Foodservice Catering Trends in U.S.

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Catering revenues in the United States are on the rise, rebounding from a difficult year in 2009. Estimates from Packaged Foods portray an industry in recovery, with a 9% increase to $14.2 billion in 2010. This report predicts that this recovery will continue, with increased sales of 9.1% in 2011 and 6.5% in 2012. Much of this growth is contributed to by the expansion of restaurants into the in-home entertaining industry, increasing budgets for business special event spending, and increasing consumer confidence. Weddings, personal entertaining, and private special events also contribute to the growth of the catering sector both by traditional catering companies, as well as hotels and food retailers.

This report provides knowledge of this burgeoning industry that enables market participants to base strategies on sound analysis. Aspects covered in this report include growth factors, market size and forecast, health trends, key trends in institutional food service, sustainability concerns and technology. You will also gain insight on the catering consumer, as well as the analysis of opportunities for expanding catering services to new life and social events. 

This Packaged Facts report provides the insight and analysis market participants need to plan their catering and foodservice strategies. Key coverage includes the following:

• A market size and forecast for the catering industry, including caterers; full-service restaurants; limited-service restaurants; snack and non-alcoholic beverage establishments; foodservice contractors; and hotels.
• Key factors to catering growth: travel, hotels and accommodations, and holiday party spending
• Trended consumer catering expenditures by demographic.
• Catering trends within the institutional foodservice category, with a focus on hospitals and colleges and universities.
• Restaurant catering operation tracking
• Catering macro-trend analysis, including the economy; sustainability and environmental concerns; technology; food & celebrity chef familiarity; and health trends.
• Insight on the “catered meals” consumer, including stand-alone analysis as well as restaurant, institutional foodservice and food retail context.
• Catering operations analysis of a mixture of restaurant, food retail, foodservice contractor, and caterer companies, such as Panera Bread, Whole Foods Market, Compass Group, and Blue Plate Catering.
• Catering “opportunity analysis” of significant life events (such as births, weddings, and funerals) as well as significant social events (such as the Super Bowl).