the contract catering market | France

2.1 Four major client families

The National Union of Contract Caterers (***) categorises the client scope into four major categories:

Education: from small classes to Universities Retirement homes and social institutions Corporate: businesses and administrations, generally public Medical: hospitals and other health care institutions

These four market players represented **% of the turnover of contract catering companies in ...

2.2 Demand analysis by customer type

Education

The student population, of all ages and all levels, increased by *.**% in ** years, from **.** million in **** to **.** million in **** (***). The margins for growth are still significant, with a concession rate of a mere **% in ****. [***]

  School enrolment France, ****-****, in '*** people Source: INSEE  

Retirement homes and social institutions

At ...

2.3 New ways of eating out

Snacking

Other out-of-home catering circuits are being developed near or within establishments that are customers of Contract Catering Services. This is notably the case for snack offers that appeal for their simplicity and affordability. Many companies thus have their own snacking areas, a trend that collective catering leaders are integrating into ...

3.1 Market concentration is high

Contract catering services are run by three major players in the French market. Elior Group, Sodexo France and Compass together hold a market share of more than **% in France, measured through sales. The first two are French in origin and are now among the world leaders in contract catering, notably through ...

3.2 Domestic market dominated by local players

French companies dominate the market, with Sodexo and Elior being national. Below the distribution of meals sold is depicted.

Ranking of the top ** SRCs (***) by number of meals France, ****, in million meals Source : Néorestauration (***)estimates based on group turnover data and the average for the sector no. of meals/ ...

3.3 Distribution

The clear majority of collective catering meals are delivered to the client. This is the essence of the service's value add. In ****, **% of caterers operated under licensed collective catering, whilst **% were directly managed.

Sales by distribution channel for out-of-home catering, measured in volume France, ****, in % Source: ****

3.4 Les spécificités des acteurs de la restauration collective dans les transports

Les acteurs de la restauration aérienne et ferroviaire sont des acteurs bien distincts du reste du marché de la restauration collective. En effet, les plateaux-repas confectionnés sont livrés en l'état et consommés sur des lieux différents du lieu de préparation, à la différence des ...

4.1 Service lines by target clientele

The major groups in the sector develop their solutions according to the type of customers they target, offering a varied range of meals for companies, and educational and health establishments. All the information in this section is taken directly from the websites of the main playersnamely Elior Group , Sodexo France and ...

4.2 Bio products are on the rise in the catering industry

In ****, **% of collective catering establishments declared offering organic products, *% more than at the end of ****. Moreover, of these companies, **% are private and **% are public structures. [***]

Gazette-santé-social states that the bio products served in the contract catering are **% from France, and **% origine régional.  

Share of catering establishments that have introduced ...

4.3 Cost index

In ****, the average price of a meal in a collective restaurant was *.**€ The client pays the part not covered by his or her community or by his or her employer. [***] 

Also in ****, the average price of a starter, main course and dessert in CROUS student restaurants was *.**€ on average. The city ...

5.1 Current regulation

France's regulation regarding collective catering falls under the food paradigm. An overview can be found here, and is summarised below:

Food hygiene standards

Regulation (***) No ***/**** touches on the hygiene of foodstuffs.

Decree n°****-**** of ** September **** The Commission is also responsible for the implementation of Article L. ***-* of the Consumer ...

6.1 Company segmentation

• Sodexo France
• Elior Group
• Compass Group France
• API Restauration
• Dupont Restauration
• Restalliance