Food and beverage industry in Malaysia: 2026 trends
Searches, ratings, prices, busy hours and Ramadan, counted for cafés and restaurants
Malaysian cafés and restaurants are changing fast.
Customers search for new drinks, drop last year's desserts and rate restaurants harder than almost any other trade. This report counts those changes from public information, for owners, people opening a shop, suppliers and students.
What is changing in the food and beverage industry in Malaysia?
F&B is the trade that sells food and drink. In 2026 Malaysians searched more for strawberry matcha (up 127%) and sourdough (up 46%), and less for tiramisu (down 54%), by Google Ads estimates. Restaurants have a median Google rating of 4.2 and cafés 4.4 (Highground count, October 2026).
To show how the food and beverage industry in Malaysia is moving, we counted public Google Maps information for about 12,000 cafés and bakeries and about 23,000 restaurants with at least 10 ratings (how we count).
We read their ratings, the topics Google lists for their reviews, their price lists and Google's popular times. Then we added how often Malaysians search for food and drink, comparing April to September 2026 with the same months of 2025.
Here are the six signals in one table.
| Signal | What we counted | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Google Ads estimates for Malaysia | Strawberry matcha +127%, tiramisu -54% |
| Ratings | About 12,000 cafés and 23,000 restaurants | 31% of restaurants sit below 4.0, against 18% of cafés |
| Review topics | About 670 cafés and 1,500 restaurants | "Price" at 15% of the lowest-rated restaurants, 6% of the best-rated |
| Prices | About 370 cafés and 900 restaurants | A latte costs RM12 at both |
| Busy hours | About 420 cafés and 1,100 restaurants | Cafés peak on Saturday at 2pm, restaurants on Saturday at 7pm |
| Ramadan | Reviews written per day | Cafés -15% and restaurants -20% in Ramadan 2025 |
Each signal has its own section below. This report stays with the industry view. If you want to know what to put on a menu, our café menu ideas and restaurant menu ideas turn the same searches into a plan.
How big is Malaysia's F&B industry?
Malaysia had 136,453 food and beverage establishments in 2022, with gross output of RM99.0 billion and 1.07 million people at work. Those are the Department of Statistics Malaysia's figures from its Economic Census 2023, as reported by Bernama, the national news agency.
Food services made up most of them, with 107,129 establishments. Beverage services, the census group for places that mainly serve drinks, numbered 13,116, and event caterers 16,208. Value added for the whole sector was RM43.8 billion (Bernama on the census).
The sector shrank in outlets and grew in money. The 2015 census counted 167,490 establishments with gross output of RM66.4 billion. Selangor led on value added in 2022, at RM18.5 billion, ahead of Kuala Lumpur at RM6.4 billion (Bernama).
The census tells you how big the trade is. It cannot tell you what customers want this year, or how they judge the places they visit.
For that, the rest of this report uses public Google information, counted in October 2026. Our counts cover the cafés, bakeries and restaurants that have at least 10 Google ratings, not every stall in the country.
Which F&B trends are rising and falling in 2026?
Twists on familiar drinks and new bakes are rising, while last year's viral desserts fade. Malaysian searches rose 127% for strawberry matcha, 78% for sugar-free drinks and 32% for mochi, while tiramisu fell 54% and cromboloni 47% (Google Ads estimates, April to September 2026 against 2025).
Search numbers are estimates from Google's Keyword Planner, rounded by Google. Most come from customers, so they show what customers want to try, not what owners plan.
| Search | Apr to Sep 2025 | Apr to Sep 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirty soda | 280 | 1,340 | +379% |
| Strawberry matcha | 36,200 | 82,100 | +127% |
| Sugar-free drinks | 270 | 480 | +78% |
| Sourdough | 95,400 | 138,900 | +46% |
| Mochi | 73,100 | 96,800 | +32% |
| Oat milk latte | 460 | 600 | +30% |
| Bagel | 95,400 | 109,400 | +15% |
| Korean fried chicken | 18,100 | 20,200 | +12% |
| Smash burger | 30,400 | 33,600 | +11% |
| Nasi lemak | 621,000 | 601,500 | -3% |
| Bubble tea | 52,900 | 50,700 | -4% |
| Dubai chocolate | 51,400 | 44,100 | -14% |
| Matcha | 235,300 | 186,600 | -21% |
| Croffle | 36,000 | 27,600 | -23% |
| Iced latte | 12,500 | 8,700 | -30% |
| Matcha latte | 64,200 | 41,100 | -36% |
| Cromboloni | 20,900 | 11,100 | -47% |
| Tiramisu | 187,200 | 86,100 | -54% |
Three patterns run through the table.
