Caterers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 12,500 caterers in the US provide food and beverage services for a variety of events, including weddings, parties, luncheons, and trade shows. Additional services include equipment (tables, chairs, dinnerware) rental, floral/centerpiece design, and event planning/design. Weddings account for slightly more than half of industry revenue, corporate events are about a quarter, and social events are 20%.
Competition from Alternative Sources
Caterers compete with a variety of alternative sources, including restaurants and food retailers, such as warehouse clubs and grocery stores.
Seasonal, Uneven Demand
Demand for catering services can be seasonal and uneven, driven by holiday events and special occasions.
Industry size & Structure
The average caterer operates out of a single location, employs 17 workers, and generates about one million dollars annually.
- The catering industry consists of about 12,500 companies, employs about 213,000 workers, and generates about $12.5 billion annually.
- The industry is highly fragmented; the top 50 firms account for 15% of industry sales.
- Some large restaurant chains offer catering services.
Industry Forecast
Caterers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 6, 2025 - 2025 Wedding Survey
- Weddings – a key source of revenue for many caterers – have gotten smaller as the cost per guest has risen sharply, according to The Knot 2025 Real Weddings Survey. In 2024, the average number of wedding guests was 116, down from 131 in 2019, while the cost per guest rose to $284 from $214 in 2019, driving the average cost of a wedding up nearly $5,000 over the five-year period. In 2024, Gen Z couples hosted larger weddings compared to millennials (131 vs 113 guests) and were more likely to have a rehearsal dinner (81% vs. 73%), while millennials were more likely to host a morning-after brunch than Gen Z (24% vs 17%). Champagne toasts were also more popular among millennials compared to Gen Z (44% vs. 31%). In 2024, the average catering cost per head was $80 with 84% of couples employing a caterer.
- Return-to-office mandates in 2025 would provide a boost to corporate catering companies that saw business dry up as workers stayed at home. Now with big employers including Amazon, AT&T, and Starbucks announcing requirements for employees to return to office full-time this year and President-elect Trump wanting federal workers back in the office five days a week, will 2025 be the year workers return en masse to their offices? Probably not, according to human resources executives from PwC, Canva, Magnit, and EY, who all told Fortune magazine in December that they expect hybrid schedules to continue to be the norm this year. The strong preference among workers for the flexibility and cost-saving at-home work provides means companies that enable a hybrid approach will have a competitive advantage attracting top talent.
- The latest USDA food price inflation forecast for 2025 provides a mixed picture for consumers and food service providers, with grocery prices expected to tick up while restaurant prices fall. For 2025, grocery prices are projected to rise 1.6%, up from 1.2% in 2024, while restaurant prices are forecast to increase 3.4%, down from 4.1% this year. Beef prices are expected to rise 5.5% this year and 2.2% in 2025. Pork is forecast to increase 1.7% and 2.2% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Egg prices continue to show volatility, with 2024 costs projected to rise 8.8%. The 2025 egg price increase was recently revised to 10.5%, a sharp jump from the 4.7% projected in September. The USDA noted that bird fly outbreaks have significantly reduced the US egg-layer flock, contributing to the surge in price.
- Employment by caterers rose 7.7% in December compared to a year ago, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. While employment by catering companies fell from its peak in October, it remains historically high and has long exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Average wages at caterers rose 1.3% year over year in December to a record high of $24.18 per hour, BLS data show. The winter holidays are a peak season for catering companies, which hire to meet demand before shedding workers during the quiet post-festive months of January and February.
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