Catering By Design

What Catering By Design does

Catering By Design is a Cary, North Carolina-based full-service catering company that has been operating continuously since 2000 across the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) area. Originally founded by executive chef Greg Lewis as an outgrowth of his Errico's Italian restaurant, the business was acquired by current owner Phillip Lin in 2013 and now serves weddings, corporate events, social celebrations, and holiday gatherings through a per-person pricing model. Core offerings include Wedding Catering (full-service and tasting-supported packages at $56-$103 per person), Corporate Event Catering (breakfast from $10.95, boxed lunches, buffets, plated dinners), Social Event Catering ($24-$41 per person), and Holiday Catering, supported by Bartending Services, Pickup and Delivery options, a Wedding Planning add-on module, and an ice cream partnership with Howdy Homemade Ice Cream.

The company operates from a single headquarters and kitchen at 132 Kilmayne Drive, Cary, NC, with 11-50 employees, and reaches 13 Triangle sub-markets (Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Morrisville, Raleigh, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Clayton, Knightdale, Wake Forest) via SEO-optimized location pages, two dedicated phone lines, and a website contact form. Distribution is purely direct-to-consumer with no resellers or aggregators. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations are food preparation and event service focused, augmented by content marketing (190+ blog articles) and review-driven acquisition through WeddingWire (113+ reviews), Google Business Profile, and a WRAL Voters' Choice Award channel.

Notable customers include Duke Medicine (Resident's Charity Auction), Town of Holly Springs (annual banquet and Chamber events), and Pendo (Pendomonium 2017), alongside a long tail of consumer weddings and repeat corporate accounts (e.g., one client noted as having used the service approximately 100 times). The business holds awards including 2024 Leading Caterers of America membership, 2024 WRAL Voters' Choice Award and Boss of the Year, multiple WeddingWire Couples' Choice recognitions, and the 2012 Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Service Excellence Pinnacle Award. The combination of low staff turnover (many 10+ year employees) and consistent ownership is the most frequently cited driver of operational quality.

Name

Catering By Design

Legal name

Catering By Design

Website

https://catering-by-design.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Catering By Design is a Cary, NC-based full-service catering company that has served weddings, corporate events, social celebrations, and holiday gatherings across the Research Triangle area since 2000, using a per-person pricing model and direct-to-consumer sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cary

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Full-Service Catering: Complete catering services including menu planning, food preparation, setup, table service, and cleanup. Offers butlered table service, buffets, and plated dinner service for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings.
2. Bartending Services: Full bar service with professional bartenders for events. Includes beer, wine, top-shelf liquor, and custom cocktail creation. Often bundled with catering services.
3. Food and Beverage Sales: Per-person pricing for food items across corporate, social, wedding, and holiday menus. Ranges from breakfast items ($10.95-$14.95) to premium wedding buffets ($56-$103 per person). Additional revenue from beverage service and rental items.
4. Pickup and Delivery: Convenience services including pickup from Cary location and delivery to venues. Packaged in disposable containers for easy distribution. Additional revenue stream for smaller events and corporate lunches.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Catering By Design is a full-service catering company that prepares customized made-to-order food and provides bartending, setup, table service, and post-event cleanup for weddings, corporate events, social gatherings, and holiday parties. The company serves the Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle area of North Carolina from its Cary headquarters, operating through phone bookings, online contact forms, and in-person consultations with private tastings available for weddings of 50 or more guests.

