Accente

What Accente does

Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH is a Frankfurt am Main-based trade fair and event catering company founded in 1959 (originally as "Frankfurter Messe-Gaststätten GmbH") and operating today as a wholly owned subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Venue GmbH. The company delivers end-to-end catering, hospitality, logistics, equipment rental and personnel services on and around the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds, serving trade fair exhibitors, event organizers, corporate clients and trade fair visitors through an integrated portfolio: Event Catering, Messe/stand catering (full-service and stand-delivery), the Catering & Equipment Shop, Green Catering (a sustainability program launched in 2013), on-site Restaurants, Cafés & Snacks, Foodtrucks, Supermarkets/mini-markets, and the off-grounds Depot 1899 restaurant and event venue in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen (capacity up to ~1,000 persons). Headcount stands at approximately 300 permanent staff plus around 1,000 temporary workers (Aushilfen), flexed with the Messe Frankfurt trade fair calendar via the SMARTCHILLI shift-booking app.

The company monetizes through a mix of bespoke event catering quotes with 80% domestic / 100% foreign advance payment terms, per-order stand delivery with a €200–€250 net minimum plus a €25–€30 net logistics fee, usage-based equipment/furniture rental with a published loss/damage price list, hourly personnel staffing compliant with the German Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG), and direct-to-consumer revenue from on-site restaurants, cafés, food trucks and supermarkets. In 2024 accente extended into branded retail with an own-label product family (olive oil, sherry vinegar, coffee, Cuvée Red, Pinot Blanc, sparkling wine). Underlying technology consists of an in-house logistics orchestration system, the SMARTCHILLI mobile app, Usercentrics-based GDPR-compliant consent management, embedded Google Maps and Messe Login SSO, and a vertically integrated support stack (laundry, housekeeping/materials store, in-house technology/vehicle maintenance, Kleiderkammer staff wardrobe). Annual net sales were €32.9 million for FY2022.

The business is go-to-market event-driven and enterprise-led: customers request offers via website contact form, phone, email or fax, after which accente issues a customized quote (first offer plus two revisions free; €200 + VAT per additional revision), with an express surcharge of 25% for orders placed within 21 calendar days of an event. Geographic scope is single-country domestic (Germany, Frankfurt am Main); foreign clients are accepted against full EUR prepayment. Distribution is concentrated on the Messe Frankfurt grounds, with the corporate website (accente.com), the in-house NEWSpepper newsletter, and active organic social channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, XING, YouTube) acting as the inbound marketing funnel.

Name

Accente

Legal name

Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH

Website

https://accente.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH is the wholly owned catering subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Venue GmbH, providing event catering, exhibition stand delivery, restaurants, equipment rental, and personnel services to exhibitors, event organizers, and trade fair visitors at the Messe Frankfurt grounds and the Depot 1899 venue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Fair Catering Services

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (333310)

SIC

Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040)

akta.pro primary industry

Concession & Stadium / Arena Catering (THAFAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias (THAFACAI)

Keywords

• Trade fair catering
• Event catering services
• Exhibition stand delivery
• Hospitality logistics
• Equipment rental services

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Event catering (Event-Catering): Catering for events at the Festhalle, Congress Center, Kap Europa and the Messe Frankfurt fairgrounds. Custom-priced per event based on menu, headcount, staffing hours and express surcharges; advance payment 80% net (domestic) or 100% net (foreign) is required 14 calendar days before the event.
2. Exhibition stand catering & stand delivery (Standbelieferung): Per-order food/beverage and consumable delivery to exhibitor stands on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds. Minimum order value EUR 200 net per initial order (EUR 250 net from 1 Jan 2026), repeat orders EUR 50 net, plus a EUR 25 logistics fee per delivery (EUR 30 from 2026).
3. Equipment and furniture rental: Rental of crockery, glasses, furniture, coffee machines, water coolers, fridges and similar items to exhibitors and event clients, with deposits, cleaning fees and a published loss/damage price list.
4. Gastronomy on the exhibition grounds: Operation of restaurants, cafés & snacks, food trucks, supermarkets and mini-markets/bistros on the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds, selling food and beverages directly to trade fair visitors.
5. Depot 1899 — restaurant and event venue: Off-grounds restaurant and event location in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen, hosting weddings, corporate events and private celebrations for up to 1,000 persons; combines à la carte dining with venue rental.
6. Personnel/staffing services: Provision of temporary staff (host/hostess, service staff, kitchen staff, cashier, cloakroom, stand guard) to trade fairs and events, billed against time worked at the agreed minimum hours.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH provides trade fair and event catering, exhibition stand delivery, restaurants, cafés and food trucks on the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds. It also operates the Depot 1899 off-grounds venue, supplies own-brand gourmet products, and offers equipment rental and personnel/staffing services.

