Cater Care

What Cater Care does

Cater Care is a 100% Australian-owned and operated contract catering, accommodation, and facility management services company headquartered in Richmond (Adelaide), South Australia, with regional offices in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney. The company provides food service operations to aged care and retirement facilities, hospitals and healthcare providers, educational institutions (through the 'gather.' sub-brand), remote mining/oil/gas/renewables sites, corporate clients, and — more recently — airport and high street retail (including acquired Red Rooster stores in Melbourne). It manages 200+ sites, employs more than 3,000 staff, and delivers approximately 10 million meals annually.

Its core service offering is a managed-services model in which Cater Care takes over the full food service function on client premises, supported by live on-site production kitchens, dietitian-led menu development, and a dedicated aged care compliance function. Distinctive technical and protocol elements include a National Protein Blocking Menu Initiative, IDDSI-compliant texture-modified meal production (levels 0-7), a 24/7 Snack Trolley system, Mediterranean diet-focused mental health menu frameworks, and a Catering Cost Health Check diagnostic tool used as a lead-generation asset. The company also holds a majority stake in Care Food Co (acquired 2023), a texture-modified food producer with extended shelf life via proprietary pasteurisation.

Cater Care's business model is predominantly B2B contract catering with negotiated, multi-year managed-services contracts (fixed management fee or cost-plus), supplemented by direct retail food sales through owned airport concepts (Novocastrian Taphouse, Cove Kitchen, Great Northern Bar) and the newly acquired Red Rooster franchise stores. Go-to-market is field-led through business development managers, supported by a content marketing engine of eBooks, the C-Salt newsletter, factsheets, and digital assessment tools that target aged care, healthcare, and remote-sector decision makers.

Name

Cater Care

Legal name

Cater Care

Website

https://catercare.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Cater Care is a 100% Australian-owned contract catering and facility management provider operating 200+ sites with 3,000+ staff, delivering approximately 10 million meals annually across aged care, healthcare, education, remote mining, corporate, and retail clients throughout Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Catering and Facility Management Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (72231), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Contract Foodservice Management (Outsourced Catering) (THAFAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Catering (Schools, Hospitals, Government) (THAFAIAE), Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH), Corporate Catering & Office Food Programs (HSACAGAC), Catering Logistics & Delivery Management (HSACAGAK)

Keywords

• Contract catering services
• Aged care food services
• Remote site catering
• Healthcare food management
• Facility management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Parramatta

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Contract Catering Services: B2B contract catering services provided to aged care facilities, healthcare providers, educational institutions, remote mining/oil/gas sites, and corporate clients. Revenue is generated through negotiated service contracts typically structured as fixed management fees or cost-plus arrangements, with contracts covering multiple years.
2. Retail Food Operations: Direct retail food service operations through owned/restaurant outlets including airport dining concepts, hospital cafes, and recently acquired Red Rooster high street franchise stores in Melbourne. Revenue from food and beverage sales to consumers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cater Care is an Australian contract catering, accommodation and facility management provider delivering outsourced food services across aged care, healthcare, education, remote/mining/oil/gas, business and industry, and retail sectors. The company manages 200+ sites nationally with 3,000+ employees, producing fresh food daily on-site through live production kitchens, dietitian-led menu development, IDDSI-compliant texture-modified meals, and compliance management for Australian Aged Care Quality Standards.

Product overview

Cater Care is a 100% Australian owned and operated contract catering, accommodation and facility management service provider managing over 200 sites across Australia with more than 3,000 employees. The company operates a multi-sector portfolio including aged care food services, remote/mining catering, education catering (under the 'gather.' sub-brand), health and hospital services, business and industry catering, and retail operations. Core offerings include specialized aged care services with 24/7 snack trolleys and texture-modified meals (IDDSI-compliant), mental health food programs, and the My Choices healthy eating program. The company also expanded into QSR retail through acquisition of Red Rooster high street stores and holds a majority stake in Care Food Co for texture-modified food production. Supporting resources include the Catering Cost Health Check tool for financial assessment and the C-Salt nutrition newsletter.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Care Food Co: Texture modified food producer and retailer providing IDDSI-compliant food, acquired by Cater Care
• gather.

