International Caterers Association

What International Caterers Association does

The International Caterers Association (ICA) is a nonprofit membership-based trade association founded in 1981 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It serves catering and event professionals in the United States through two primary memberships: a caterer group membership priced at $475 annually (covering up to 10 team members) and a vendor membership at $799 annually, both transitioning to a calendar-year billing cycle effective 2026. The association's revenue model is subscription-based, supplemented by sponsorship income from a roster of nine disclosed corporate sponsors (including Compass Group, American MetalCraft, Sterno, Fulton, Curate, Nuphoriq, and Captivated), paid non-member webinar fees ($59), conference registration, and ancillary programs such as the CATIE Awards entry fees.

ICA's core product portfolio centers on professional development and community engagement rather than technology. Flagship offerings include the ASCEND annual conference (inaugural edition July 19-22, 2026 in Savannah, Georgia), the Art of Catering Food Conference (August 10-11, 2026 in Chicago), the CATIE Awards program (10 categories spanning culinary execution, event design, and mixology), monthly member webinars, workshops, scholarships, and a member directory. The organization operates through a MemberClicks membership-management platform and a multi-channel marketing presence (website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube). ICA has no proprietary technology IP, no APIs, no AI/ML capabilities, and no patents or trademarks disclosed.

The go-to-market is community-led: membership growth is driven by industry word-of-mouth, conference presence, brand recognition from the CATIE Awards, and partnerships — most notably with the GROW Catering Educational Foundation (founding partner of ASCEND 2026) and Catersource / Informa Connect (co-located events and member discounts). Customer segments are split between primary catering companies (off-premise, on-premise, event, and wedding caterers seeking professional development and group purchasing) and a secondary vendor segment (companies providing products/services to caterers seeking marketing access).

Name

International Caterers Association

Legal name

International Caterers Association

Website

https://internationalcaterers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

International Caterers Association is a Baltimore-based nonprofit trade association founded in 1981 that serves catering and event professionals through tiered membership, annual conferences (ASCEND), the CATIE Awards, and educational programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Trade Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Business Event Catering (THAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Event Catering (Weddings, Social, Private Parties) (THAFAIAB), Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

Keywords

• Catering association services
• Trade association membership
• Culinary industry events
• Catering professional education
• Industry networking conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ICA generates revenue through annual membership fees from catering companies and vendors. Caterer memberships are priced at $475 per year, while vendor memberships are $799 per year. Membership runs on a calendar year basis effective 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The International Caterers Association is a membership-based trade association that delivers professional development, networking, and industry recognition to catering and event professionals. Its core offerings include tiered annual memberships (Caterer Group and Vendor), the ASCEND annual conference, the CATIE Awards program, monthly educational webinars, hands-on workshops, and group purchasing programs administered through the MemberClicks platform.

Product overview

International Caterers Association operates as a membership-based professional association rather than a software product company. The organization's offerings center on professional development, networking events, and industry recognition for catering and event professionals. The core portfolio consists of annual conferences (ASCEND, Art of Catering Food, Catersource), the CATIE Awards program, member webinars and workshops, and group purchasing benefits. GROW Foundation serves as the charitable educational arm. All offerings are managed through the MemberClicks platform for membership administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ASCEND: Annual conference experience for catering and event professionals
• CATIE Awards

