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Summary of our market study
In France, the contract catering market is estimated at €6.3 billion in 2023.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Introduction and scope of the study
Contract catering is an industry that prepares and distributes meals within communities, companies or public institutions. It differs from commercial catering in that its moderate prices are partly paid by the employer and not entirely by the customer. The sector's manufacturers are the producers and suppliers of meals and, where applicable, labor. [Contract catering]
The market is divided into two main types of CRS management: direct management on the one hand, where the client organization manages the catering, teams, etc., and concessional management on the other, where a service provider supplies the aforementioned services. Our study will therefore focus on the latter segment.
The global contract catering market is dynamic, and should continue to grow over the next few years, with an average annual growth rate of 3. 3% between 2023 and 2032.
In France, an average of 7.3 billion meals are served each year in the foodservice sector. This French market is highly concentrated, with three companies sharing over 70% of the sector's market share. The market is based on 4 main sectors: medico-social and healthcare catering, school catering, corporate catering and prison and military catering.
The sector's professionals are having to adapt their offer in line with new consumer expectations, but also with changing regulations, notably the Egalim law and the Climate and Resilience law.
1.2 The European market
The European foodservice market was valued at $**.** billion in **** and is expected to reach $**.** billion by ****, with a CAGR of *.**% over the forecast period.
Trends in the size of the European foodservice market Europe, ****-****, billions of dollars
1.3 French market recovery in 2023
In France, an average of *.* billion meals are served each year in institutional catering, according to the Syndicat national de la restauration collective (***). [***]
Growth in the size of the French contract catering market France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****
The French contract catering market has evolved significantly over the ****-**** ...
1.4 The impact of COVID-19 on the foodservice market
Measures affecting the catering sector
The main measures linked to the epidemic that paralyzed the catering sector were laid down by the decree of March **, ****, which banned the reception of the public for several categories of activity, including "restaurants and drinking establishments". Catering, whether traditional (***), was strongly affected by these ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Demand based on 4 main sectors
The different foodservice sectors France, ****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****
Healthcare and medical-social catering represent the largest share of the foodservice market, with **%, underlining the importance of food services in healthcare and medical-social establishments. School catering is the second largest sector, with **%, underlining the scale of food services provided in educational establishments.
On the other ...
2.2 Typology of demand
Breakdown of French people who have at least one contact with mass catering France, ****, %, %, % Source: ****
The results in the graph above show that **% of French people have had at least one contact with foodservice, while **% have had no contact at all. This breakdown underlines the extent of the impact of foodservice ...
2.3 New customer expectations
The catering industry in France is undergoing a major transformation, in particular as a result of changes brought about by the health crisis and changing working patterns. Users' expectations of their lunch break are being redefined, highlighting four main areas of interest:
*. Sharing and conviviality at work : Employees want to ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
Source: ****
Contract caterers buy from food manufacturers, but also directly from local producers and farmers. After procurement, foodservice companies can prepare the meals for distribution to users in various establishments: companies, hospitals, schools, public administrations...
3.2 Number of companies and number of employees
Change in the number of establishments registered under activity ****A "Contract catering" and under activity ****B "Other food services" France, ****-****, in number of establishments Source: ****
The data in the graph above reveal an overall downward trend in the number of establishments over the years, from *,*** in **** to *,*** in ****, a decrease ...
3.3 A concentrated market
Source: ****
The contract catering market is a concentrated one, with the top three major players on the French market (theElior,SodexoFranceandCompasstogether hold amarket share of over **%.
Top ten CRSs by number of meals served France, ****, in millions of meals Source: ****
Sodexo France stands out as the company distributing the most meals ...
3.4 Different management methods
The two types of restoration management
Direct management is the leading method of catering management in France (***). In this case, the establishment or local authority takes charge of the entire management process, including management, purchasing and meal preparation. This approach offers total control over meal quality, and makes it easy to ...
3.5 The challenge of food waste
According to ADEME, the average amount of food wasted in France's catering sector is around *** grams , equivalent to an average cost of ** centimes per guest per meal. In times of inflation, reducing food waste becomes a crucial lever for controlling production costs, while meeting the requirements of the EGalim law (***).
Average ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Companies with different positioning
In the foodservice market, each company develops its own strategy and promotes its own values .
As a result, the offers presented to customers vary from one company to another. Some companies emphasize personalization and creativity, while others focus on ingredient traceability and sustainable development. In addition, sourcing from local suppliers and ...
4.2 Mass catering offers more meals prepared with organic and sustainable products
Percentage of foodservice establishments having introduced organic products to their menus France, ****, in Source: ****
In ****, **% of collective catering establishments reported offering organic products, *% more than at the end of **** and *% more than in ****. What's more, of these companies, **% are private and **% are public institutions. [***]
Gazette-santé-social reports that organic products served ...
4.3 An increase in the price of catering meals
Other catering services" output price index France, ****-****, index (***) Source: ****
The graph above shows a fairly pronounced upward trend , with the index rising from ***.* in the first quarter of **** to *** in the fourth quarter of ****.
This increase in production prices can be explained by several factors. At the end of ****, foodservice ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Current regulations
French regulations governing mass catering are part of the food paradigm. An overview can be found here and a summary below:
Food hygiene standards
Regulation (***) no. ***/**** governs the hygiene of foodstuffs.
Decree n°****-**** of September **, ****: the Commission is also responsible for applying article L. ***-* of the Consumer Code on ...