Products and services

• Aged Care and Retirement Food Services Contract catering services for residential aged care facilities and retirement living operators, providing fresh dietitian-led menu planning, IDDSI-compliant texture-modified meals, 24/7 snack trolleys, and compliance management with Australian Aged Care Quality Standards including protein and calcium benchmarks and cultural menu diversity.
• Remote, Mining, Oil, Gas and Renewables Catering Catering and accommodation management services for remote mining, oil, gas, and renewables sites, including fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) and drive-in-drive-out (DIDO) workforce catering for village accommodations.
• gather. by Cater Care — Education Catering Specialized catering services for schools and universities under the gather. sub-brand, supporting student nutrition and wellbeing through healthy eating programs aligned with Australian Dietary Guidelines.
• Health and Hospital Food Services Clinical patient food services for hospitals and healthcare facilities, providing menu management systems, recipes, and dietetics integration to support patient nutrition and recovery.
• Business and Industry Catering Contract catering services for commercial businesses, offices, events, and industrial facilities, providing workplace food services.
• Retail Catering — Airport and Commercial Dining Food service operations for retail environments including airports, with branded dining concepts such as Novocastrian Taphouse, Cove Kitchen, and Great Northern Bar.
• Red Rooster High Street Stores Acquired Red Rooster franchise high street food outlets in Melbourne providing QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) operations with extended hours including breakfast and late-night service.
• Care Food Co — Texture-Modified Food Products Majority-owned subsidiary producing and retailing IDDSI-compliant texture-modified food with natural ingredients and extended shelf life through specialized preparation and pasteurisation methods, sold to retail customers outside contracted facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 10 million meals delivered to health and aged care industry annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Care Food CominorOthers · 1 January 2023Cater Care acquired a majority stake in Care Food Co, a high-quality texture modified food producer and retailer providing IDDSI-compliant food with natural ingredients, extended shelf life through a unique preparation and pasteurisation method. This acquisition expands Cater Care's texture-modified food offerings to retail customers outside of their contracted facilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• dnata Catering & Retail: Provides airline catering, airport hospitality, and institutional catering services in Australia. Comparable to Cater Care's airport dining concepts and remote site / large-facility food service operations.
• Compass Group Australia: Australian arm of the world's largest contract foodservice and support services company. Directly comparable to Cater Care across aged care, healthcare, education, and remote site catering, with substantially greater scale and procurement leverage.
• Sodexo Australia: Global contract foodservice and facilities management major with significant Australian operations across aged care, healthcare, education, and remote sites. Closely aligned business model and target customer base to Cater Care.
• Catering Industries: Australian contract catering specialist focused on retirement, aged care, corporate, and education segments. Closely matches Cater Care's vertical mix and mid-market positioning in Australia.
• Spotless Group: Major Australian facilities services and contract catering provider serving aged care, healthcare, education, and resources sectors. Overlapping service lines and customer base make it a directly comparable contract services peer.
• Elior Australia: Australian operations of Elior Group, a large international contract caterer. Operates across aged care, healthcare, and corporate catering, directly competing with Cater Care for institutional food service contracts.

Broad incumbents

• ISS A/S: Global facility services company with food services as part of a broader integrated facilities offering. Comparable in healthcare and corporate food services, but typically delivers catering as part of a wider FM contract rather than as a pure-play caterer.
• Eurest (Compass Group): Compass Group's business and industry catering brand. Operates at greater scale than Cater Care in corporate and remote site catering, with overlapping GTM and target customers but a broader portfolio positioning.

Emerging players

• Morrison Healthcare: US-focused healthcare foodservice specialist under Compass Group, with growing clinical nutrition and patient dining capabilities. Relevant adjacent peer for Cater Care's healthcare and clinical nutrition positioning.

Regional players

• Healthcare Services Group: US-based provider of dining, nutrition, and housekeeping services to healthcare and senior living facilities. Operates in a different geography from Cater Care but offers a directly comparable contract food service and dietary model for aged care and hospitals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cater-care-group

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Cater Care