Thai Restaurant Industry Faces Crisis as Purchases Plummet by 40%

[Kasset Tak]

When I moved here 9 years ago the city had 2 7-11, now there are 9 and 1 more coming. At the same time there were 12 coffee shops, now there are over 40. For restaurants I'm not sure, but there were 3 moo krata, now there are 10, and for westerner food there were 1 steakhouse and 1 pizza place... now there are 5 places identifying as steakhouse and 8 places selling pizza (2 selling Italian style pizza).  Might it just be that there are TOO MANY RESTAURANTS?!

[Andre0720]

Quite strange. Actually hard to believe..

There are sometimes as many food delivery motorbikes at a traffic light than travelers.

 

Are they ignored from this, as they are not for customers actually sitting in a restaurant. They all come from these small food stalls..

 

Or is it that people in Thailand have finally come to realize that 95% or more of the food here is considered poison by health officials.

 i.e. Refined sugar and bad overheated seed oils.

[cdemundo]

10 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Many Americans cannot afford to buy fast food anymore. The day of the 1 Dollar menu is long gone. Prices have skyrocketed. 3 Fish burgers now cost 17 USD in the US.

 

The misery is global and is real.

Not true.

McDonalds has a value menu many items are about 3$ and second item same for 1$.

Other fast food places have similar pricing at about $3.

To save money at fast food places in the US you have to order what Is on offer at discount prices which can vary day to day. I used to spend my work days driving around Los Angeles and I not infrequently ate at fast food places. Prices have gone up, that is true but it isn't a sign of the apocalypse. (Or should I say tacolypse?).

 

It is true that the McDonalds Filet-o-fish is now $4.59, $4.59 x 3 = 13.77 so it is getting close to what you say for those sandwiches.

[cdemundo]

8 hours ago, scoutman360 said:

Just a short time ago before Covid, street food was easily 35 thb. I am not blaming the vendors, as usually the problem is higher up the food chain. But people walk with their feet. Sooner or later it will resolve itself, and many will be out of business. 

Some things you just can't argue with:

"people walk with their feet"

 

Can't be said any plainer. (jk)

[jas007]

9 hours ago, Cameroni said:

MacDonalds has actually increased prices way beyond inflation. Their prices have increased by 100% over the last decade.

 

So considerably more than inflation.

 

in 2014 fries were about 1.48 USD according to location. Now 3.79 for medium fries at MacDonalds.

They're probably just keeping up with real prices.  The official "inflation" numbers are BS.  Everybody knows that.

 

Ever hear or the "Big Mac Index"?  From The Economist magazine. I haven't looked at it lately, but the general idea is that a Big Mac is a Big Mac anywhere in the world, and they list Big Mac prices around the world with a US dollar benchmark.  The result is the PPP or "Purchasing Power Parity."  How is the local currency doing, in terms of value, against the US dollar? 

[billd766]

10 hours ago, billd766 said:

The one thing that is not going up very much are the wages.

 

If the prices keep rising, but salaries don't. eating out at a restaurant will be a dying thing.

It is not just the restaurants that will die, but their suppliers all the way back to the farm producers will have to cut back or die as well.

[Kaopad999]

11 hours ago, save the frogs said:

I paid 100 baht for sticky rice and mango at a street stall. 

I guess I got ripped off. 

I'm still not sure what's worth what. 

 

30- 40 THB 

[jas007]

19 minutes ago, Andre0720 said:

Quite strange. Actually hard to believe..

There are sometimes as many food delivery motorbikes at a traffic light than travelers.

 

Are they ignored from this, as they are not for customers actually sitting in a restaurant. They all come from these small food stalls..

 

Or is it that people in Thailand have finally come to realize that 95% or more of the food here is considered poison by health officials.

 i.e. Refined sugar and bad overheated seed oils.

I've been trying to eat "healthy" these days, but it isn't easy.  No sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no seed oils, no processed food, no ultra processed food, etc.  Take away all the unhealthy food and there isn't much left. 

 

So, I buy grass fed beef and cage free eggs and eat those a lot. I can cook that at home and that's what I usually have for breakfast  Also, the right green leafy veggies, and some fruits, in moderation.  So, I usually skip the Thai food carts and it costs me more money to eat. 

 

On the occasions when I do eat out, I try to keep it healthy.  And once in a while, I just eat whatever I want.  Yesterday afternoon, I had a pizza from a local place. 220 baht. That seemed reasonable to me.  It wasn't the biggest pizza you could imagine, but it was good for one person.

 

For what it's worth, I'm at Wongamat Beach, which is mostly loaded with tourists, so the restaurants around here aren't exactly cheap.  I'm from the USA, though, and I've never really adjusted to the real Thai economy.  If I eat a meal and it's 350 baht or less, I don't feel like I'm being ripped off.  

