Starting a hospitality business in the Netherlands: what it really costs

You've got the concept, the location, and the menu sorted, but have you factored in the energy bill yet? Makro Webshop's Restaurant Launch Report, published on 7 October 2026, compared 20 EU countries on the costs and opportunities of opening a new restaurant, and the Netherlands lands in 8th place, with its energy bill as the biggest gap compared to the other 19 countries studied (De Cafékrant, 2026, Dutch source). The Netherlands isn't a bad place to start: demand is strong and food and drink are relatively cheap to buy in. But an owner who only budgets for concept, location, and menu misses a cost item that sits noticeably lower in other EU countries. Knowing in advance which items tend to surprise you means a more realistic budget, and starting out in control of the numbers instead of correcting course after the fact.

Key takeaways

• The Netherlands ranks 8th of 20 compared EU countries in Makro Webshop's Restaurant Launch Report; Spain, Finland, and Denmark top the list (De Cafékrant, 2026).
• Electricity costs a hospitality business in the Netherlands €0.21 per kWh on average, against €0.09 to €0.13 in Northern European markets, the single biggest cost gap for the country (De Cafékrant, 2026).
• The Netherlands combines strong domestic demand and favorable food and beverage prices with higher energy costs and a tight labor market, according to Makro Webshop country manager Luuk Schuiling (De Cafékrant, 2026).
• The number of hospitality businesses in the Netherlands grew to 81,840 at the start of the third quarter of 2026 (+225 versus the previous quarter), while the sector still had 28,100 open vacancies in the second quarter (KVK Ondernemersplein, 2026, Dutch Chamber of Commerce).
• The Dutch energy tax on gas rose from 42.2 cents per m³ in 2021 to 72.7 cents per m³ in 2026, a 72% increase in five years, hitting not just households but also a hospitality kitchen's gas and power bill (Keuze.nl, 2026, Dutch source).

The Netherlands is attractive to start in, but not the cheapest choice in the EU

For the Restaurant Launch Report, Makro Webshop compared 20 EU countries on nine indicators across four categories: revenue and demand, costs and margins, bureaucracy and staffing, and competition and real estate. Spain comes out as the most favorable market, followed by Finland and Denmark. The Netherlands sits in 8th place: not at the bottom, but not in the top tier either (De Cafékrant, 2026).

Makro Webshop country manager Luuk Schuiling calls it a mixed picture: strong domestic demand and favorable food and drink prices stand against higher energy costs and a labor market under more pressure than in many of the other countries studied. That mixed picture is exactly why "starting in the Netherlands" doesn't have one simple answer: you're well positioned on some fronts and not on others.

Which cost items new hospitality owners underestimate

Energy is the cost item that most often turns into an unpleasant surprise. Hospitality businesses in the Netherlands pay €0.21 per kilowatt-hour on average, against €0.09 to €0.13 in Northern European markets like Finland and Denmark (De Cafékrant, 2026). For a kitchen running multiple ovens, fridges, and extraction units, that gap adds up to a meaningful share of fixed costs, and it's an item that's easy to underestimate when writing a first budget simply because it doesn't show up on a contractor's or supplier's quote.

These high energy costs aren't a one-off. The Dutch energy tax on gas, introduced to encourage sustainability, rose from 42.2 to 72.7 cents per m³ in five years, a 72% increase (Keuze.nl, 2026). That hits every household and every business cooking or heating on gas, and it's a large part of why the energy bill surfaces as a Dutch weak point in the EU comparison.

Owners who've just signed a lease often only see this reflected once the energy supplier sends the first annual settlement, by which point it's too late to rethink the kitchen layout or reconsider a different property. Ask for an indication of expected consumption during the site search itself, especially for a kitchen with multiple ovens, fryers, or walk-in coolers, instead of relying on what the previous tenant paid.

