CONTRACT CATERING MARKET ANALYSIS

Contract Catering Market – Insights

Contract catering is a catering company that is hired by an organization to provide catering services on a regular basis.

Increasing demand for food-away-from-home across the globe due to rising millennial and working population is expected to drive growth of the contract catering market over the forecast period. For instance, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in October 2016, average spending on food of U.S. household was valued at US$ 7,023 in 2015 of which, spending on food-away-from-home accounted for share of 43% (around US$ 3,008) of all food spending.

On the basis of sector, corporate segment is expected to witness significant growth in the global contract catering market over the forecast period. Corporate segment includes IT sector, banking & financial sector, consumer services, and other professional services such as KPOs (knowledge process outsourcing) and BPOs (business process outsourcing).

The global contract catering market was valued at US$ 215.9 billion in 2018, and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.8% over the forecast period (2019-2027), to reach US$ 355.6 billion by 2027.

North America is expected to be a lucrative region in the global contract catering market. For instance, according to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, North America is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.0% in the contract catering market during the forecast period (2019-2027). The growth is mainly attributed to increasing demand for contract catering from corporate sector in North America. For instance, according to Compass Group’s annual report (2018), corporate and industrial sector accounted for the largest revenue share of 31.0% of the total revenue generated in North America with operating profit of 8.1% in 2018. Moreover, healthy catering outsourcing culture in the U.S. is expected to drive growth of the contract catering market in North America.

Figure 1. Global Contract Catering Market Share (US$ Mn), By Region, 2018

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Source: Coherent Market Insights, 2018-19

Among regions, Middle East & Africa region is expected to witness significant growth in the global contract catering market over the forecast period. Middle East & Africa contract catering market is mainly dominated by regional players. For instance, National Catering Services & Foodstuff is a leading contract caterer in the Middle East region, providing 31,000 meals/day in industry, business, and education sectors in GCC. Increasing number of regional contract caterers is expected to boost growth of the contract catering market in the region.

Europe is expected to witness a lucrative growth in global contract catering market by 2021.  The growth is attributed to rising presence of contract caterers and their adoption of growth strategies such as providing new venue, events solution and merger & acquisition. For instance, in September 2019, CH&CO, one of the leading players in contract catering, headquartered in the U.K., launched a new venue and event solution called ‘eve’. The combination of the company’s resources & network, venue and events are expected to help the company in gaining competitive advantages.

Global companies such as Compass Group have low presence in the Europe region and operate through joint ventures. For instance, Compass Group entered into a joint venture partnership with Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) in 2000, named ADNH Compass. Therefore, there is a high scope for market penetration in Middle East & Africa region for global catering giants such as Sodexho and Aramark.

Figure 2. Global Contract Catering Market Share (%), Analysis, By Sector, 2018

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Source: Coherent Market Insights, 2018-19

Players operating in the global contract catering market are focused on adopting various growth strategies such as providing new catering services and expansion to enhance their customer base. For instance, in December 2018, Elior Group SA, that operates in contract catering and support services under two main brands namely Elior and Elior Services, created a new generation central kitchen model called ‘the Pépinière du gout’.  

Furthermore, the company launched TRIO Community Meals, as a leading brand in senior nutrition and community meals in September 2019. This was done by combining -Valley, Bateman Community Living, and Lindley brands. With this launch, the company strengthened its presence in the meals-on-wheels and community meals initiatives.

Major players operating in the global contract catering market include Compass Group PLC, United Enterprises Co. Ltd., Elior Group SA, Aramark Corporation, CH&Co Catering Group Limited, Mitie Group plc., Sodexo S.A., Westbury Street Holdings Limited, and Rhubarb Food Design Limited.