Canteen and catering services market in Europe: size, suppliers and public contracts

Market size and key facts

In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 136 supply contracts for canteen and catering services through award notices on TED; the 50 of them that state a value (36.8%) add up to €21.9 million, a floor rather than the full contract value.

  • Since November 2023, 182 companies have won 351 public supply contracts for canteen and catering services in 30 European countries, in 187 award notices from 165 public buyers.
  • 0.3% of these awards went to a company registered in a different country from the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is Belgium.
  • The five companies that win most often hold 13.1% of all awards across Europe.
  • 21.4% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.

In proportion

All public purchasing in the EU-27 — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €2.93 trillion in 2025, 15.5% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.

Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.

Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)

How to cite: Cresques, "Canteen and catering services market in Europe", https://cresques.com/markets/europe/555-canteen-and-catering-services, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

CPV group 555 across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: how much public buyers award, who wins, where from, and how the market splits by country.

The market in numbers

Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.

Contracts awarded
351
in 187 award notices
Awarded value
€78.7M
from 40% of awards with a published value
Winning companies
182
with at least one award
Public buyers
165
hospitals, cities, agencies
Contracts awarded by year
Contracts awarded by yearNov–Dec 2023: 99Nov–Dec 20232024: 696920242025: 13613620252026: 1371372026
Table view
Contracts awarded by year
Nov–Dec 20239
202469
2025136
2026137
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Awarded value by year (EUR)Nov–Dec 2023: €1.8M€1.8MNov–Dec 20232024: €35.6M€35.6M20242025: €21.9M€21.9M20252026: €19.4M€19.4M2026
Table view
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Nov–Dec 2023€1.8M
2024€35.6M
2025€21.9M
2026€19.4M
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
  1. Cities, regions and central administration: 251
  2. Social protection: 27
  3. Universities, schools and research: 27
  4. Hospitals and health services: 23
  5. Economic affairs: 16
  6. Armed forces and defence agencies: 2
  7. Housing and community amenities: 2
  8. Culture, sport and religion: 2
  9. Other1
    Other: 1
Table view
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
Cities, regions and central administration251
Social protection27
Universities, schools and research27
Hospitals and health services23
Economic affairs16
Armed forces and defence agencies2
Housing and community amenities2
Culture, sport and religion2
Other1
Contracts by buyer country
  1. 60 companies
    Germany: 135
  2. 52 companies
    France: 79
  3. Sweden46
    23 companies
    Sweden: 46
  4. Norway23
    10 companies
    Norway: 23
  5. Romania20
    4 companies
    Romania: 20
  6. Czechia10
    7 companies
    Czechia: 10
  7. Spain8
    6 companies
    Spain: 8
  8. Ireland8
    5 companies
    Ireland: 8
  9. Belgium6
    2 companies
    Belgium: 6
  10. Netherlands4
    4 companies
    Netherlands: 4
Table view
Contracts by buyer country
Germany135
France79
Sweden46
Norway23
Romania20
Czechia10
Spain8
Ireland8
Belgium6
Netherlands4
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice: Large companies 19.1%, Medium-sized 31.3%, Small 17.9%, Micro 6%, SME (size not stated) 13.1%, Size not stated 12.5%Large companies: 67 (19.1%)19%Medium-sized: 110 (31.3%)31%Small: 63 (17.9%)18%Micro: 21 (6%)SME (size not stated): 46 (13.1%)13%Size not stated: 44 (12.5%)13%
  • Large companies
  • Medium-sized
  • Small
  • Micro
  • SME (size not stated)
  • Size not stated
Table view
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Large companies67 · 19.1%
Medium-sized110 · 31.3%
Small63 · 17.9%
Micro21 · 6%
SME (size not stated)46 · 13.1%
Size not stated44 · 12.5%
Foreign winners: where they are registered
  1. Belgium1
    Belgium: 1
Table view
Foreign winners: where they are registered
Belgium1

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country

99.7%

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country: 99.7%

1 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.

Share of the 5 biggest winners

13.1%

Share of the 5 biggest winners: 13.1%

Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.

Lots with a single bid

21.4%

Lots with a single bid: 21.4%

Among 327 awards whose notice states the number of tenders.

How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.

Country pages

Countries with fewer than 25 winning companies in this group have no separate page; their awards are counted above.

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Questions

How big is the canteen and catering services market in Europe?
In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 136 supply contracts for canteen and catering services through award notices on TED; the 50 of them that state a value (36.8%) add up to €21.9 million, a floor rather than the full contract value.
How many public contracts for canteen and catering services are awarded in Europe?
Since November 2023 public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 351 supply contracts for canteen and catering services in 187 TED award notices; the 139 awards with a published value add up to €78.7M.
Which countries buy the most canteen and catering services through public tenders?
Germany (135 awards), France (79 awards), Sweden (46 awards) lead; 182 companies won at least one award across Europe.
How often do foreign suppliers win canteen and catering services contracts?
0.3% of the awards went to a company registered in another country than the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is Belgium.

Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.