How the Netherlands compares to 19 other EU countries

The four categories in the Restaurant Launch Report show exactly where the Netherlands wins and loses. On revenue and demand, the Netherlands scores well: domestic demand is stable, and food and drink are relatively affordable to buy in compared with other EU countries. On costs and margins, and on bureaucracy and staffing, the picture flips: alongside the energy bill, the labor market plays a role too (De Cafékrant, 2026).

Dutch figures back up that last point. In the second quarter of 2026, roughly 30% of hospitality businesses reported staff shortages, with 28,100 open vacancies in the sector (KVK Ondernemersplein, 2026). A new owner who only looks at rent and equipment misses two structural cost items that weigh just as heavily in practice: the energy bill and the cost of staff in a tight labor market.

Fixed costs versus one-off startup costs: where the pain really sits

It helps to separate two types of cost. One-off costs, such as renovation, permits, and equipment, vary enormously by municipality and property, and disappear once the business opens. Fixed costs, such as energy, staff, and purchasing, come back every single month, all year round. The energy bill, in other words, isn't a one-time setback you absorb once; it's a structural line item that counts in every profit-and-loss calculation, same as rent and payroll.

That new owners aren't put off by this is clear from the figures: the number of hospitality businesses in the Netherlands grew to 81,840 at the start of the third quarter of 2026, 225 more than the quarter before (KVK Ondernemersplein, 2026). Appetite to start a business is undiminished. But hospitality also has the highest bankruptcy rate of any Dutch sector, and profit fell in 2025 despite revenue growth (see the background in our article on financial resilience, Dutch content). Owners who keep a sharp eye on fixed costs from day one are the ones who avoid becoming part of that statistic.

Building a realistic startup budget: where to start

Don't start with the interior fit-out. Start with permits and fixed costs, the two items most often forgotten. Ask your municipality which permits you need (operating license, alcohol license, terrace permit, environmental permit) and what they cost, since this varies by municipality and property. Before signing a lease, request a concrete energy quote based on the equipment you'll actually use, rather than borrowing an estimate from a comparable property. Use a business plan model, such as the one published by KHN (the Dutch hospitality association), to map renovation, equipment, and working capital before you commit to a property. Calculate staff costs using current collective labor agreement pay scales, not figures from a few years back, given the labor market pressure described above. And set a target food cost in advance: in a healthy hospitality business that's typically 28% to 35% of revenue, so you're managing margin from the first order instead of discovering too late where it leaked away.

Staying on top of costs from day one

The best time to set up cost control is at the start, not after a disappointing first quarter. Recipe management (Dutch only) in Horecaflix centrally tracks purchasing, portion size, and cost price per dish, so from your first week on the menu you see exactly where margin is leaking the moment a purchase price or energy bill rises, instead of having to work it out after the fact. The same discipline helps bring food cost down structurally (Dutch content) without cutting corners on quality.

For a new owner with a single location, that's exactly what Horecaflix's Basis plan is built for: the complete platform, including recipe management, staff scheduling, and team communication, from €49 a month for one location, with unlimited staff. Already running on separate tools? The free migration service moves your recipes, schedules, and staff data over at no cost, so switching doesn't add weeks of extra work in a phase where you already have plenty to arrange.

Especially in that first year, while fixed costs are still proving how realistic your budget was, it makes a real difference whether you can adjust per cost item as you go or only discover at year-end that margin has quietly drained away. A standing overview of cost price per dish, tied to current purchase prices, is as much a basic requirement as a POS system or a reservations calendar.

Conclusion: what this means if you're starting a hospitality business now

The Netherlands remains a promising country to start a hospitality business in, just not the cheapest one: 8th place out of 20 EU countries shows that the energy bill and the labor market weigh more heavily here than in many neighboring countries. Owners who factor that into the budget upfront, rather than at the first year-end close, start with a realistic picture of fixed costs and avoid margin pressure in year one.

Want to know how to set up cost pricing and margin control for your new hospitality business? Check Horecaflix pricing or get in touch, and we'll go through the numbers behind your plans together.