Catering Profit Margin Statistics and Benchmarks
Catering margins are tighter than restaurants because of higher labor and rental costs per event. These benchmarks let you sanity-check your P&L against the industry — and identify which lever to pull.
Last updated
7-13%
Healthy net profit margin for catering businesses
55-65%
Catering gross profit margin range
22-38%
Total labor cost as % of revenue (range)
12-18%
Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) % of revenue
8-15%
Catering EBITDA margin range
1.8-2.6x
Typical revenue-multiple business valuation for catering
Full statistics with sources
| Metric | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy net profit margin for catering businesses | 7-13% | National Restaurant Association — Industry Operations Report | Most recent NRA Operations Report |
| Catering gross profit margin range | 55-65% | Deloitte — Restaurant & Foodservice Operations Benchmark | 2024 |
| Total labor cost as % of revenue (range) | 22-38% | National Restaurant Association — Industry Operations Report | 2024 |
| Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) % of revenue | 12-18% | Deloitte — Restaurant & Foodservice Operations Benchmark | 2024 |
| Catering EBITDA margin range | 8-15% | BizBuySell — Catering Business Insights | 2024 |
| Typical revenue-multiple business valuation for catering | 1.8-2.6x | BizBuySell — Catering Business Insights | 2024 |
| Median revenue per kitchen FTE for top-quartile caterers | $182k | Technomic — Foodservice Operations Productivity | 2024 |
What the numbers mean
7-13% — Healthy net profit margin for catering businesses
Below 7% leaves no room for a bad quarter. Above 13% typically requires multi-event-per-day operations or a high-end private-dining concept.
Source: National Restaurant Association — Industry Operations Report · Most recent NRA Operations Report
55-65% — Catering gross profit margin range
Revenue minus cost of food and direct event labor. Higher end requires aggressive food costing discipline.
Source: Deloitte — Restaurant & Foodservice Operations Benchmark · 2024
22-38% — Total labor cost as % of revenue (range)
The single biggest controllable cost. Operators below 30% typically use software-driven scheduling and have predictable event throughput.
Source: National Restaurant Association — Industry Operations Report · 2024
12-18% — Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) % of revenue
Includes back-office, sales, marketing, and software costs. Below 12% is uncommon outside owner-operated kitchens.
Source: Deloitte — Restaurant & Foodservice Operations Benchmark · 2024
8-15% — Catering EBITDA margin range
For multi-unit operators considering a sale or refinancing, EBITDA is the standard valuation metric.
Source: BizBuySell — Catering Business Insights · 2024
1.8-2.6x — Typical revenue-multiple business valuation for catering
Single-location caterers typically trade in this range. Multi-unit or franchise-attached operations can reach 3-4x.
Source: BizBuySell — Catering Business Insights · 2024
$182k — Median revenue per kitchen FTE for top-quartile caterers
A productivity benchmark. Operators above this number typically use centralized prep, par-stock automation, and tight per-event production planning.
Source: Technomic — Foodservice Operations Productivity · 2024
Related on CaterCamp
The benchmarks above sit alongside our product and operator-guide pages. Use these to apply the data to your own catering or foodservice operation.