Contract catering is evolving, influenced by changing work habits, younger values and food as a lifestyle. Notably, 80% of UK workers say free meals could encourage more office returns. Consumers now demand premium, wellness-focused and socially conscious experiences in workplaces and venues.
Consumers now expect sustainability, with most seeking waste solutions, clearer recycling guidance and carbon labelling. Transparency builds trust, attracts younger audiences and prepares brands for evolving regulations.
Despite these shifts, there are significant growth levers. Consumers, especially Gen Z, are hungry for functional, gut-friendly meals that support satiety, energy and mental focus. Pure’s 2025 wholesale launch of ready-to-eat, functional meals for offices and gyms highlights growing demand for wellness-driven catering. Likewise, smart use of technology (eg desk delivery, personalised menus) can help scale both satisfaction and efficiency.
The broader opportunity lies in reimagining catering as a premium experience. Whether it’s Fulham FC’s fine dining concept, Sodexo Live!’s £40m fan zone or chef-led menus at work, food is increasingly a destination. Brands that elevate their offer across wellness, sustainability and theatre are best placed to win new contracts and loyal customers in a changing market.
This report looks at the following areas:
- How catering adapts to hybrid work patterns: explores how workplace catering is evolving post-COVID, using food as a tool to drive footfall, build culture and improve retention in hybrid workplaces
- Opportunities in wellness-focused catering: explains how caterers can stand out by focusing on satiety, energy and digestion benefits, with examples like Pure’s wholesale launch
- Sustainability as a trust and growth driver: examines how carbon labelling, food waste reduction influence procurement amid consumer scrutiny and EU legislation like the Green Claims Directive
- Reimagining event catering as a premium experience: shows how experiences, comfort and chef-led menus are raising expectations, with examples like Sodexo Live!’s ‘The Terrace’, and Fulham FC’s fine dining
Contract caterers are growing but losing loyalty to high street rivals. To compete, they must rethink value, variety and visibility across every touch point.
Trish Caddy, Associate Director – Foodservice
Market Definitions
Contract and event catering refers to the provision of food services delivered under formal agreements, either for specific occasions or for ongoing service at a client’s site. It includes two main areas:
Event catering: the supply of food and beverage services for one-off events such as conferences, festivals, private functions and weddings. These services are typically delivered at a location specified by the client.
Contract catering: the long-term provision of food services for institutions and businesses, such as offices, schools, hospitals, factories, leisure venues or transport hubs. Food is often prepared centrally and served at the client’s facilities.
This definition excludes businesses involved in retail food sales or the manufacture of food for resale.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Opportunities for the UK contract and event catering market
- Three major opportunities for the market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- The market is experiencing healthy growth rates
- Market predictions
- Event catering rebounds strongly, while contract catering regains pre-COVID value
- Graph 1: contract vs event catering sales, 2019-25
- The UK contract and event catering market is expected to grow at a 3.6% CAGR from 2025 to 2030
- Graph 2: market forecast for total contract and event catering, 2019-30
- UK contract catering faces headwinds
- What consumers want and why
- Workplace catering is evolving into a strategic tool to boost office attendance and employee satisfaction
- Sustainability is now essential, with ethical sourcing and waste reduction becoming key in contract catering
- Event catering is shifting from necessity to feature, giving brands a chance to turn food into a memorable, premium experience
- Health-driven catering that appeals to Gen Zs
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market size
- UK contract and event catering market rebounds as hybrid work drives demand for quality and value
- Graph 3: market size for the total value of the contract and event catering market, 2019-25
- Contract catering adapts and thrives as office returns and events fuel momentum
- UK contract and event catering market shows resilience amid challenges and evolving consumer habits
- Market forecast
- The UK contract and event catering market is expected to grow at a 3.6% CAGR from 2025 to 2030
- Graph 4: market forecast for total contract and event catering, 2019-30
- Steady growth in UK contract & event catering as value, health and technology future-proof the industry
- Forecast – note on US trade disruption
- Market segmentation
- Event catering rebounds strongly, while contract catering regains pre-COVID value
- Graph 5: contract vs event catering sales, 2019-25
- Contract catering will grow as workplaces and institutions prioritise reliable, quality foodservices despite changing needs and cost pressures
- Graph 6: market size for the value of the contract catering market, 2019-30
- UK contract catering market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 3.5% from 2025 to 2030