Product overview

Catering By Design is a full-service catering company offering comprehensive event catering solutions across the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. The core offering consists of four main catering service categories: Wedding Catering Services, Corporate Event Catering (including Corporate Lunch Catering), Social Event Catering, and Holiday Catering. These are supported by Bartending Services and Full-Service Catering as integrated service offerings. The company provides additional service modules including Pickup and Delivery Services, Ice Cream Catering (via partnership with Howdy Homemade Ice Cream), and Wedding Planning Services. Menu offerings are organized into specialized sub-products including Corporate Menu Options, Social Event Menus, Wedding Menus, and Holiday Menus, each featuring themed cuisine selections and customizable options. The company operates from a Cary, NC location and has served the Raleigh-Durham area since 2000.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wedding Catering Services Full-service wedding catering including customized menus, bartending services, wedding planning support, and post-event cleanup for ceremonies, receptions, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, and morning-after brunches. Private tastings available for weddings with 50 or more guests.
• Corporate Event Catering Full-service corporate catering including breakfast, lunch, boxed meals, buffets, and formal plated dinners for company training events, meetings, team-building activities, retreats, and holiday parties. 20-person minimum.
• Corporate Lunch Catering Office lunch catering featuring boxed lunches with sandwiches and salads, full-service buffet options, and pickup/delivery services for corporate clients across the Triangle area.
• Social Event Catering Catering for celebrations including birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, bridal showers, bar/bat mitzvahs, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, family reunions, retirement parties, and fundraisers. 30-person minimum, $24-$41 per person.
• Holiday Catering Holiday party catering with customizable menus for corporate holiday events and family gatherings, including brunch, lunch, dinner, and hors d'oeuvres options. Holiday Brunch $20/person, Dinner $15.95-$21.95/person.
• Bartending Services Professional bartending services for weddings, corporate events, and private parties including beer, wine, top-shelf liquor, and custom signature cocktail creation. Often bundled with catering services.
• Full-Service Catering Comprehensive catering service covering all aspects from menu planning and food preparation to setup, table service, and post-event cleanup with butlered service, buffets, or plated dinners.
• Pickup and Delivery Services Convenient food pickup from Cary, NC location or direct delivery to homes, offices, or event venues with disposable packaging options for easy distribution and transport.
• Wedding Planning Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 years in business serving thousands of events in the Research Triangle area

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Howdy Homemade Ice CreamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner for ice cream catering services. Howdy Homemade Ice Cream provides party must-have ice cream for events, offering as an add-on enhancement to full catering service. This partnership allows Catering By Design to offer complete dessert and ice cream options without internal production.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 24 Carrots Catering & Events: Award-winning full-service event caterer in California/Arizona/Hawaii specializing in weddings and corporate events. Closely comparable operating model: customized menus, full-service execution, in-house event planning, and premium positioning.
• Catering Works: Raleigh-based full-service catering company serving the Research Triangle with weddings, corporate, and social event offerings. Most direct local competitor with overlapping customer base, service mix, and delivery radius.
• Feastivities: Full-service event catering and design company in Arizona focused on weddings, corporate, and social events. Comparable service breadth, in-house event coordination, and premium per-person pricing strategy.
• Design Cuisine: Washington, D.C.-area full-service caterer serving corporate, wedding, and social events. Comparable full-service model, custom menu design, and mix of corporate and social clientele.
• Jordan's Catering: Mid-Atlantic full-service event caterer for weddings, corporate, and social events. Similar customizable menu tiers, in-house staffing and bartending, and private-tasting-led sales motion.
• Blue Heron Catering: California-based full-service catering company specializing in weddings, corporate, and private events. Similar premium-tier offerings, bartending add-ons, and bespoke event execution.
• A Thyme to Cook: Full-service catering company offering customized menus, bartending, and event execution for weddings and corporate events. Comparable service model, pricing structure, and minimum-order policy.
• Main Event Caterers: Full-service off-premise caterer with multiple U.S. locations serving weddings, corporate, and private events. Comparable menu tiers, minimum-order requirements, and event-driven GTM.

Broad incumbents

• Compass Group: Global food service and support services conglomerate operating across contract catering, including corporate event catering at scale. Relevant broad incumbent that competes in corporate event catering with substantially greater scale and infrastructure.

Regional players

• Irregardless Catering: Raleigh-based restaurant and catering arm serving Triangle-area corporate and private events. Local/regional peer with overlapping wedding and corporate event catering, though anchored by a flagship restaurant concept.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CateringxDesign
• Facebookfacebook.com/CateringbyDesignRTP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/catering-by-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Catering By Design