Product overview

Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Venue GmbH and operates a single, integrated hospitality and venue-services platform organized around the Frankfurt Messe exhibition grounds (plus the off-site Depot 1899 venue). The portfolio combines core catering services — Event Catering, Catering at Exhibition (stand catering plus stand-delivery and the Catering & Equipment Shop), the Green Catering sustainability program, and Supermarkets — with on-site Gastronomy (Restaurants, Cafés & Snacks, Foodtrucks) and the standalone Depot 1899 restaurant/event venue. It also sells an own-brand retail 'product family' (accente Olive oil, Sherry vinegar, coffee beans, Cuvée Red, Pinot Blanc, Sparkling Wine). Around these customer-facing offerings, accente provides Personnel Service roles (Host/Hostess, Service staff, Stand guard, Wardrobe staff, Cashier, Kitchen staff) and internal support services (Logistics, Technology, Housekeeping/materials store, Laundry, and the Staff Wardrobe 'Kleiderkammer'), complemented by the customer-facing NEWSpepper newsletter. Together these modules form a vertically integrated catering-and-hospitality offering serving trade fairs, congresses, corporate events and private celebrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Depot 1899: Modern restaurant and dynamic event venue in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen, originally built in 1899 as a streetcar depot; operated by accente for events up to ~1,000 guests and as a restaurant.

Products and services

• Trade Fair Stand Catering Catering delivery service to exhibitor booths at trade fairs on the Messe Frankfurt grounds, including food, beverages, and host/hostess service. Targeted at trade fair exhibitors and event organizers.
• Festive Catering / Event Catering

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual net sales of €32.9 million (2022)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Elior Group: French-listed contract catering group operating across business & industry, education, healthcare and event/venue catering in Europe (incl. Germany via areas such as Elior Deutschland). Comparable to accente because it operates on-site catering and event hospitality at corporate and public venues in the same European geographies.
• Aramark Corporation: Global contract food services, facilities and uniform services provider serving sports stadiums, convention centers, business dining and entertainment venues. Comparable to accente as a broad incumbent in venue and event catering, with overlapping capability in trade fair / convention center hospitality and on-site staffing.
• Delaware North Companies: US-based hospitality and food service company operating at sports and entertainment venues, national parks, airports and gaming resorts. Comparable to accente because both run venue-embedded food service, concessions and event hospitality where the operator holds an exclusive concession position.
• Compass Group plc: World's largest contract food services group with venue, leisure, sports and event catering through subsidiaries such as Levy Restaurants and Chartwells. Comparable to accente as a broad incumbent in contract catering for venues and events, including on-site restaurants, cafés and event hospitality.

Direct peers

• Do & Co AG: Austrian premium event and airline catering group operating restaurants, event catering and hospitality at airports, sports arenas and event venues globally. Directly comparable to accente because both monetize venue-anchored catering for trade fairs, events and on-site gastronomy at scale, with a model built around bespoke event execution and high-volume on-site hospitality.

Emerging players

• Marché International GmbH: German-headquartered fresh-food restaurant and event catering operator at motorway rest areas, airports and event venues (sister company of Mövenpick restaurants). Comparable to accente in running event catering and on-site gastronomy with a similar European footprint, but typically at travel hubs rather than trade fair grounds.

Regional players

• Klüh Catering GmbH: German contract catering subsidiary of Klüh Service Management, providing on-site catering for corporate, healthcare, education and event clients across Germany. Closely comparable to accente as a domestic German contract caterer with overlapping on-site restaurant, event and staff-restaurant capabilities, although it does not operate trade fair-anchored concessions.
• Messe München Gastronomie: Catering and gastronomy arm of Messe München, providing event catering, stand delivery and on-grounds gastronomy at the Munich trade fair center. Directly comparable to accente's exclusive trade fair catering model at Messe Frankfurt, with the same venue-embedded structure at another major German exhibition venue.
• Koelnmesse Gastronomie GmbH: In-house catering subsidiary of Koelnmesse (Cologne trade fair company), operating restaurants, cafés and event catering at the Cologne exhibition grounds. Highly comparable to accente as a direct venue-embedded trade fair caterer in Germany, though at a different exhibition venue and geographic market.

Others

• Sodexo Live!: Venue hospitality arm of Sodexo Group (incorporating the former Centerplate) specializing in catering, concessions and event hospitality at stadiums, arenas, convention centers and cultural venues. Directly comparable to accente's trade fair and Festhalle/Congress Center catering franchise, with the same event-driven revenue model and venue-anchored distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xxing.com/companies/accentegastronomieservicegmbh
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCs3EzXC78q3kv_r8dLrvZig
• Facebookfacebook.com/accentecatering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/accente-gastronomie
• Instagraminstagram.com/accente_catering

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Accente