Caterers NAICS 722320

May 6, 2026 - Rising Wholesale Food Prices

• Rising and volatile food prices continue to pressure the catering industry, despite some recent stabilization. Wholesale food prices edged up slightly in March after a sharp increase in February, though they remain 1.5% below year-ago levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, prices are still about 34% higher than pre-pandemic levels, keeping overall input costs elevated. For caterers, the impact is uneven. Prices of ingredients like eggs, dairy, and sugar have declined significantly, offering limited relief. But key cost drivers such as fresh vegetables, beef, coffee, and oils have risen sharply, increasing expenses for many menus. The mixed pricing environment makes cost management more complex, as profitability depends heavily on menu composition. Overall, even modest recent increases and persistent elevated price levels mean caterers continue to face margin pressure, forcing them to adjust pricing, menus, or sourcing strategies to stay profitable.
• 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.
• Employment by caterers grew 7.8% in February compared to a year ago, while the average industry wage at catering and mobile food services rose 8.4% over the same period to $25.16 per hour, down pennies from its peak in January, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment by the catering industry is cyclical, peaking in the summer and fall and bottoming out in the first quarter. Sales for the US caterers industry are forecast to grow at a 5.0% compounded annual rate from 2026 to 2030, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to the latest Interindustry Economic Research Fund forecast.