What Ricca Design Studios does

Ricca Design Studios is an international foodservice design consulting firm founded in 1973 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The firm specializes in front and back-of-house design for commercial foodservice environments, offering services that include culinary design, front-of-house and back-of-house planning, logistics planning, solid waste planning, sustainability planning, laundry design, management advisory, and packaging services. Its delivery model is B2B professional services, engaging directly with architects, interior designers, developers, general contractors, and project owners during the design and construction phases of new builds and renovations.

The firm serves seven primary verticals: corporate, hospitality, higher education, K-12 education, healthcare, public assembly, and sports. Its technical toolkit centers on Revit/BIM for cross-disciplinary 3D documentation and construction drawings, layered with operational expertise drawn from team members with backgrounds as professional chefs, food and beverage directors, restaurant owners, hospitality school professors, and nutritionists. Multiple LEED-certified and LEED Gold projects (Berklee, Colorado State, Ohio University, UMass Amherst, Stanford, UC Irvine) demonstrate an embedded sustainability design practice.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees on custom-scope, variable-size projects. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Delivery is relationship-led (enterprise field sales) with named clients including Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, ExxonMobil, Nike, Visa, SoFi Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Mercado Little Spain at Hudson Yards. The firm operates from 11+ offices across the US, China (with regional HQ in Shanghai), Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and the UK, and runs dedicated sub-brands Ricca Asia and Ricca Arabia. Distribution channels include direct enterprise engagement, a project portfolio website, LinkedIn presence, and five AIA-accredited educational webinars used as a thought-leadership and pipeline tool among architects and design firms.

Name

Ricca Design Studios

Legal name

Ricca Design Studios

Website

https://ricca.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ricca Design Studios is a private international foodservice design consulting firm founded in 1973 that plans front and back-of-house commercial kitchens and dining facilities for corporate, hospitality, higher education, healthcare, K-12, and public assembly clients across the US, Asia, the Middle East, Mexico, and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foodservice Design Consulting

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Kitchen Permitting, Design & Project Management (HSAPAAAK)

Keywords

• Foodservice design services
• Commercial kitchen design
• Culinary space planning
• Back-of-house design
• Front-of-house design

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenwood Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foodservice Design Consulting: Professional services revenue generated from designing culinary spaces for commercial kitchens, restaurants, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, hospitality venues, and corporate dining spaces. Projects include programming, design development, contract documents, and construction administration support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ricca Design Studios is an international foodservice design firm that provides professional design and consulting services for commercial culinary spaces. Offerings encompass Culinary Design, Front-of-House Planning, Back-of-House Planning, Logistics Planning, Solid Waste Planning, Sustainability Planning, Laundry Design, Management Advisory Services, and Packaging Services, delivered across Corporate, Hospitality, Higher Education, K-12, Healthcare, Public Assembly, and Sports sectors.

Product overview

Ricca Design Studios is an international foodservice design firm founded in 1973, offering a comprehensive suite of design and consulting services for commercial foodservice operations. The company's core service portfolio centers on Culinary Design, which encompasses Front of House Planning, Back of House Planning, Logistics Planning, Solid Waste Planning, Sustainability Planning, Laundry Design, Management Advisory Services, and Packaging Services. They serve diverse markets including Corporate, Hospitality, Higher Education, K-12, Healthcare, Public Assembly, and Sports sectors. Additionally, the firm offers AIA-accredited educational webinars covering topics such as foodservice design fundamentals, net zero kitchens, pandemic effects on foodservice, ghost kitchens, and ventless/induction cooking technologies. The company leverages deep operational expertise from former chefs, food and beverage directors, hospitality professors, and nutritionists to create efficient culinary environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ricca Asia: Regional operations for Asia Pacific markets
• Ricca Arabia

Products and services

• Culinary Design Services Comprehensive foodservice design practice covering programming, schematic design, design development, contract documents, and construction administration for commercial culinary spaces, delivered by a Principals-led team with backgrounds as chefs, food and beverage directors, restaurant owners, hospitality professors, and nutritionists.
• Front of House Planning Design services for guest-facing dining area layouts, seating arrangements, and open kitchen concepts that bring culinary sights, sounds, and aromas into the dining space while integrating with architectural aesthetic intent.
• Back of House Planning Operational planning for commercial kitchen spaces including equipment placement, workflow efficiency, storage solutions, and logistics designed to maximize back-of-house productivity for chefs and operators.
• Logistics Planning Strategic planning for food delivery, receiving, storage, and distribution workflows within foodservice facilities, supporting efficient food and material movement through commercial kitchens.
• Solid Waste Planning Design solutions for waste management systems, recycling programs, and sustainable disposal practices in commercial foodservice environments.
• Sustainability Planning Eco-conscious design strategies incorporating energy-efficient equipment, sustainable materials, and environmentally responsible operations, with track record on LEED Gold and LEED Silver certified dining projects.
• Laundry Design Design services for commercial laundry facilities, particularly in hospitality and healthcare settings, focusing on efficient workflows and equipment integration alongside foodservice operations.
• Management Advisory Services Consulting services for foodservice operations management, including operational efficiency assessments and strategic planning for foodservice operators.
• Packaging Services Design solutions for food packaging and presentation systems in foodservice operations, including support for to-go, delivery, and ghost kitchen formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• Projects on all 7 continents and in all 50 US states demonstrating global reach
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Architects and Interior DesignerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRicca collaborates with architectural and interior design firms on project design teams, providing foodservice design expertise as part of comprehensive building design projects. This collaboration is fundamental to their business model.
• General ContractorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorks with general contractors during construction administration phases to ensure proper implementation of foodservice design specifications.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FRCH Design Worldwide: Hospitality-focused interior design and architecture firm with strong foodservice design capabilities for hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Highly comparable on hospitality and corporate dining projects.
• Webb Foodservice Design: Specialized foodservice design consultancy serving universities, hospitals, corporate, and hospitality clients with kitchen and dining facility design. Closely overlaps Ricca's verticals, services, and FCSI-affiliated positioning.
• Chipman Design Architecture: Architecture and foodservice design firm specializing in restaurant, hospitality, and commercial kitchen design. Direct competitor on restaurant and hospitality foodservice mandates.
• JGL Consultants: Foodservice design and consulting firm providing kitchen planning, equipment specification, and operational consulting to commercial and institutional clients. Operates in the same niche with comparable project types and FCSI credentials.
• Cini-Little International: Long-standing foodservice design and consulting firm offering similar front- and back-of-house planning services across hospitality, healthcare, education, and corporate. Directly comparable in service mix, client profile, and project-based delivery model.
• Faber & Associates / Foodservice Design Associates: Specialized foodservice consulting and design firms serving the same institutional and commercial segments. Comparable in service scope, although smaller in scale and geographic reach than Ricca.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with a dedicated hospitality and foodservice practice. Competes with Ricca on large enterprise hospitality and corporate campus mandates, but operates across a far broader portfolio of project types.

Others

• Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI): Industry association whose member firms constitute the competitive set for foodservice design consultancies. Relevant as the ecosystem in which Ricca competes, recruits, and gains credentialing (multiple Ricca Principals hold FCSI designations).
• TriMark: Largest U.S. foodservice equipment, supplies, and design provider. While primarily an equipment supplier, TriMark offers in-house design services that compete with foodservice design consultancies on integrated design-build mandates.

Emerging players

• AvroKO: Design-driven hospitality and restaurant firm with strong foodservice-adjacent capabilities in high-end restaurant concepts. Overlaps Ricca on luxury hospitality and branded restaurant projects but with a more concept-led, brand-focused approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ricca-design-studios

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Ricca Design Studios