The catering market | France

1.1 Market overview

The catering market is one of the five commercial catering segments with traditional restaurants, fast-food restaurants, cafeterias and drinking establishments. This market is closely linked to the events market, and is aimed at both professionals (welcome coffees, business lunches, cocktail parties, company seminars, etc.) and individuals (weddings, christenings etc.). In this context, and although he can take care of a wide range of services around an event (decoration, service, animation...), the caterer is generally the one who prepares dishes or meals, to deliver or to take away.

There are approximately 2,000 new caterers in France each year, even though half of them do not survive more than 5 years. However, there is an increase in the number of companies operating in this market, despite the difficulties associated with constantly adapting to new technologies, changes in consumption patterns and to the intensification of competition.

The catering market is growing in France, with a growth rate of around 5% per year between 2014 and 2019. However, 2020 has been a difficult year for the sector, with professionals estimating that 20% of companies will go out of business.

Within this market, we find different ranges of caterers offering a variety of products (gastronomic, organic, Asian, etc.). There are also two main categories of caterers: the caterer organizer of receptions (TOR), and the neighborhood caterer.  The study will focus mainly on the first category. Self-service caterers (LS), available in supermarkets, will also be excluded.