Last week , Israelis celebrated Independence Day, which has become the country’s national barbecue holiday. Ahead of the holiday, a study was published examining the ways Israelis enjoy the star of the Israeli barbecue: the hamburger.
It’s no secret that Israelis love hamburgers. A study by financial consulting firm Czamanski Ben Shahar and Co. found that roughly 12% of Israel’s restaurants are burger joints, turning over a total of between two billion and NIS 2.5 billion annually, with more than 500 businesses operating in the field.
Israel’s market for hamburger restaurants has changed immeasurably, thanks in part to the entry of old-new players such as Burger King, which returned to Israel last year - as well as entirely new players like chef Moshik Roth’s eight restaurant chain, which has brought with it the concept of the eight-shekel burger. At the same time, existing players have changed hands, such as the Burgerim (two years ago) and Moses chains, which was recently acquired by the owners of the BBB chain.
So how do Israelis like to eat their hamburgers? Statistics released by Como, a leading developer of technological solutions to maximize revenue from repeat customers at leading chains - show that 57% of hamburgers sold in restaurants in Israel are served medium-well, roughly 23% are served well done, and around 18% are medium.
In contrast to other types of meat (and in contrast to citizens of other countries), Israelis don’t like their hamburgers rare: Only 1.6% were served medium-rare, and only 1% of patties served in Israel’s restaurants were rare.
Como’s statistics are based on an analysis of millions of visits of loyalty club members in restaurants and burger chains in Israel. In order to maximize sales, Como’s platform is connected to the restaurants’ points of sale, and each order runs through Como - which is how the company can provide economic insights to businesses. Of course, this information is anonymous, and details of the customers and the businesses are not revealed.
According to the statistics, medium-well hamburgers are roughly as popular among men as they are among women; women prefer to get their burgers well done (28.4%) more than medium (17.2%). Among men, 22.5% prefer to get their hamburgers well done, and 20.9% like theirs medium. Medium-well hamburgers are mostly popular among 20- to 27-year-olds, who are responsible for roughly 35% of sales of this type of hamburger.
Size Does Matter
The statistics also reveal that Israelis like their hamburgers medium-large. Some 47% of the hamburgers that were sold in the last year were roughly 200 grams, about 31% were roughly 150 grams, and 22% were roughly 300 grams.
Half of both men and women prefer the 200-gram hamburgers. Some 38.5% of women prefer 150-gram hamburgers, as compared to 17% who prefer 300-gram hamburgers. Among men, preferences are divided nearly evenly - 29.9% order 150-gram hamburgers, and 25.1% order 300-gram hamburgers.
According to Liran Mayost, Como’s cofounder and COO, “Independence Day long ago turned into the national meat holiday. The statistics that we demonstrated from restaurants in Israel through Como’s platform, which is connected to the businesses’ ‘smart cash registers,’ indicate that Israelis love to go with a sure thing when it comes to their hamburger - not too rare and not too well done, not too small and not too big.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 10, 2017
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