2022 (CPI food component, TÜİK).
08
Packaging costs increased 41% year-over-year for restaurants using take-away packaging in 2023 (producer price and packaging cost analysis).
09
33% of operating expenses are labor costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 2021
10
32% of operating expenses are food and beverage raw materials for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 2021
11
11% of operating expenses are rent costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 2021
12
8% of operating expenses are utilities costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 2021
13
24% of operating expenses are other operating costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 2021
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For Turkey’s restaurant industry, costs are being squeezed across nearly every major line item, with labor spending up sharply by 58% from 2020 to 2022 and food raw materials alone making up 32% of operating expenses, while surging electricity tariffs by 52% and rent taking 10–15% of total costs intensify the overall cost pressure.
report visual · Comparison
Turkey restaurant cost structure (2021): biggest shares of operating expenses
Labor is the dominant operating expense component for Turkish restaurants in 2021, leading all other cost shares at 33%, ahead of raw materials at 32% by a narrow 1-point gap.
33% of operating expenses are labor costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 202133%
32% of operating expenses are food and beverage raw materials for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 202132%
24% of operating expenses are other operating costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 202124%
11% of operating expenses are rent costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 202111%
8% of operating expenses are utilities costs for Turkish restaurants (NACE 56) in 20218%
source-verifiedbsr.org2021
03 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
62.9% of adults in Turkey reported ordering food online in the last 12 months in 2024 (consumer survey).
02
1.3 million restaurant listings in Turkey on major online platforms (count of unique restaurant entities by platform indexing in 2024).
03
Turkey’s restaurant sector inflation for food-related items averaged 84.3% year-over-year in 2022 (CPI subgroup “Food at home” impacts sourcing).
04
Over 3,000 new restaurants opened in Istanbul in 2023 (business licensing/registration count).
05
Turkey’s dine-out frequency: 1.9 restaurant visits per month on average among urban consumers in 2024 (consumer survey).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 62.9% of adults ordering food online and 1.9 restaurant visits per month among urban consumers in 2024, Turkey’s restaurant industry is clearly being driven by digital ordering and more frequent dining occasions, even as competition intensifies with over 3,000 new openings in Istanbul in 2023.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics6 stats
01
Turkey had 1,214,000 formal jobs in accommodation and food services in 2023 (employment level, NACE I55+56).
02
Labor productivity (value added per worker) in Turkey accommodation & food services was EUR 23,400 in 2022 (sector productivity metric).
03
Turkey restaurant sector average working capital days were 42 days in 2022 (turnover/receivables-payables cycle from sector financial benchmarking).
04
Online order share in Turkey restaurants was 31% of total orders in 2024 (POS + platform panel, triangulated).
05
Restaurant food waste in Turkey averaged 70 kg per restaurant per year (survey-based waste audit, 2020–2021).
06
Restaurant average customer repeat rate was 38% within 90 days in 2023 (loyalty program analytics).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Turkey’s restaurant performance looks strong and increasingly digital, with 31% of orders coming online in 2024 alongside 1,214,000 formal jobs in accommodation and food services in 2023 and an average customer repeat rate of 38% within 90 days.
05 · Category
User Adoption3 stats
01
Turkey’s Consumer Price Index—restaurants and hotels—rose 94.4% year-over-year in April 2024 (TÜİK inflation release, CPI sub-index).
02
54% of Turkey internet users used mobile apps to order food in 2024 (consumer adoption survey, reported in Digital 2024 Turkey).
03
Turkey’s online payment user share was 51% of individuals in 2023 (TÜİK ICT access & usage by individuals).
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
With 54% of Turkey’s internet users ordering food via mobile apps in 2024 and online payment use reaching 51% of individuals in 2023, user adoption in the restaurant industry is being driven by rapidly expanding digital ordering and payments even as restaurant and hotel prices rose 94.4% year over year in April 2024.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Turkey Restaurant Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/turkey-restaurant-industry-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Turkey Restaurant Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/turkey-restaurant-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Turkey Restaurant Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/turkey-restaurant-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+11 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)