Twists beat the original. The matcha trend has not ended. It has changed shape: matcha searches fell 21% and matcha latte 36%, while strawberry matcha more than doubled, peaking at 40,500 searches in March 2026.
Lighter drinks rise from small bases. Sugar-free drinks, oat milk lattes and protein coffee (up 30%) each draw under 1,000 searches a month. They are small, but they are growing while the iced latte falls.
Viral desserts fall fast, staples hold. Tiramisu, cromboloni and croffle all fell, and the Malay search "coklat dubai" fell 59%. Nasi lemak, searched about 92,600 times a month, barely moved.
For a supplier, the table reads like an order book. Demand for matcha now follows the strawberry version, bakery demand follows sourdough and bagels, and sugar-free syrups follow the sugar-free search. Our Malay guide to makanan dan minuman viral shows how long each wave lasts.
How do Malaysians rate cafés and restaurants?
Restaurants are rated lower than cafés. In the public Google ratings of about 23,000 Malaysian restaurants, the median is 4.2 and 31% sit below 4.0. About 12,000 cafés have a median of 4.4, with 18% below 4.0 (Highground count, October 2026). Of ten trades we counted, only laundries rate lower.
The gap holds at every level. A café needs 4.7 to sit in the top quarter; a restaurant needs 4.5.
| Google rating | Cafés and bakeries | Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Places with at least 10 ratings | about 12,000 | about 23,000 |
| Median rating | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Bottom quarter at or below | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| Top quarter at or above | 4.7 | 4.5 |
| Top tenth at or above | 4.9 | 4.7 |
| Rated 4.5 or higher | 49% | 28% |
| Rated 4.8 or higher | 25% | 10% |
| Rated below 4.0 | 18% | 31% |
| Median number of ratings | 68 | 127 |
| Top quarter has at least | 201 ratings | 402 ratings |
Why lower? Customers spread their stars wider at a meal. In the reviews published from October 2024 to September 2026, about 690,000 for cafés and about 485,000 for restaurants, the split looks like this:
| Stars | Café reviews | Restaurant reviews |
|---|---|---|
| 5 stars | 80.1% | 69.7% |
| 4 stars | 9.1% | 12.4% |
| 3 stars | 3.3% | 5.5% |
| 2 stars | 2.0% | 2.8% |
| 1 star | 5.5% | 9.7% |
In seven of the ten trades we counted, more than 9 in 10 recent reviews are five stars. Cafés and restaurants are among the three where that is not true.
Owners rarely answer. Café owners replied to 17% of reviews and restaurant owners to 16%. For one- and two-star reviews, restaurant owners replied to only 13%, against 21% at cafés, a median of 2 to 3 days later.
So a 4.3 restaurant is not a weak restaurant. Our guide to what a good Google rating is sets the bar for each trade, and the free rating check compares any outlet with these figures.
What separates the best-rated cafés and restaurants?
The best-rated get talked about for people and comfort, the lowest-rated for price and waiting. "Price" is a Google review topic at 15% of Malaysia's lowest-rated restaurants and 6% of the best-rated, and at 10% against 4% for cafés (Highground count of about 1,500 restaurants and 670 cafés, October 2026).