Products and services

• ICA Caterer Group Membership Annual group membership for catering companies priced at $475 per year, covering up to 10 team members per company. Includes access to monthly webinars, resource library, conference discounts, ServSafe training discounts, group purchasing programs, member directory, and the private ICA Facebook Roundtable.
• ICA Vendor Membership Annual membership for vendor companies priced at $799 per year who want to advertise their products and services to ICA caterer members. Provides direct marketing access to verified catering industry decision-makers.
• ASCEND Conference ICA's annual flagship four-day conference for catering and event professionals featuring education, networking, and professional development. ASCEND 2026 is scheduled for July 19-22, 2026 in Savannah, Georgia.
• Art of Catering Food Conference Two-day culinary education event bringing catering professionals together for hands-on culinary learning. Scheduled for August 10-11, 2026 at Allium Rooftop by Blue Plate Catering in Chicago, IL.
• CATIE Awards Annual awards program celebrating innovation, creativity, and excellence in catering across categories including Best Appetizer, Best Buffet/Action Station, Best Catered Event, Best Catered Wedding, Best Dessert, Best Hors d'oeuvre, Best Small Plate, Chef of the Year, Caterer of the Year, and Innovative Mixology.
• ICA Webinars (Non-Member Access) Monthly educational webinars on industry topics relevant to catering and event professionals. Members attend free; non-members pay $59 per webinar.
• Catersource Conference & Tradeshow (Partner Event) Annual industry conference and tradeshow produced in partnership with Catersource / Informa Connect. ICA members receive discounted registration and the ICA Social + CATIE Awards ceremony takes place during the event.
• GROW Foundation Charitable Programs ICA's affiliated charitable foundation (GROW Catering Educational Foundation) focused on culinary education and culinary learning journeys for catering professionals, and the founding partner of ASCEND 2026.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• GROW Catering Educational Foundation (GROW)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2026GROW has become the founding/inception partner of ICA's first annual ASCEND Conference taking place July 19-22, 2026, in Savannah, Georgia. GROW is described as the inaugural partner of ASCEND 2026. GROW is also mentioned in the context of Culinary Learning Journeys as part of the GROW Foundation partnership.
• GROWflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGROW Catering Educational Foundation serves as a key partner for ICA's educational initiatives including Culinary Learning Journeys.
• AmericanMetalCraftminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• Compass GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• CurateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• SternominorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• FultonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• NuphoriqminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• CaptivatedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for ICA events and programs.
• Catersource / Informa ConnectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICA partners with Catersource for industry conferences and events. ICA provides members with discounts to Catersource Conference & Tradeshow. The ICA Social + CATIE Awards ceremony takes place during Catersource events.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Restaurant Association: Broad incumbent as a much larger industry association covering the broader foodservice industry, including catering-adjacent operators; competes for sponsor and member mindshare but is not catering-specialized.
• American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA): Broad incumbent representing lodging and hospitality, including hotel banquet/catering operations that overlap with ICA's hotel & resort caterer members, but with a much broader scope.

Others

• Compass Group USA: Other (sponsor partner) as a large contract foodservice and catering operator that actively sponsors ICA programs and participates in CATIE Awards; comparable as a catering operator but also a commercial counterpart rather than a pure association peer.

Direct peers

• International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP): Direct peer as a membership association for food and culinary professionals, with overlapping educational programming, awards, and networking events — comparable community-driven GTM model.
• American Culinary Federation (ACF): Direct peer as a professional association for culinary professionals, including catering chefs, offering certification, competitions, and education — overlapping on chef recognition and culinary education (mirrors ICA's Chef of the Year CATIE Awards).
• National Association of Catering Executives (NACE Experience): Direct peer as the other major U.S. trade association serving catering and event professionals, with overlapping events, awards, and educational programming; ICA effectively succeeded/competes with NACE in the professional catering association space.
• Wedding International Professionals Association (WIPA): Direct peer as a membership association catering to wedding and event professionals, with comparable structure of annual dues, networking events, and recognition programs catering to a major subset of ICA's caterer base.

Emerging players

• Meeting Professionals International (MPI): Emerging player as a global association for meeting and event planners who are the buyers of catering services ICA's vendor members sell into; partial overlap via the corporate event catering ecosystem.
• Events Industry Council (EIC): Emerging player as an umbrella organization for the events industry with overlapping educator/credentialing and networking programs that intersect with catering and event professionals served by ICA.
• Catersource / Informa Connect: Partner-adjacent peer as the operator of the Catersource Conference & Tradeshow, which is co-located with the CATIE Awards; an events-led media brand that competes with and complements ICA's event portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBBVTd5uWfSRcSwhP5e5IrA
• Facebookfacebook.com/internationalcaterers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/internationalcaterersassociation
• Instagraminstagram.com/icacater
• Xx.com/icacater

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Caterers Association