Wassermann Catering

What Wassermann Catering does

Wassermann & Company AG, operating as Wassermann Catering, is a Basel-based event-catering company founded in 2014 by Frank Wassermann that specializes in hospitality/VIP catering, public catering, and pop-up restaurant operations for sports, cultural, and corporate events. The company serves as the exclusive or preferred catering partner at nine premier Swiss venues across Basel and Zürich — including St. Jakob-Park, Messe Basel, Congress Center Basel, St. Jakobshalle, Stadtcasino, Musical Theater Basel, Theater 11 Zürich, Messe Zürich, and Rhypark — and executes marquee events such as Art Basel, Swiss Indoors, FC Basel home matches, UEFA tournaments, the Eurovision Song Contest, Baloise Session, and Basel Tattoo. Its operational backbone consists of in-house production kitchens in Basel (headquarters at St. Jakobs-Strasse 395, plus a logistics hub at Riehenring 118) and Zürich (Wallisellenstrasse 49), an 80-person permanent workforce supported by 800+ trained temporary staff across roughly 20–49 nationalities, a proprietary cashless Food Card payment system on the passaDuo platform for high-volume public-catering environments, and an annually refreshed set of bespoke food concepts (Chefs Table, Mix & Match, Rösti Stube, A Taste of Asia, Fine Dining).

The business operates a multi-revenue-stream model combining professional services for VIP and corporate catering with unit-priced exhibition-booth delivery (minimum CHF 120 net per delivery) and small transaction fees on the Food Card. Pricing is quote-based for custom events with a tiered cancellation policy (free to 90% of contract value depending on lead time) and quote revision fees of CHF 150 net. Distribution is entirely direct and on-site: a four-person sales team — Doris Graf (Head of Sales), Marina Kögl, Leah Albrecht, and Mirjam Stirnimann — manages B2B relationships with corporate clients, venue operators, and event organizers. The 2016 merger with Käfer Schweiz AG is the foundational move that established exclusive venue rights, and subsequent partnership additions (Messe Zürich in 2022, Theater 11 Zürich in 2023, Rhypark Basel in 2024) and ISO 9001/14001 certification in June 2025 reflect a strategy of consolidating and densifying a venue-anchored, region-leading position in northwestern Switzerland. The company is privately held, founder-controlled, and does not publicly disclose revenue.

Name

Wassermann Catering

Legal name

Wassermann & Company AG

Website

https://wassermann-company.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Wassermann Catering is a Swiss event-catering firm that delivers hospitality/VIP and public catering, plus pop-up restaurants and exhibition-booth delivery, at nine exclusive partner venues across Basel and Zürich for sports, cultural, and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Catering Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (722310), Special Food Services (7223)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Business Event Catering (THAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gala, Fundraiser & Nonprofit Event Catering (THAHAKAF), Event Culinary Staffing & Back-of-House Services (Chefs, Servers, Bartenders) (THAHAKAN)

Keywords

• Event catering services
• VIP hospitality catering
• Public event catering
• Trade fair catering
• Corporate event catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. VIP/Hospitality Catering: Premium catering services for VIP areas at sports venues, concert halls, and corporate events. Includes fine dining experiences, private suites, and exclusive hospitality packages for high-value clients.
2. Public Catering: High-volume food service for stadiums, arenas, theaters, trade fairs, and congresses. Includes food stands, street food concepts, pop-up restaurants, and mass feeding operations (serving 200-3,000+ guests per event).
3. Exhibition Booth Delivery Service: Catering delivery service specifically for exhibitors at trade fairs and congresses. Online ordering system with daily delivery to exhibition booths.
4. Food Card Transaction Fees: Cashless payment processing through proprietary Food Card system at Messe Basel and Messe Zürich events. Postpaid card with CHF 1,000 limit per card.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wassermann Catering is a Swiss event catering company that designs, produces and delivers VIP/hospitality and public catering for sports, cultural and corporate events. The company operates as exclusive or preferred catering partner at premier Swiss venues including St. Jakob-Park, Messe Basel, Congress Center Basel, St. Jakobshalle, Stadtcasino, Musical Theater Basel, Theater 11 Zürich and Messe Zürich, serving events ranging from intimate dinners of 20 guests to mass-feeding operations of 18,000+ guests.