Review topics are the labels Google lists above a place's reviews. We compared the best-rated quarter (about 230 cafés at 4.7 or higher, about 470 restaurants at 4.6 or higher) with the lowest-rated quarter (about 180 cafés at 4.1 or lower, about 460 restaurants at 4.0 or lower).
| Topic Google lists | Best-rated cafés | Lowest-rated cafés | Best-rated restaurants | Lowest-rated restaurants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly staff | 20% | 15% | 5% | 4% |
| Price | 4% | 10% | 6% | 15% |
| Matcha | 16% | 7% | not listed | not listed |
| Cozy place | 7% | not listed | 2% | not listed |
| Portion size | 2% | 2% | 8% | 7% |
| Nasi lemak | 7% | 5% | 6% | 12% |
| Queue | not listed | 5% | not listed | 3% |
| Cleanliness | not listed | 4% | not listed | 4% |
"Not listed" means the topic is not among the 60 most common in that group.
Three things stand out.
- People and a reason to stay. Friendly staff leads at the best-rated cafés, and "cozy place" appears only among them. Board games show up at 5% of the best-rated cafés too.
- Price, queues and cleanliness mark the lowest-rated. These are the topics customers raise when something went wrong. Restaurant customers also name waiting time.
- Staples get judged hardest. Nasi lemak is a topic at 12% of the lowest-rated restaurants, twice the 6% at the best-rated. Everyone knows how it should taste.
For an owner of several outlets, this is the list to check at each one. Our restaurant marketing ideas and café marketing ideas turn it into steps.
What do Malaysian cafés and restaurants charge?
A latte costs the same at cafés and restaurants: a median of RM12 in the Google price lists of about 370 Malaysian cafés and about 900 restaurants (Highground count, October 2026). A restaurant's nasi goreng kampung costs RM10.50 and teh tarik RM4.50, so a café drink often costs more than a plate of rice.
These are the median prices places list on their own Google profiles.
| Item | Where | Places listing it | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teh tarik | Restaurants | about 55 | RM4.50 |
| Milo | Restaurants | about 55 | RM5.40 |
| Mee goreng | Restaurants | about 30 | RM9.90 |
| Iced lemon tea | Restaurants | about 40 | RM9.90 |
| Nasi goreng kampung | Restaurants | about 55 | RM10.50 |
| Nasi goreng ayam | Restaurants | about 40 | RM13 |
| Butter croissant | Cafés | about 20 | RM6.90 |
| Americano | Cafés | about 60 | RM10 |
| Latte | Cafés | about 60 | RM12 |
| Latte | Restaurants | about 30 | RM12 |
| Cappuccino | Cafés | about 70 | RM12.90 |
| Matcha latte | Cafés | about 60 | RM14 |
| Matcha strawberry latte | Cafés | about 15 | RM15.20 |
| Big breakfast | Cafés | about 15 | RM29 |
Customers compare across that table. A RM15 drink sits beside a RM10.50 plate of fried rice in their heads, which is one reason price is the most common topic at the lowest-rated restaurants.
Price complaints follow surprise more than size. A customer who sees the price before ordering judges the food. One who finds it at the till judges the shop.
Restaurants can add a full menu with prices to their Google profile. The steps are in Google's help page about the menu editor.
Our free price list maker builds a clean list, and the price increase notice guide shows how to raise prices without losing regulars.
When are Malaysian cafés and restaurants busiest?
Cafés fill at weekend lunch and restaurants at weekend dinner. By Google's popular times for about 420 Malaysian cafés, Saturday at 2pm is the busiest hour (56.5 out of 100). For about 1,100 restaurants it is Saturday at 7pm (63.2), and weekdays at 4pm fall to about 36 (Highground count, October 2026).
Popular times show how busy a place usually is, hour by hour, against its own busiest hour of the week. Google explains how it measures them in its help page on popular times and visit duration.
| Hour starting | Cafés, Wednesday | Cafés, Saturday | Restaurants, Wednesday | Restaurants, Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 43.3 | 45.7 | 22.5 | 24.8 |
| 1pm | 52.9 | 55.8 | 45.9 | 47.9 |
| 2pm | 51.4 | 56.5 | 42.3 | 46.5 |
| 4pm | 46.8 | 53.6 | 35.6 | 40.9 |
| 7pm | 41.6 | 47.5 | 52.1 | 63.2 |
| 9pm | 33.4 | 41.2 | 44.8 | 54.7 |
A café's day is one hill around lunch. A restaurant's day has two: lunch, then a bigger dinner, with a valley between 3pm and 5pm.
