2025 U.S. Industry Statistics & Market Forecast - Caterers

Published: October 2025

Industry Insights

Major trends affect the Caterers industry include:

1. Increased demand for healthier, organic menu options
2. Rise in specialized dietary requests (gluten-free, vegan, etc.)
3. Growth in off-premise catering and delivery services
4. Integration of technology for efficiency (ordering systems, event management software)
5. Sustainability practices in sourcing and waste management
6. Popularity of global and ethnic cuisines
7. Collaborations with local farms and suppliers
8. Expansion in corporate and social event catering
9. Emphasis on unique and experiential dining events
10. Impact of social media on marketing and customer engagement
11. Fluctuations in raw material costs affecting menu pricing
12. Increasing regulatory focus on food safety and handling
13. Shift towards casual and informal dining styles in event catering
14. Use of AI and data analytics for personalized menu planning

Product & Services Breakdown

Research products and services in the Caterers industry generating sales. Note that products are broken into categories with different levels of classification.

Product Description	Number of Companies	Sales ($ millions)	Percent of Total Sales
Industry Total
Alcoholic Beverages Served For Immediate Consumption
Meals, Unpackaged Snacks, Sandwiches, Unpackaged Ice Cream & Yogurt, Bakery Items, Other Food Items & Nonalcoholic Beverages Prepared
Meals & Snacks Served By A Server (I.E., Full Service)
Meals & Snacks Dispensed W/O Table Service For Consumption On Premises
Meals & Snacks Prepared For Immediate Consumption Off The Premises
Meals, Snacks & Beverages Prepared Under Long-Term Contract
Meals, Snacks & Nonalcoholic Beverages Prepared Under Long-Term Contract Other Than For Transportation Businesses
Meals, Snacks, & Beverages Prepared For Catered Events
Meals, Snacks & Nonalcoholic Beverages Served At Catered Events On The Caterer's Premises
Meals, Snacks & Nonalcoholic Beverages Served At Catered Events Away From The Caterer's Premises
Meals, Snacks & Nonalcoholic Beverages Dropped Off At The Customer's Event
Meals, Snacks & Nonalcoholic Beverages Prepared For Customer Pick-Up
Alcoholic Beverages Prepared For Catered Events
Employment Services, Including Temporary Cooks, Bartenders, & Waitstaff
Rental Of Non-Residential Space
Other Services

U.S. Geographic Distribution: Revenue Statistics by State

Market Size by State ($ millions) indicates how the industry's competition is distributed throughout the country. State-level information can identify areas with higher and lower industry market share than average.

Income Statement (Average Financial Metrics)

Financial metrics provide a snapshot view of a benchmark "average" company. Key business metrics show revenue and operating costs. The data collected covers both public and private companies.

	Industry Average	Percent of Sales (Industry Benchmark)
Total Revenue	Order at top of page
Operating Revenue
Cost of Goods Sold
Gross Profit
Operating Expenses
Pension, profit sharing plans, stock, annuity
Repairs
Rent paid on business property
Charitable Contributions
Depletion
Domestic production activities deduction
Advertising
Compensation of officers
Salaries and wages
Employee benefit programs
Taxes and Licenses
Bad Debts
Depreciation
Amortization
Other Operating Expenses
Total Operating Expenses
Operating Income
Non-Operating Income
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes)
Interest Expense
Earnings Before Taxes
Income Tax
Net Profit Net Income

Source: AnythingResearch Analysis of U.S. federal statistics

Compensation & Salary Surveys for Employees

Compensation statistics provides an accurate assessment of industry-specific jobs and national salary averages. This information can be used to identify which positions are most common, and high, low, and average annual wages.

Title	Percent of Workforce	Bottom Quartile	Average (Median) Salary	Upper Quartile
Management Occupations	5%	Order at top of page
Chief Executives	0%
General and Operations Managers	2%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	74%
Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	9%
Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	9%
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	6%
Cooks and Food Preparation Workers	23%
Cooks	15%
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	9%
Food Preparation Workers	7%
Food Preparation Workers	7%
Food and Beverage Serving Workers	34%
Fast Food and Counter Workers	20%
Fast Food and Counter Workers	20%
Waiters and Waitresses	8%
Waiters and Waitresses	8%
Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers	8%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Caterers Competitor Landscape & Key Companies [PREMIUM]

The most influential companies in the Caterers industry and adjacent industries either have large market share or are developing new business models and methods that could disrupt the status quo. We look at leading and emerging companies in the Caterers industry and adjacent sectors:

Market Leaders: Direct Competitors Companies with the largest market share, focused in this industry	Market leaders: Diversified Competitors Largest companies that have diversified operations in this and other industries
Innovators: Direct Competitors Innovative, Emerging, and Disruptive Companies that may influence the future direction of the industry.	Innovators: Diversified Competitors Innovators and Disruptors in adjacent industries that may also affect the Caterers industry.

Latest Industry News

• IMAA encourages members to support Indigenous businesses and reconciliation initiatives - Australia’s national industry body representing independent media agencies, has called on its members to turn intention into action this NAIDOC Week, supporting Indigenous businesses and reconciliation initiatives. (07/07/2025)
• ‘Extravagant’: Is THIS what caused Hilton College controversy? - Is this one of the reasons that caused the principal of Hilton College to chastise the 'extravagant' displays by parents of learners? (07/06/2025)
• Stan Hywet’s Off the Vine tasting event coming up - The food and wine event features tapas-style appetizers and a variety of wines in the historic Akron estate’s gardens. (07/05/2025)
• Self-caterers protest against being "scapegoated" by Perth and Kinross Council for housing crisis - A demonstration was held outside Perth and Kinross Council's headquarters as a part of a Scotland-wide campaign (07/04/2025)
• Clean dining: See all 74 South Florida restaurants, food trucks with perfect inspections in June 2025 - In Broward County, 46 eateries earned perfect scores. Meanwhile, in Palm Beach County, 28 passed their inspections without a single incident. (07/03/2025)
• California boosts film and TV tax credit to $750 million to preserve jobs - Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation expanding California’s film and TV tax credit to $750M to keep production local. (07/03/2025)
• Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers’ Stop Scapegoating Self Caterers campaign hits Highlands as protestors target council buildings - A campaign blasting back at local and national government for blaming short-term let owners for Scotland’s housing crisis today hit the Highlands. (06/28/2025)
• You Know Who Else Wants You Back in the Office? Catering Companies. - The rise of remote work wasn’t kind to caterers, who have seen revenue rebound the past couple of years (06/26/2025)
• Healthcare caterers advised to limit ready to eat chilled food shelf life to two days - The British Sandwich & Food to Go Association (BSA) has released new guidelines for caterers feeding patients in hospitals and healthcare settings. (06/25/2025)
• Watch as Prempeh College caterers praise Mahama over quality of food items - GhanaWeb - The caterers were featured in a viral video expressing their appreciation to the president and his administration for easing their workload. “We come to start the fire as early as 4:00 a.m. (06/08/2025)