Six 2021 FM Top 50 food service companies to watch

No one disputes that 2020 was a disastrous year for the onsite dining community, including the management companies that operate a significant portion of the market’s venues. FM’s annual Top 50 listing of the largest firms in the industry in 2021 found that only nine managed to increase revenues last year while most of those that didn’t saw not only decreases but double-digit decreases.

The hope is that 2020 was an anomaly from which most companies will emerge, damaged but viable, as the markets in which they operate adapt and recover from the pandemic’s ravages. In a separate gallery feature, we listed the nine companies that saw revenue increases in 2020 and the main reasons why they did so.

In the following gallery, we list six other firms—all of which saw revenue declines in 2020—that we are keeping an eye on in 2021 and beyond as kind of bellwethers for the industry as a whole because of the markets in which they operate, the steps they’ve taken to adapt to the expected post-pandemic environment and/or their track record of success previous to COVID.

We included companies from every revenue range of the Top 50, from No. 4 Delaware North to No. 50 Plum Market. Most operate in hard-hit markets like sports venues, airports, business facilities and college campuses, so their success in adapting to changed circumstances will be indicative of how the industry as a whole may be faring.

Get more on the 2021 Top 50