Caterers NAICS 722320

Jan 6, 2026 - Optimism & Challenges in 2026

• After years of navigating unprecedented challenges, catering professionals are entering 2026 with renewed optimism, with a large majority (85%) expressing confidence in the sector’s health, according to the 2026 Global Meetings & Events Forecast from American Express. Still, the catering industry will face challenges this year as client expectations evolve toward a sharper focus on impactful experiences versus extravagance, per the AmEx forecast. Food is becoming an experience rather than a checkbox, while service is no longer merely a feature, but rather a defining factor in creating lasting memories. For catering companies, the challenge lies in crafting personalized, engaging, and transformative experiences for budget-conscious clients amid rising labor and materials costs. Seasoned caterers will be squeezed by rising costs amid an influx of lower-cost new competitors as clients do more planning online, comparing multiple options on Instagram and Google, and DIY’ing big portions of their event.
• Caterers are facing new competition from restaurants, especially fast-casual chains that launched drop-off or pickup catering during the pandemic to boost business, The Wall Street Journal reports. “Caterers do have a challenge to compete with restaurants who have brick-and-mortars and storefronts and brand-name recognition,” Alex M. Susskind, professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University told WSJ in June, adding “That may negatively affect traditional caterers, so they need to pound the pavement and really sell how they are different and more personalized than a fast-casual restaurant that can drop off a self-serve taco bar.” As more companies host catered meals to lure employees back to the office, competition for corporate catering jobs is heating up. And as post-pandemic pent-up demand for weddings and bar mitzvahs has waned, the big growth area for caterers is corporate spending, Susskind says.

• Tariffs on imports are poised to have a negative impact on the catering industry, Catersource reported in May. While caterers themselves generally do not import products directly neither are they end users. As such, a 25% tariff will typically raise the prices caterers pay for imports, not by the full 25% but by somewhat less, assuming that importers absorb some of the tariff-based increase. However, since caterers are value-adding intermediate consumers of imports, these tariffs will likely impose substantial cost increases in the industry, according to Catersource. Mexico and Canada, both targets of Trump administration tariffs, are major suppliers of perishable foods to the US, including much seasonal produce (Mexico) and seafood and pork (Canada). A 15% increase in prices of these products based on a 25% tariff would make a sizable impact, possibly as much as 2–3% food cost on food revenue, per Catersource.
• Employment by caterers grew 2.2% in August compared to a year ago, easing a bit from its record high in June as the industry staffed up for the peak wedding and event season, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Meanwhile, the average industry wage at catering and mobile food services rose 1% over the same period to $23.53 per hour, down from its record high in December 2024, per the BLS. Looking ahead, sales for the US caterers industry are forecast to grow at a 4.98% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to the latest forecast by the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.