Lunch Box Express

What Lunch Box Express does

Lunch Box Express is a Sacramento, California-based catering company founded in 2007 by Rich Johnson, operating from an owned 11,000 square foot production, warehouse, and prep facility at 610 Bercut Dr. The company provides full-service and drop-off catering for corporate meetings, conferences, banquets, company picnics, holiday parties, and celebration-of-life events, with a stated capacity to serve events ranging from a handful of attendees to several thousand from a single site. Its product portfolio spans general catering, themed menus (BBQ/Picnics, Receptions, Holiday), conference and banquet catering, and specialized services including CAL FIRE emergency catering (24/7 Fire Line Lunch, Base Camp Lunch, and Administrative Lunch programs), charter jet catering for Sacramento-area airfields, and Northern California disaster-response catering via refrigerated vans.

The company is part of Tasty Time Enterprises, which encompasses three wholly-owned sister brands: LBE Occasions (premium catering), Rich's Ice Cream Catering (extending reach into the Bay Area), and Allen Family Fudge. Revenue is generated on a per-person basis across packaged menus priced from $9.50 to $43.00, with full-service catering available for an additional 10–25% fee; pricing scales down with larger serving counts (volume tiers on BBQ packages) and accommodates last-minute orders with additional charges. Distribution is sales-led, with a direct sales team of Client Development and Client Relationship Specialists, phone ordering, an online ordering platform, and content marketing via blog articles on event planning topics.

Lunch Box Express is family-owned and operated by the Hiebert family (Alex Hiebert as President, Jamison Hiebert as Owner & Partner), with founder Rich Johnson continuing as Special Projects Manager. The company serves five principal customer segments — corporate businesses, universities/educational institutions, non-profits and associations, emergency response organizations (notably CAL FIRE), and families/funeral homes — across the Greater Sacramento region and Northern California, with no external institutional investment disclosed.

Name

Lunch Box Express

Legal name

Lunch Box Express

Website

https://lunchboxexpresscatering.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lunch Box Express is a Sacramento-based catering company, founded in 2007, that provides full-service and drop-off catering for corporate events, conferences, banquets, and government emergency-response clients across Northern California from an 11,000 sq ft production facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catering Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (722310)

akta.pro primary industry

Drop-Off Catering & Boxed Meals (HSACAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Drop-Off / Delivery Catering (THAFAIAI), Wedding & Reception Catering (HSACAGAD)

Keywords

• Corporate event catering
• Boxed lunch delivery
• BBQ catering services
• Banquet catering
• Emergency meal services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Event Catering Services: Full-service and drop-off catering for corporate events, conferences, banquets, company picnics, and celebrations. Revenue generated per event based on guest count, menu selection, and service level.
2. Boxed Lunch and Deli Catering: Pre-packaged lunch solutions for meetings and events including sandwiches, salads, and sides. Priced per person with minimum order requirements.
3. Charter Jet Catering: Specialized catering for private aviation including breakfast, lunch, dinner items, snacks, and canteen supplies. Serves Sacramento area airfields including SMF, MCC, SAC, and MHR.
4. Emergency Response Catering: Specialized meal programs for CAL FIRE emergency responders including Fire Line Lunch, Base Camp Lunch, and Admin Base Camp Lunch with 24/7 emergency contact availability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lunch Box Express provides full-service and drop-off catering for corporate events, meetings, conferences, banquets, company picnics, and receptions across the Greater Sacramento and Northern California region. Offerings include boxed lunches, BBQ packages, holiday menus, charter jet in-flight meals, and a specialized 24/7 emergency meal program for CAL FIRE. Pricing is structured per person or per event, with options for both on-site staffed service and delivery-only fulfillment.