 

 

[bendejo]

I first noticed portion shrinkage in 2008. 

Something quite common in East Asia, and in other countries with large communities, is buying cooked food and putting together a meal at home.  This works because it is price competitive for the consumer, the cooked food not costing much more than the raw ingredients.  If that gap grows, more people will do their own cooking and the vendors will suffer.

In the US there are some places that sell rotisserie chickens for less than the cost of a raw one, but that's another story.

 

[Dan O]

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Probably too many businesses, the thai way

There are in most areas I have been in here. If you sell a food product and have customers you are almost guaranteed to have 2 or 3 other shops open up with the exact same thing within eyesight.

 

There are poor money managers in many instances and dont manage cash flow well at all and dont plan ahead for  the changing environment

[hughrection]

Unless the restaurant is indoors with an air filter operating in the corner with the aircon running, I don't got into any restaurant this time of year due to the massive levels of pollution.

 

Protect my lungs and I will reward you with my business. I have noticed many Thai's with the same attitude in my local town. There is one place that does the above and its always packed. Tried to get lunch during the week at 12:30 and was told sold out!

[niebla]

11 hours ago, Celsius said:

You know we're in trouble when the Thais stop eating.

 

What's next? Dropping auto sales?

 

The country is finished. 

Taxing money that's transferred into the country.

[Dan O]

11 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

If you're running a booming business I suppose you can get away with raising prices a bit, but it's never good idea to cut the portion sizes. Thais are very sensitive to this kind of thing, they love to eat and everybody notices a smaller portion. It's bad behavior and it's a good way to lose customers permanently. 

 

If your business is already struggling the last thing in the world you should be doing is raising your prices. There is no doubt the economy here is hurting and a lot of people are struggling to get by. 

Actually I changed my prices in January after reviewing every dish on the menu, re-costing each individually and then compared a\ new price with the monthly sales. I increased the ones that where way out of line and lowered a few things. I removed none selling items and reintroduced the Chef to portion control as she had gotten a bit lazy. Fortunately for us we are a niche Cafe', not a noodle shop or typical Thai restaurant, and our clientele are middle income professionals, so it hasn't really affected the sales side negatively when I did that. It's definitely slower compared to a year or more ago, but we are doing ok. 

[billd766]

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

ever heard lower price higher sales

Did you ever hear of supply costs, wages. rents and electricity bills going down?

 

If the costs keep rising, the restaurant will have to find cheaper and lower quality suppliers and cut the portion sizes, and even then the customers may still walk away if the cannot afford the prices or the quality and portion size drops too far.

[khunjeff]

10 hours ago, Cameroni said:

MacDonalds has actually increased prices way beyond inflation. *** in 2014 fries were about 1.48 USD according to location. Now 3.79 for medium fries at MacDonalds.

 

Price gouging by both the retailer and the suppliers...

 

https://youtu.be/Z8-wqv9_-Ac?si=-REDODgQiTgqWw29

[Celsius]

1 hour ago, Kasset Tak said:

now there are 5 places identifying as steakhouse 

 

I love they/them steakhouses 

[sandyf]

11 hours ago, Celsius said:

You know we're in trouble when the Thais stop eating. 

Bit of a ridiculous comment.

The cooked food business is being attacked from various directions so it is a cumulative effect.

A fair percentage of Thais historically bought precooked food because they didn't have facilities at home such as electricity and refridgeration, that has slowly changed.

Many cooked food outlets were family owned and run, with the changes in education, that is now changing.

Then there is the more direct influences like management, wages, rising prices etc.

The covid crisis caused a major blow to the sector, it forced people to do things differently and like an overstretched spring, there has been no full recovery.

There is also the tourism factor, a great deal of accommodation now offers cooking facilities. I stayed in a hotel at Kabinburi a couple of weeks ago which had a full kitchen,dining table, the job lot. Why would travellers want to go out when they can pick up what they want from the supermarket and have it in the room.

[Toby1947]

Just in the process of applying for a mortgage for fish, chips and mushy peas in the U.K. 🤣😂. They can stick it.

[Moonlover]

12 hours ago, save the frogs said:

15 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a no brainer, lower the prices

 

12 hours ago, save the frogs said:

did you ever run a restaurant?

ever heard of .... overhead expenses? 

Fixed overheads are always a critical factor in running any business, but restaurants have the additional burden of having to stock up on perishable supplies, whether the customers come or not. If there are no customers that's money down the drain that can never be recovered.

 

The over simplistic 'Lowering prices' is in IMO a 'no brain' response.

[grandpa]

It is clearly effecting the larger chains like Sizzler too. In Khon Kaen, they hiked the weekday price of unlimited Salad bar, including soup, fruit and dessert from 139 baht to 199 baht, so have lost many customers.  Earlier this week they had an offer, buy one meal get the second for 1 baht!!  You couldn't get into the place unless you were prepared to wait for a couple of hours!  Apart from weekends, restaurants n Central Plaza Khon Kaen are really quiet.

