Insee Première · February 2021 · n° 1840

Mass catering: structural difficulties exacerbated by the health crisis

Turnover generated in 2019 in the contract catering sector amounts to €11 billion, or 14% of catering turnover as a whole. The speed of growth in the sector has slowed considerably since 2010, (+0.6% per year on average, compared with +2.5% in the period from 2005 to 2010). Only the healthcare sector has shown some strength.

Three multinational groups dominate this market (70% of sales), but their market share has fallen by 12 percentage points since 2010.

The sector employs 110,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (+1% a year since 2010). These are mostly unskilled, often part-time staff.

There has been a deterioration in margins and economic profitability since 2010. The level of investment remains low (6% in 2018).

In 2020, mass catering was greatly affected by the COVID-19 health crisis during the first lockdown (turnover down by –40% in May compared with January). The reopening of the school catering market was not enough to boost overall business (–24% in September).