Selling your cheese in out-of-home catering: opportunities and specificities of the foodservice sector

The out-of-home catering (OOHC) sector, which includes cafeterias, hospitals, businesses, schools, and caterers, represents a major market for the French cheese industry. It is a high-volume market, but also one of the most demanding, due to strict health standards, detailed specifications, regulated calls for tenders, and margins that are often tighter than in large-scale retail (GMS) or commercial catering (CHR).

For producers and affineurs, OOHC is an opportunity for diversification, provided they understand its supply chains, its players, and its constraints.

How do you structure an offer adapted to this collective market? What are the keys to entering and remaining in it sustainably? Breakdown.

The weight and diversity of the OOHC market

Overview of OOHC in France

Out-of-home catering is one of the pillars of the French food sector. In 2024, its overall revenue exceeds 120 billion euros, with nearly 40% coming from institutional catering (school cafeterias, hospitals, businesses, nursing homes, the military, etc.).

Here are some key figures and benchmarks:

• More than 80,000 establishments fall under public or private institutional catering.

• Around 10 million meals are served every day in France in the OOHC sector.

• Dairy products represent nearly 8% of out-of-home food expenditure, which is a significant volume for producers.

The main buyers in the OOHC sector are:

• public operators (municipalities, ministries, local authorities);

• major institutional catering players (Sodexo, Elior, Compass, Dupont Restauration, API Restauration);

• specialized distributor-wholesalers (Brake, Pomona, Transgourmet, Metro, France Frais) who serve as logistical links.

OOHC is an interesting distribution network for the cheese industry because it combines large volumes, regular purchasing, and high compliance requirements.

Customer Typology

Behind the term "OOHC" lies a great diversity of channels:

Tracking Performance Indicators

To manage your business effectively, track your main KPIs. They are grouped into 5 categories:

1. Sales performance

2. Profitability and margins

3. Logistics and service quality

4. Customer loyalty and satisfaction

5. Productivity and sales coverage

Needs, formats, and margins differ depending on the segments:

• Public institutional catering prioritizes price and regulatory compliance.

• Commercial catering seeks differentiating and premium products.

• Caterers focus on practicality and supply regularity.

A producer wishing to enter the OOHC sector must therefore adapt their offer to the target customer typology.

Trends in OOHC

OOHC is not immune to major societal shifts: local sourcing, sustainability, organic, transparency, sustainable channels...

Since the Egalim law, supplemented by the Climate and Resilience Act, institutional catering facilities are required to include 50% sustainable or quality products, including 20% from organic farming.

For cheeses, this translates to:

• an increase in demand for local cheeses (regional PDOs, farmstead productions, short supply chains);

• increased attention to traceability and animal welfare;

• the rise of products certified organic, Bleu-Blanc-Cœur, or certified farmstead.

This trend opens up opportunities for small regional cheese dairies, provided they structure their offer and meet administrative requirements. Generally, artisanal cheesemakers often need to pool distribution through regional platforms or cooperatives to meet these requirements while maintaining their local roots.

Market Access Conditions for OOHC

Working with Wholesalers and Specialized Distributors

For the majority of producers, accessing the OOHC sector is done through the intermediation of wholesaler-distributors. They handle logistics, volume distribution, and the regulatory compliance of deliveries.

The most important distributors are: Transgourmet, Pomona TerreAzur, France Frais, Metro, Brake, Relais Vert.

Working with them involves:

• providing complete technical product data sheets (composition, origin, expiration date, traceability);

• complying with precise logistical standards: format, packaging, pallets, temperature, labeling;

• guaranteeing price and volume stability over time.

‍These partners are not looking for the most "gourmet" products, but the most reliable and consistent ones.

Responding to a Public or Private Call for Tenders

Calls for tenders are the primary entry channel for producers wishing to work with public institutions (schools, hospitals, city halls...).

Key points to respond to them:

1. Read the specifications carefully: volume, frequency, portion weight, labels, storage constraints.

2. Register on official platforms: Public procurement sites, Maximilien, or regional portals.

3. Propose a clear and complete offer: price, origin, technical sheets, analysis certificates, quality labels.

4. Emphasize regulatory compliance: HACCP, traceability, health certificates, origin certificates.

5. Highlight CSR commitments: short supply chains, packaging reduction, carbon impact.

A well-prepared application makes it possible to stand out, even against larger competitors.

Public buyers increasingly value qualitative and environmental criteria, not just price. Remember that a good tender response is 70% compliance and 30% differentiation.

Managing Sales Strategy in OOHC

Customer Follow-up and Sales Reminders

‍The OOHC market is characterized by stable volumes but long-term relationships to build. A satisfied customer can remain loyal for several years, provided they are well supported.

For this, we advise you to visit customer and distributor sites regularly to maintain a strong connection and gather field feedback. Monitor sales volumes to detect signs of slowing down or new opportunities.

Also, take quality feedback into account, whether positive or negative. Some issues may even be sanitary in nature and must never be ignored.

In your CRM, schedule automated reminders, especially before important deadlines: contract renewals, calls for tenders, seasonal peaks... This will allow you to anticipate instead of react, and to adopt a proactive stance in customer relations.

Finally, as soon as you launch a new product, remember to send a sample or organize an on-site tasting. This direct contact remains a powerful tool for triggering new orders.

As you can see, in OOHC, service consistency takes precedence over aggressive selling.

Tracking Performance Indicators

To manage your business effectively, track your main KPIs. They are grouped into 5 categories:

1. Sales performance

2. Profitability and margins

3. Logistics and service quality

4. Customer loyalty and satisfaction

5. Productivity and sales coverage

Sales Performance Indicators

These indicators measure sales momentum and the capacity to develop the customer portfolio.

Profitability and Margin Indicators

Margins in OOHC are lower, but the stability of volumes offsets this lower profitability. It is therefore important to track real profitability, customer by customer.

Logistics and Service Quality Indicators

Execution quality is a major loyalty driver in OOHC, especially in public procurement or chains.

Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction Indicators

These KPIs help evaluate the strength of the commercial relationship.

Productivity and Sales Coverage Indicators

To optimize sales costs and field presence. They allow you to manage your field teams, optimize routes, and commercial costs.

The OOHC market is a world of its own: massive, demanding, and strategic.

It offers significant volumes and long-term visibility to producers capable of mastering its rules.

To succeed, a cheesemaker must:

• understand the diversity of players and channels;

• adapt to technical and regulatory constraints;

• structure their offer around consistency, traceability, and service;

• and equip themselves to effectively manage sales performance.

Producers who manage to combine artisanal quality, industrial reliability, and close relationship support find a sustainable growth driver in OOHC.