- Event catering rebounds as demand for live, branded and experience-led formats grows
- Graph 7: market size for the value of the event catering market, 2019-30
- UK event catering market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 3.9% from 2025 to 2030
- Market drivers
- Workplace catering faces pressure from rising costs and falling demand
- Hybrid work splits the market, but younger workers still value quality
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Eating out locations
- Workplace catering leads
- Graph 8: locations that respondents have eaten/drunk out of home in the last 12 months, 2025
- Emerging channels drive experiential demand
- How consumers access food out of home
- Quick service dominates as most-used format
- Graph 9: foodservice formats that respondents have used out of home in the last 12 months, 2025
- Leading formats meet the demand for experience, reliability and fresh ideas
- What this means for caterers: blend the best of all formats to meet evolving consumer needs
- Top food & drink choices at events
- Hot and fresh wins
- Graph 10: the most popular items bought at events in the last 12 months, 2025
- Event food choices reflect demand for convenience, indulgence and light options
- What to know: event attendees seek quick, satisfying food options that suit fast-paced schedules
- Workplace catering behaviours
- Saving money drives packed lunches
- Graph 11: workplace catering behaviours, 2025
- From free meals to desk delivery, food is now key to value, convenience and return-to-office strategies
- Workplace catering must balance value, convenience and quality
- Purchase drivers
- Cost-effectiveness fuels contract and event catering success
- Graph 12: purchase drivers of contract and event catering services, 2025
- Decoding what consumers want most from catering services
- Canteens must deliver value, speed and flexibility to stay relevant in competitive lunch spaces – cross analysis
- Value, hot food and speed drive contract and event catering choices – TURF analysis
- What’s the recipe for winning catering customers today?
- Attitudes towards catered services
- Consumers want catering that’s greener, healthier and smarter
- Graph 13: consumer attitudes towards catered services, 2025
- Consumers expect more action on waste, recycling and transparency
- Caterers must demonstrate their social and environmental impact
- Consumers’ health expectations are also growing
- Caterers can tap into demand for meals that support satiety and gut health
- Wellness-focused women are key to workplace catering – CHAID analysis
- Smart decision-making becomes common
- Smart tech enables informed decisions, personalisation and better performance in competitive foodservice
- Dining is as much about experience as food
- Foster emotional connections with inviting, well-designed dining spaces
- Three types of catered service customer profiles – cluster analysis
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS
- Contract caterers face loyalty gap…
- Graph 14: spend vs wallet share, 2025
- …as spend leaks to high street brands
- Graph 15: Aramark’s customers spend (£000) in OOH, by merchant, 2025
- Launch activity and innovation
- Stadium food gets an upgrade with diverse, high-quality options to enhance the matchday experience
- Major events embrace trusted high street brands
- Itsu leverages brand familiarity to enter the catering market
- Benugo eyes growth after 2023 record profits and May 2024 acquisition of Genuine Dining to deepen focus on leisure-led cultural dining
- Retail catering grows as brands launch new formats and concepts that boost in-store dining and customer engagement
- Pure’s wholesale launch shows how gut-friendly foods meet wellness demand on-the-go
- Leisure drives food innovation, as brands embrace culture, travel and holidays to reach new audiences
- Targeting UK travel hubs with innovative, sustainable solutions to meet growing demand for quality, convenience and responsible catering
- Air France elevates in-flight dining with well-known culinary names
- Sustainable sourcing and surplus redistribution scale across contract catering
- Healthcare contract catering expands with new NHS partnerships and innovations
- Conferences bounce back with premium catering innovation
- Branded chef partnerships drive fresh relevance in contract catering
- Incipio Group to launch four foodservice concepts at Olympia London, reflecting innovation and growth in UK event catering
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APPENDIX
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Market size: contract and event catering total value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (total value)
- Market size: contract catering value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (contract catering value)
- Market size: event catering value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (event catering value)
- Forecast methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Consumer research methodology
- TURF analysis methodology
- How to read: TURF analysis
- CHAID analysis methodology
- Cluster analysis group definitions
- Graph 16: cluster analysis of attitudes towards catered services, 2025
- Cluster analysis group definitions
- Snoop SpendMapper methodology
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