The U.S. sushi industry has rapidly grown to become a USD 22 billion (EUR 18.8 billion) industry, according to a new report from the National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) Sushi Council, which found that its consumption has expanded far beyond traditional sushi restaurants to mainstream casual dining restaurants, retail delis, and other channels.
The report said that sushi has experienced “explosive demand” among U.S. consumers, particularly among Gen Z and millennials who are attracted to sushi’s perceived health benefits, convenience, and global flavor profile. Notably, lower-income Gen Z consumers report higher sushi consumption frequency than higher-income baby boomers, “signaling a broadening and democratization of the category,” NFI said.
“Sushi’s growth in the U.S. is one of the most compelling stories in seafood today, with strong momentum across both retail and foodservice channels,” NFI Sushi Council Executive Director Dick Jones said in a release. “From inland markets to non-traditional venues like hospitals and corporate dining, the opportunity for continued expansion is substantial.”
USD 16 billion (EUR 13.7 billion) in sushi sales are generated through restaurants alone, “underscoring sushi’s emergence as a major driver of seafood consumption,” NFI noted.
The U.S. is home to more than 16,000 dedicated sushi restaurants, and sushi has infiltrated the menus of numerous non-sushi restaurants, the report found.
Across U.S. restaurants, sushi appeared on 7.1 percent of menus in 2025, representing about 50,000 locations, per Datassential.
Several Japanese firms are taking advantage of the rise of sushi in the U.S., with the report particularly pointing to Kura Sushi, Zensho Holdings, and Sojitz Corp. as major operators contributing to growth.
Kura Sushi, which has quickly established more than 84 U.S. restaurants, reported a surge in total U.S. sales for the second quarter of its 2026 fiscal year, rising from USD 64.9 million (EUR 55.5 million) to USD 80 million (EUR 68 million) year over year. Comparable restaurant sales also grew 8.6 percent in the quarter.
To further growth, the firm has expressed interest in expanding the use of next-generation robotics and the presence of izakaya, or Japanese small plate, restaurants to the U.S. market.
Meanwhile, Tokyo, Japan-based Zensho Holdings and Sojitz are focused on installing sushi kiosks in U.S. supermarkets, universities, and hospitals across the country. Zensho has spent nearly USD 1 billion (EUR 856 million) across two major acquisitions in 2018 and 2023 to take a majority share of retail kiosk sushi in the U.S. Sojitz followed suit with the acquisition of Sushi Avenue, which operates 300 kiosks across 20 U.S. states.
Retail expansion has played a critical role in sushi sales, NFI said.
According to the 2026 Power of Seafood report, FMI – The Food Industry Association found that sushi sales at retail totaled USD 3.9 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) in 2025, representing an increase of 7.9 percent year over year. Sales by volume, meanwhile, rose 7.4 percent.
Even though sushi does not necessarily move the needle for seafood suppliers on a sales volume level, with FMI Vice President of Fresh Foods Rick Stein, in an interview with SeafoodSource at the 2026 Seafood Expo North America, said that the mere fact that sushi is getting consumers to engage with seafood can be a win for the category.
“Sushi is considered healthy because it has seafood in it, so how do you take that sentiment and move it over to the seafood section?” Stein said.
The NFI report found that there are more than 12,500 sushi kiosks across the U.S., the vast majority of which are located in grocery stores. Additionally, that total does not represent sushi’s true penetration in the U.S., NFI said, as a single kiosk can serve multiple large stores and supply the grab-and-go aisles in smaller convenience stores.
According to NFI, there is still a lot of “white space” in the U.S. retail market, as only 2 percent of Walmart stores and 1 percent of Costco stores have sushi kiosks.
However, both retailers have ambitious plans to incorporate sushi in their stores, NFI added.
Other gaps that present sushi with opportunities to grow include catering to corporate America, along with colleges and hospital foodservice, according to the report, which said that sushi sales via Sodexo, Compass, and Aramark represent around a USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.5 billion) market.
Only a handful of kiosk operators are installed in corporate offices in the 50 biggest publicly traded companies in the U.S., according to the report, and none in the biggest privately held enterprises.
Additionally, only one-fifth of the 60 largest hospitals in the U.S. have sushi kiosks, and only 15 percent of the biggest university campuses have them.
“The fact that the likes of Zensho and Sushi Avenue have kiosks in hundreds of smaller organizations speaks to the growth prospects to come,” the report said.