[CallumWK]

11 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

13 hours ago, save the frogs said:

I paid 100 baht for sticky rice and mango at a street stall. 

I guess I got ripped off. 

I'm still not sure what's worth what. 

 

You didn’t get ripped off.

 

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/business/2025/03/17/thai-mango-sticky-rice-prices-to-stay-high-in-2025-says-kresearch/

 

With mango being the biggest expense in the dish, 100 bht is a rip-off, and 138 bht as suggested in the article is an even bigger rip-off.

 

According to Kasikorn Research Center report on March 14, 2025, Nam Dok Mai mango prices at the farm level are projected to be around 16.3 baht (48 cents) per kilogram in 2025, down 8.5% from 17.9 baht (53 cents) in 2024. This marks the second year of price decline from the 2023 high of 21.3 baht per kilogram.... อ่านข่าวต้นฉบับได้ที่ : https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/business/2025/03/17/thai-mango-sticky-rice-prices-to-stay-high-in-2025-says-kresearch/

[markeewan]

13 hours ago, save the frogs said:

I paid 100 baht for sticky rice and mango at a street stall. 

I guess I got ripped off. 

I'm still not sure what's worth what. 

 

Sticky rice 0.5kg plus coconut cream is 60 baht and mango is 40 baht/kg at the markets. Wife buys separately because the packs are too small, but normally priced at 40 baht.

[CCesar]

13 hours ago, vikc said:

 

Prices in touristy areas are soaring and serving size and quality drastically suffering.

For Example In 2019 T&K Seafood in Yaowarat were well priced with great tasting food. In 2022 the price increased slightly but the quality deteriorated significantly .  In 2024 the same trend continued with massive increase in price of dishes and quality worsened. This year I did not dare try them...

 

Whereas in Savoey the price has not risen too much, quality is just the same but the portions are a lot smaller.

Rising prices seems to be the trend all across Bangkok and high end places.

Good Buffets are a thing of the past as well.

In local stalls the price seems to be the same but the taste of food seems to be watered down. Portions again smaller.

The Cost of living /Inflation crisis seems to make this a catch 22 ...

 

Just my 2 cents as a regular visitor to Thailand over the years...

 

 

Besides unreasonable increase of prices, lower quality and smaller dishes the food it totally saturated in crazy amounts of MSG at most places.

[CCesar]

2 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

When I moved here 9 years ago the city had 2 7-11, now there are 9 and 1 more coming. At the same time there were 12 coffee shops, now there are over 40. For restaurants I'm not sure, but there were 3 moo krata, now there are 10, and for westerner food there were 1 steakhouse and 1 pizza place... now there are 5 places identifying as steakhouse and 8 places selling pizza (2 selling Italian style pizza).  Might it just be that there are TOO MANY RESTAURANTS?!

Like many other things, plenty of everything, but no quality!

2 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

When I moved here 9 years ago the city had 2 7-11, now there are 9 and 1 more coming. At the same time there were 12 coffee shops, now there are over 40. For restaurants I'm not sure, but there were 3 moo krata, now there are 10, and for westerner food there were 1 steakhouse and 1 pizza place... now there are 5 places identifying as steakhouse and 8 places selling pizza (2 selling Italian style pizza).  Might it just be that there are TOO MANY RESTAURANTS?!

l

[Gottfrid]

It´s really simple. First, It´s impossible for everyone and the family dog to open a restaurant or eatery in every single corner of the cities. After that, I see the problem, as they point out the tourism is booming again, and it should mean more customers. Unfortunately, they have put the focus on war fleeing Russians, Chinese and India people. Seems like a load of tourist that can´t pay. There is the result.

[Gottfrid]

17 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a no brainer, lower the prices

Sure! Once again you are posting about something you apparently have no clue about. Do you know how a restaurant calculate their prices? Do you know all the costs included, and how many percent every one is estimated to be?

[lordgrinz]

My little Princess likes her Sea Bass, Salmon, and Duck dishes.....she keeps us going out pretty regularly, so we are doing our part 😜

[1FinickyOne]

17 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a no brainer, lower the prices

while their costs are increasing? 

 

From what I see, many restaurants choose to reduce portion size and often lower quality... they are reluctant to raise prices as would be necessary to retain consistency. 

 

I doubt that lowering prices in the face of inflationary costs is an option - - a no brainer solution indeed. 

[watchcat]

12 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

80 baht 

I doubt if I could cook a meal at home for that after buying all the ingredients?

Probably makes sense if I lived with 5+ people.

 

1 boiled egg add  a packet of mama noodels about 8-9 baht.

[1FinickyOne]

6 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Once again you are posting about something you apparently have no clue about.

Charlie gonna get him some bad bad food -