Get the rankings on the 50 largest contract management companies in 2021

Food Management’s Top 50 Contract Management Companies tabulates the 50 largest food service companies by 2020 revenue. Each company is ranked by top-line North American revenues for fiscal or calendar year 2020, in millions of dollars.

Below is a table of the 50 companies that includes revenue figures for the past three years, plus the percentage increase/decrease between FY2019 and FY2020 and the company’s ranking on the 2020 Top 50. The revenue and percentages listed here are all rounded to the nearest whole number.

All figures are self-reported, unless noted with an (e), which connotes an FM estimate. Estimated numbers are derived from research and analysis, including published reports and previously submitted company data, when available.

The three-years of revenue figures and addition of last year’s Top 50 placement are intended to provide historical context to the 2020 results, which are heavily skewed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And as always, it should be remembered that while the goal of the Top 50 is to provide the most accurate comparison of the largest foodservice contractors, it does not necessarily reflect listed companies’ relative market position in a particular segment or market, particularly in light of COVID’s impact. In addition, some companies—particularly the top three of Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo—do a portion of their business in areas other than foodservice.

Companies included in this year’s list include: Compass Group North America, Sodexo, Aramark, Delaware North Companies, Elior North America and more.

Top 50 Methodology & Notes

The Top 50 is Food Management's annual comprehensive report generated by exclusive research by FM editors. The report provides a company-by-company assessment and select data, including revenues, of the largest contract management firms. The Top 50 is limited to companies with significant annual foodservice revenue in onsite markets, though they may also offer additional services. These companies have accounts in the traditional noncommercial markets of K-12 schools, healthcare, colleges and B&I, but also have operations in other nontraditional locations, including national parks, recreation centers, corrections facilities, airports and sports arenas, for example.

The Top 50 is a ranking based on self-reported or estimated revenue and does not necessarily reflect relative market position in a particular segment or market, and contract terms (e.g., fee vs. P&L) can sometimes obscure the scope of the actual volume being managed.

In addition, with the COVID-19 pandemic severely affecting all market segments in which Top 50 companies operate, firms have seen unprecedented shifts in year-to-year revenue patterns that can be expected in most cases to stabilize as their markets recover from the effects of the pandemic in the coming years. That factor alone makes drawing any long-term conclusions from the 2021 Top 50 about individual firms particularly tenuous.

For the list itself, each company is ranked by top-line North American revenues for fiscal or calendar year 2020, in millions of dollars. All figures are self-reported, unless noted with an (e), which connotes an FM estimate. Estimated numbers are derived from research and analysis including published reports and previously submitted company data, when available.

The entry for "contracts" for each company represents the number of client contracts the company reported (or FM estimated). In a few cases, a company preferred to report only "locations" (the number of sites at which it operates), and this is noted where applicable. Generally, the number of locations is greater than the number of contracts as a single contract may cover multiple sites.

Our goal is to provide the most accurate comparison of the largest foodservice operations. However, many companies do significant business outside the foodservice management realm, in areas including uniforms and custodial work, for example. In some instances, particularly with the “Big Three,” of Compass, Aramark and Sodexo, it is unclear what percentage of revenue is generated strictly by foodservice-only accounts. The information is not readily available and the companies do not submit foodservice-only data to FM. In cases where it is known that the majority of a company’s revenue is not foodservice-related, we have listed that company’s revenue on foodservice-only numbers. Information on specific instances can be found in the notes below. 

We have made every effort to look at companies based on an apples-to-apples comparison; however, given the nature of the contract management business, it’s not a precise science.

A few other notes:

(e) indicates FM estimate

1. Number based on 17.4% organic revenue decline published in company’s 2020 annual report.

2. Figure is for U.S. Food & Facilities Services unit only. The company as a whole had fiscal 2020 revenues of $12.8 billion

3. Revenue figure is North American operations only.

4. The revenue figure shown is for HSG’s dietary and nutrition services unit only; total company revenues in 2020 were $1.76 billion.

5. SSP America is the North American division of SSP Group, which operates travel dining in 35 countries around the world.

6. ABM Healthcare Support Services is a unit of the ABM integrated solutions firm, which has annual revenues of around $6 billion; the figure here is for foodservice operations only.

7. GCE is a unit of Lakeview Center Inc. Revenue figure shown here is for foodservice operations only.

8. Sterling Spoon operates commercial restaurants as well as contract foodservice for B&I clients; the contract side of the business generated around $18.5 million in 2020.

9. Plum Market is a gourmet grocery firm that also operates dining in some business and education locations. Revenues listed here are only for those foodservice operations.

Get more on the 2021 Top 50 

Meet the top 50 

2021 data table 

Top 9 risers 

6 companies to watch

COVID’s impact on contractors