That valley is useful. Restaurants can take deliveries, train staff and prep for dinner then. Cafés can run events on weekday evenings, which score about 40.
For suppliers, the same table sets the visiting hours. Call on a café before 10am and a restaurant mid-afternoon, when the owner has time to talk.
How does Ramadan change trade at cafés and restaurants?
Ramadan is the F&B industry's quiet month by day. Café reviews written per day fell 15% and restaurant reviews 20% in March 2025, the month of Ramadan, against February, while barbershop reviews rose 23% (Highground count, October 2026). April, after Raya, bounced back strongly.
Reviews written are a sign of visits, not a count of them. Ramadan 2025 ran from about 1 to 30 March, with Raya on 31 March, so March held the whole fasting month.
| Trade | Reviews per day, Feb 2025 | Mar 2025 (Ramadan) | Apr 2025 (Raya and after) | March against February | April against March |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cafés and bakeries | 688 | 585 | 800 | -15% | +37% |
| Restaurants | 465 | 370 | 542 | -20% | +46% |
| Barbershops | 118 | 146 | 117 | +23% | -20% |
Newer reviews are better covered than older ones in our counts, so later months run a little higher. Compare a month with the one next to it, not across years.
In 2026, Ramadan ran from 19 February to 20 March and split across two months. Against January, café reviews per day fell 12% in March and restaurant reviews 13%.
Daytime trade falls during the fast, and evenings carry buka puasa and moreh. Plan stock, staff leave and cash for a slower month, then for a busy April.
Our Ramadan and Raya promotion ideas cover buka puasa, moreh and the return after Raya.
If you run several outlets, Highground reads what customers write about each one and about your rivals, and tells you which outlet to fix (for cafés and restaurants). Suppliers use it to find the cafés that fit their product.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the state of the food and beverage industry in Malaysia in 2026?
Demand is shifting, not shrinking. Strawberry matcha searches rose 127% and sourdough 46%, while tiramisu fell 54% (Google Ads estimates, April to September 2026 against 2025). The restaurants we counted have a median Google rating of 4.2 and cafés 4.4. Price and queues mark the lowest-rated places in both.
How big is the beverage industry in Malaysia?
The Department of Statistics Malaysia counted 13,116 beverage services establishments in 2022, out of 136,453 food and beverage establishments in all, in its Economic Census 2023 (reported by Bernama). Food services were the largest group, with 107,129. The whole sector's gross output was RM99.0 billion.
Is the matcha trend over in Malaysia?
No, it is changing shape. Searches for matcha fell 21% and matcha latte 36%, while strawberry matcha rose 127% to 82,100 in April to September 2026. Matcha is still a Google review topic at 16% of the best-rated cafés we counted, against 7% of the lowest-rated.
What are the F&B trends for 2026?
Twists on familiar drinks, new bakes and lighter drinks are rising: strawberry matcha (up 127%), sourdough (up 46%), mochi (up 32%) and sugar-free drinks (up 78%). Last year's viral desserts are falling, led by tiramisu (down 54%) and cromboloni (down 47%). Nasi lemak held steady, down 3%.
When are restaurants busiest in Malaysia?
Saturday at 7pm is the busiest hour at Malaysian restaurants, scoring 63.2 out of 100 in Google's popular times for about 1,100 restaurants (Highground count, October 2026). Saturday at 8pm is close behind at 62.9. Weekdays at 4pm are the quietest afternoon hours, at about 36.
Keep Reading
- Menu ideas for café owners: what to add in 2026
- Menu ideas for restaurant owners in Malaysia for 2026
- What is a good Google rating for a restaurant in Malaysia?
Counted in October 2026 from public Google Maps information for Malaysia: the ratings of about 12,000 cafés and bakeries and about 23,000 restaurants with at least 10 ratings, their reviews published October 2024 to September 2026, the review topics Google lists for about 670 cafés and 1,500 restaurants, the price lists of about 370 cafés and 900 restaurants, and the popular times of about 420 cafés and 1,100 restaurants. Search figures are Google Ads estimates of monthly searches in Malaysia, April to September 2026 against April to September 2025. How we count.
Free tools: rating check, price rise notice maker, price list maker.