Research
Hospitality Culture Research Center
Annual research since 2017, designed for comparability across years and across the major urban markets.
The Research Center is the evidence function of the Institute. It measures market value, consumption, pricing, experience and loyalty with instruments that stay stable year after year.
Corporate teams, foodservice companies, investors and institutions use this evidence to plan pricing, formats, locations and service standards.
On this page
Public research portfolio
Five products carry the public work of the Research Center.
Usage & Attitudes
How people choose venues, occasions and formats, tracked annually across the major urban markets.
Consumer Behaviour
Frequency, spend, price perception and loyalty patterns across restaurant, café and delivery channels.
Coffee Research
The coffee category in depth: rituals, formats, quality expectations and out-of-home behaviour.
Custom Research
Dedicated studies scoped around one company decision, with declared sampling and analysis plan.
HoReCa Census
Mapping of hospitality locations by city and operating format, an initiative in development.
Market signals
Four figures released for public citation.
- Food & Drinks market analysed
- RON 24.5 billion
- Restaurant users reporting less-frequent visits
- 50%
- Perceived optimum restaurant meal price
- RON 99
- Consumers who prefer upfront communication about service delays
- 68%
Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Brașov
N=707 · Consumer Behavior, December 2025
Source: HCI Research 2026
Research sources 2026
Every figure on this site links back to one of these studies.
Usage & Attitudes 2026
N=822 · 397 respondents in Bucharest and 425 across Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Brașov · CATI · fieldwork 8–27 January 2026.
Consumer Behavior 2026
N=808 · ten cities · CATI · fieldwork 5–23 December 2025.
Market value
RON 24.5 billion describes the analysed Food & Drinks market across five cities: Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Brașov.
From research to decisions
Applications reported and confirmed to HCI in 2026; changes in decision criteria and working processes. Financial effects were not measured in these cases.
Profi
Business question: How large is the foodservice opportunity around the Gastro offer?
- Research use: Market data on restaurants, fast food and delivery informed a strategy review.
- Organisational change: The Gastro strategy frame widened to the full foodservice universe: restaurants, fast food and delivery.
City Grill
Business question: Which service moments shape the guest experience most?
- Research use: Findings on experience and waiting times informed service and training priorities.
- Organisational change: Service, training and customer-experience priorities were revised, including proactive communication of waiting times.
Jerry’s Pizza
Business question: How should communication differ by city and ordering channel?
- Research use: City and channel data shaped the communication priorities.
- Organisational change: Communication priorities and briefs became differentiated by city and ordering channel.
Trenta Pizza
Business question: Which commercial bundles deserve testing?
- Research use: Price and choice data informed the criteria for bundles.
- Organisational change: Bundle criteria were revised and selected offers were prioritised for testing.
Spartan
Business question: Which formats compete for the same occasion?
- Research use: Consumption occasion data mapped alternative formats.
- Organisational change: Competitor analysis widened to bakeries, pretzel shops and retail gastro.
Junkyard Events
Business question: What draws people to an experience venue?
- Research use: General findings on socialising and atmosphere among urban adults informed the briefs; the survey covered the general urban population.
- Organisational change: Socialising and atmosphere entered the experience and communication briefs.
Corporate trust
Trusted by leading corporate and foodservice companies active across a significant share of the Romanian market.
Commercial pathways
Four ways to reach the evidence, matched to how your team works.
- Public executive summaries
- Paid research reports
- Corporate access
- Custom research
HoReCa Census
An initiative in development, now receiving participation enquiries.
The HoReCa Census will map hospitality locations and classify them by operating format. The first stage covers Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Brașov and Constanța.
The method distinguishes the legal entity, the group, the brand and the physical location, and combines field verification with available sources.
Companies will use the Census for commercial territory planning, coverage analysis and market analysis. Corporate enquiries can discuss confidential access and tailored modules.
Enquire about the Census
Tell the Research Center which cities, formats and decisions matter to your team.
How the evidence holds
Formal research stays quantitative, repeats annually and remains comparable in time. Sampling, collection and indicator construction stay declared alongside every release.
Qualitative observation from roundtables, the Accelerator, F&B Business Camp and Awards enriches interpretation and stays clearly labelled as observation.
Request a research brief
Describe the decision you face. The Research Center replies with the evidence available today and a scope for custom work.
Route: Hospitality Culture Research Center
Request a research brief
Describe the decision you face. The Research Center replies with the available evidence, the relevant products and a scope for custom work.
Reply within three working days.