Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantages of Establishments in the Ukrainian Catering Market

The study found that the food service market was significantly affected by the covid restrictions and the war. In the latter case, we are talking about a decrease in the number of potential customers and their confidence in the future, an increase in the cost of energy and food, etc. In 2023, compared to 2022, it was actively developing, although it did not reach the indicators of 2021. However, in 2024, the situation worsened, and some establishments began to close. This is forcing existing catering establishments to look for new ways to strengthen their competitive advantage in the market, once again clearly defining their target market and choosing a specific strategy. At the current stage, in an effort to attract customers, busi-nesses in this sector offer tasty and healthy dishes, allow visitors to form their own dishes, arrange origi-nal spaces, hold events and engage event specialists, provide the possibility of online ordering of dishes via phone and apps, the possibility of their delivery, offer the use of contactless technologies for payment for dishes, the possibility of online table booking, and the use of a food court. The use of digital kitchen boards and QR codes can also strengthen the competitive position of catering establishments. Attractive locations of physical establishments in crowded places are also important.
The competitive advantages of foodservice establishments also depend on the target audience, in particular, playgrounds are important for families with children, and brand awareness increases when foodservice establishments use the fran-chise system. New opportunities for the development of catering establishments are provided by changes in cooking technologies, accelerated development of online communications, diversification of food deliv-ery vehicles and sources of raw materials, and intensification of production processes. The paper propos-es an integrated approach to the implementation of a differentiation strategy by Ukrainian catering estab-lishments, develops directions for achieving their competitive advantages, which are grouped into such areas as digitalization of the service provision process and formation of a marketing complex for such es-tablishments in the market.