Product overview

Lunch Box Express is a Sacramento-based catering company offering a comprehensive portfolio of food service products. The core offering is general catering services (meetings, conferences, banquets, corporate events) supplemented by specialized offerings including CAL FIRE emergency meal services operating 24/7, charter jet catering for Sacramento airfields, and Northern California emergency/disaster catering via refrigerated vans. The product line includes themed menu categories: Picnics & BBQs (with tiered packages), Celebration of Life/funeral catering, Reception & Appetizer menus (with seasonal curations), Holiday Menus, Conference Catering, Banquet Catering, and Corporate Celebrations. Services are provided by parent company Tasty Time Enterprises alongside sister brands LBE Occasions (premium events) and Rich's Ice Cream Catering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Catering Services Full-service and drop-off corporate and event catering including meals for meetings, conferences, workshops, company events, boxed lunches, breakfast catering, and deli-style catering for businesses across the Sacramento region.
• CAL FIRE Emergency Catering

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of events served annually ranging from small meetings to events with several thousand attendees
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tasty Time EnterprisescoreOthersParent company of Lunch Box Express. Also owns LBE Occasions (premium/fancy catering division), Rich's Ice Cream Catering, and Allen Family Fudge. Tasty Time Enterprises encompasses the full family of catering and food service businesses.
• LBE OccasionscoreOthersSister company operating as the 'fancy pants' premium catering division of Lunch Box Express. Provides upscale catering services alongside the main Lunch Box Express brand.
• Rich's Ice Cream CateringcoreOthersSister company specializing in ice cream catering services. Extends service offerings to all Lunch Box Express coverage areas plus the Bay Area including Fairfield, Vallejo, Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, and Peninsula areas.
• CAL FIREcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership providing emergency meal services to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Provides specialized Fire Line Lunch, Base Camp Lunch, and Administrative Lunch programs with 24/7 emergency contacts for active fire season and natural disaster response.
• Sacramento Area VenuesminorOthersFamiliarity and working relationships with local venues including parks (Discovery Park, William Land Park, Elk Grove Park), funeral homes, churches, cemeteries, and event venues throughout the Sacramento region.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• ezCater: National corporate catering marketplace connecting businesses with local caterers for meetings and events. Directly comparable to Lunch Box Express's B2B event catering model, operating at much larger scale and with a digital-first ordering platform.
• Wedgewood Weddings & Events: Event venue and catering operator running banquet and reception services across multiple U.S. locations. Comparable to Lunch Box Express's banquet catering and corporate celebrations offerings, including full-service event execution with on-site staff.
• Levy Restaurants: Premium hospitality and event catering company specializing in sports venues, conventions, and corporate events. Comparable to Lunch Box Express's LBE Occasions premium division and large-scale banquet/conference catering work.
• ZeroCater: Corporate catering platform providing recurring office meal programs and one-off event catering. Comparable to Lunch Box Express's corporate meetings, conferences, and boxed-lunch offerings, with a tech-enabled marketplace model.
• Fooda: Workplace food platform offering corporate catering, pop-up restaurants, and food hall experiences for offices. Comparable in targeting corporate clients with recurring and event-based meal programs analogous to Lunch Box Express's conference and corporate catering.
• Cater2.me: Corporate and office catering service delivering individualized meals for businesses. Closely comparable to Lunch Box Express's boxed-lunch and corporate drop-off catering, particularly for recurring workplace orders.
• Gate Gourmet: Global airline catering and in-flight services provider. Directly comparable to Lunch Box Express's charter jet catering line at Sacramento-area airfields (SMF, MCC, SAC, MHR), with flight-ready packaging and individually portioned meals.

Broad incumbents

• Sodexo: Global food services and facilities management company with event and conference catering offerings. Comparable as a broad incumbent in institutional and event catering, complementing (rather than directly competing with) Lunch Box Express's regional Sacramento business.
• Aramark: Global food service, facilities, and uniform services provider with significant event, sports, and institutional catering operations. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the catering space, though its portfolio spans far beyond Lunch Box Express's regional corporate focus.
• Compass Group: One of the world's largest contract foodservice and support services companies, operating catering and event services across multiple verticals. Broadly comparable as a large incumbent in the same foodservice category as Lunch Box Express.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lunchboxexpress
• Facebookfacebook.com/LunchBoxExpressSac
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lunch-box-express

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Lunch Box Express