5.2 The Egalim law of 2018 and the Climate and Resilience law (2021)
The EGAlim law , enacted in **** and supplemented by the Climate and Resilience law in ****, introduces provisions aimed at improving the quality and sustainability of meals served in collective catering.
Prior to January *, ****, these obligations mainly applied to public service collective restaurants:
They included the use of at least **% sustainable and quality ...
5.3 The anti-waste law for the circular economy (AGEC law)
The anti-waste law for a circular economy aims to bring about an in-depth transformation of our system, with its *** articles targeting all forms of waste. Its aim is to move from a linear economy, based on production, consumption and disposal, to a circular economy.
Structured around five key areas, the law ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Company segmentation
Source: ****
- Compass Group France
- API Restauration
- Dupont Restauration
- Restalliance
- Bolk
- Sodexo France
- Sogeres
- Arpège Restaurants (Elior Groupe)
- Ansamble (Elior Groupe)
- Restau'co
- Bertrand Groupe
- Scolarest (Compass group)
- Vitalrest
- Mille et un repas
- L'Alsacienne de Restauration
- Restauval
- MRS (WSH group)
- Serenest
- Armor Cuisine (Dupont Restauration Groupe)
- Bourgogne Repas
- Restoria (Unigrains)
- Refectory (Carrefour Groupe)
- Restauria
- Elior Groupe
- Acna (Servair Groupe)
- Servair
List of charts presented in this market study
- [Copy] Trends in the size of the European foodservice market
- Trends in the size of the French foodservice market
- The different catering sectors
- Breakdown of French people who have at least one contact with mass catering
- Type of canteen used
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Latest news
Elior inaugurates the Derichebourg era by reducing its loss - 23/11/2023
- On April 18, recycling specialist Derichebourg took control (48.4%) of catering giant Elior and contributed activities from its DMS multiservices division.
- Daniel Derichebourg becomes CEO of Elior Group
- Elior Group reduced its net loss to 93 million euros (versus 427 million euros the previous year), and saw its annual sales increase by 11.2% to 5.22 billion euros
- Elior Services focuses on cleaning, hospitality, concierge services and green spaces, while DMS focuses on energy efficiency, security, temporary employment and aeronautical subcontracting.
- Elior services has 21,000 employees worldwide, DMS 37,000 (including 25,000 in France).
- Elior Foodservices employs 86,000 people and accounts for 80% of Elior's sales
- The Eliora group now has two pillars - foodservices and multiservices - each worth around 1.5 billion euros in France
Restoria: double CSR and Mission Company audit - 17/11/2023
- Restoria is an independent catering company based in Angers, France
- The company has been a société à mission and Lucie 26000-certified since 2013
- Restoria employs 900 people
- Sales of 55 million euros
- Restoria is subject to the Egalim law, which requires 50% sustainable products and 20% organic products in its supplies
- Restoria achieves 11% organic content in its supplies.
Corporate catering: how Refectory is trying to develop its model | Corporate catering: the Refectory model - 13/11/2023
- Refectory was set up eight years ago in Marcq-en-Baroeul, near Lille
- Meals cost around ten euros and are delivered free of charge to company employees
- Carrefour acquired a 60% stake in Refectory in 2020
- The company is currently present in 18 conurbations in France
- It has a fleet of 300 delivery vans
- Refectory works with over 10,000 companies
- The company has 21 preparation warehouses in France
- Refectory has 550 employees, including 300 delivery personnel, all with permanent contracts
- The company is aiming for sales of 100 million euros in less than five years
- Refectory supplies between 25 and 30,000 meals a day, more than double the number in 2020
- Refectory has opened its own kitchen in Belgium, which also supplies France.
Foodservices Sodexo continues to transform its business model - 26/10/2023
- Sodexo client retention rate: 95.2
- Fiscal 2023 revenue growth: +11.6%
- Sodexo revenues in 2023: 22.6 billion euros
- Sales of the Pluxee meal voucher activity: +26.9% to 1 billion euros
- Pluxee net income: 234 million euros
- Net income for all other Sodexo activities: 560 million euros
- Percentage of Group capital controlled by Bellon SA family holding: over 40%
- The United States accounts for 46% of Sodexo's on-site service revenues.
Groupe Bertrand prepares its next offensive - 21/07/2023
- Groupe Bertrand sales: 2.7 billion euros in 2022 (compared with around 2 billion in 2019).
- Groupe Bertrand is France's leading independent restaurant operator, and number two in the sector behind McDonald's.
- Groupe Bertrand comprises two distinct divisions: Bertrand Franchise and Bertrand Hospitality.
- The group's brands include : Burger King, Léon, Au Bureau, Hippopotamus, etc.
- Groupe Bertrand owns 40% of Burger King, with the remainder held by the Bridgepoint investment fund.
- The group plans to open 120 to 130 new establishments a year in France.
- Estimated sales for 2023 are €3 billion.
- Groupe Bertrand also owns Nespresso boutiques, Maison Plisson (which sells fresh produce and delicatessen products), and an agricultural estate in Nonville (which produces organic fruit and vegetables).
Sodexo BRS: transforming the customer experience - 02/06/2023
- Sodexo BRS (Benefits & Rewards Services) uses Genesys Cloud CX and Salesforce Service Cloud to harmonize its customer service strategy
- Sodexo BRS presence in 31 countries.
- 36 million beneficiaries of Sodexo BRS services.
- 500,000 corporate and public organization clients.
- 1.7 million merchant partners.
- More than 1,500 customer service agents in different countries.
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the contract catering market | France
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