Get the rankings on the 50 largest contract management companies in 2022

Food Management’s Top 50 Contract Management Companies tabulates the 50 largest firms by 2021 revenue. Each company is ranked by top-line North American revenues for fiscal or calendar year 2021, 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 FY2020 and FY2021 and the company’s ranking on the 2021 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 2021 results, which continued to be impacted 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. In addition, some companies — particularly the top three — do a portion of their business in areas other than foodservice.

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 over the last two years, 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 2022 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 2021, 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