CHICAGO — Technomic has released its new index, dubbed TIndex, which provides a monthly benchmark to help analysts and industry leaders track the health of the foodservice industry in the United States.
The TIndex is an unusual way to track the foodservice industry, built using a variety of data sets available to Technomic, including operator transaction, consumer visit tracking and distributor sales information, the company said. The data is then weighted and evaluated to align with a representation of the total foodservice industry.
“We have been tracking the foodservice industry since 1966,” said Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic. “The TIndex allows us to provide a snapshot of industry health built on years of historical data and industry expertise.”
The TIndex in April revealed the beginning of a recovery for the industry, as vaccinations increased and states began to ease COVID-19 restrictions, he said. “Throughout 2020, the TIndex remained below 85, but we have seen a consistent uptick since January of 2021.”
Technomic will release the TIndex every month—the first was in March—and has historical TIndex data starting with the beginning of 2020.
The TIndex compares performance to the same month in 2019, includes inflation and allows for industry growth analysis on a year-over-year basis for the same month. Recent numbers:
March 2021 TIndex (current): 94.1
February 2021 TIndex: 86.1
January 2021 TIndex: 82.2
As a comparison, the TIndex in March 2020, the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions in the United States, was 75.5, which means the industry grew by almost 25% when comparing March 2021 with to March 2020.
Chicago-based Technomic is a sister company of CSP.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.