Catering is outpacing the broader restaurant industry as operators face more price-conscious consumers and slowing growth in average order values.
That’s according to Monkey Catering Platform’s 2026 State of Catering report which analyzed transaction data from more than 100 restaurant brands, 8,000 locations and more than $1 billion in annual catering sales.
Monkey projects the U.S. catering market will grow at an annual rate of 5.3 percent through 2032, compared with roughly 3 percent growth for the broader restaurant industry in 2025.
The report found operators with established catering programs outperform the market. Top-performing brands reported between 10 and 20 percent year-over-year catering sales growth during the first quarter of 2026. While catering has benefited in recent years from larger order sizes and menu price increases, that trend appears to be slowing.
Average catering order values reached approximately $416 in 2025, up just three percent from the previous year after several years of inflation-driven gains. As a result, brands are focused on generating more orders rather than relying on larger check averages.
First-party ordering marks opportunity for growth
Marketplaces play a larger role in bringing in new customers, with their share of catering orders rising from 12.8 percent in 2021 to a projected 36 percent in 2026. However, Monkey reported marketplace orders generate average order values between 6 and 8 percent lower than first-party orders while producing lower margins for restaurants.
Instead, the report points to first-party ordering and repeat customers as the biggest opportunity for growth.
According to the data, 60 percent of catering orders come from just 5 percent of customers, showing how much repeat business matters.
Restaurants are also taking greater control over catering fulfillment. In-house delivery accounted for 53 percent of catering orders in 2026, up from 31 percent in 2021, while catering-specific delivery service providers increased from 4 percent to 21 percent during the same period. Pickup orders have declined as brands invest more in delivery operations.
“The data in this report reflects what we see across every brand we work with: catering is no longer a nice-to-have. While forward-looking growth is more complex with price-sensitive customers, a crowded operator landscape, and powerful marketplace incentives, the segment continues to outpace all other dining types. We see that operators who are committed to building real programs, with real technology and real customer relationships continue to pull away – and that gap is widening,” Ben Pidduck, CEO of Monkey Catering Platform, said in a statement.