Product overview

Wassermann Catering is an event catering company offering two primary service lines: Hospitality/VIP Catering for premium sports, cultural, and corporate events; and Public Catering for large-scale food service at stadiums, arenas, trade fairs, and congresses. The portfolio includes Pop-Up Restaurants with various concepts (Chefs Table, Mix & Match, Rösti Stube, A Taste of Asia), Streetfood Festival concepts with mobile units (food trucks, coffee bars), and Messe/Stand Catering delivery service. A supplementary offering is the Food Card cashless payment system powered by passaDuo. The company operates primarily in Basel and Zürich at exclusive partner venues including St. Jakob-Park, Messe Basel, Congress Center Basel, Swiss Indoors, Stadtcasino Basel, Theater 11 Zürich, and Messe Zürich.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hospitality | VIP Catering High-level VIP and hospitality catering service for premium guests at sports venues, cultural events and corporate events. Includes individual and exclusive hospitality concepts, fine dining experiences, private suites and executive event service.
• Public Catering Large-scale food service for thousands of guests at stadiums, arenas, theaters, concert halls, trade fairs and congresses. Focus on speed, efficiency, variety and just-in-time food preparation, serving 200 to 3,000+ guests per event.
• Pop-Up Restaurants Temporary restaurant concepts deployed at trade fairs and events in Basel and Zürich with multiple themed formats including Chefs Table, Mix & Match, Rösti Stube and A Taste of Asia for thousands of guests at a time.
• Messe & Stand Catering (Delivery Service) Catering delivery service directly to exhibition booths at trade fairs in Basel and Zürich. Spans exclusive star-level catering through to hearty fair food and trendy international creations, with online ordering and daily booth delivery.
• Corporate Events Catering Full-service catering for corporate clients covering lunches, coffee breaks, congress catering, parties, general meetings and gala dinners for events such as general assemblies, employee parties, client entertainment and congresses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,800 events served annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Rhypark BaselminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Event catering partner for Basel's riverside event venue with floor-to-ceiling windows and city views.
• Theater 11 ZürichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Restaurant, bar, and apéro services for up to 300 guests at Theater 11 Zürich since 2023.
• Messe ZürichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Exclusive catering partner since 2022, expanding operations to Zurich exhibition center with on-site production kitchen at Wallisellenstrasse 49.
• Historisches Museum Basel & BarfüsserkircheminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Preferred catering partner for corporate and cultural events at Basel Historical Museum and Barfüsser Church venue.
• Stadtcasino BaselcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Catering partner since 2019 (post-renovation reopening) for one of the world's best concert halls, providing restaurant and event catering.
• St. Jakobshalle BaselcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Preferred catering partner since 2018 for major events including Swiss Indoors and other sports/cultural events at the arena.
• Käfer Schweiz AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Merger with Käfer Schweiz AG in 2016 enabled exclusive catering partnership rights at Messe Basel, Congress Center Basel, Swiss Indoors, and Musical Theater Basel.
• Messe Basel & Congress Center BaselcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Exclusive catering partner for Basel Exhibition Center and Congress Center since 2016 (through Käfer merger), providing all food service for exhibitions and congresses.
• Swiss Indoors BaselcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Exclusive catering partner for annual Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at St. Jakobshalle, serving 8,400 VIP guests over 7 days plus 2,800-seat pop-up restaurant.
• FC Basel / St. Jakob-ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Hospitality catering partner at St. Jakob-Park stadium since 2014, serving all home match days with up to 1,000 VIP guests across 4 hospitality areas.
• Swiss TafelminorOthersPartnership with food bank organization to reduce food waste and support community engagement.
• Treffpunkt GlaibaselminorOthersLocal Basel social initiative partnership for community engagement.
• Heilsarmee Zürich (Salvation Army Zurich)minorOthersPartnership with Salvation Army for social responsibility initiatives.
• passaDuocoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for Food Card cashless payment platform, enabling QR-code based payments at all company food stands at Messe Basel and Messe Zürich.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Delaware North Companies: Privately-held US hospitality and food service company with strong presence in sports venues, entertainment destinations, and convention centers. Directly comparable model of exclusive venue partnerships, VIP hospitality, and high-volume public catering at stadiums and arenas.
• Käfer Gruppe: German premium caterer (parent of former Käfer Schweiz AG, which merged with Wassermann in 2016). Directly comparable model in exclusive event catering at trade fair grounds (Messe München), sports venues (Allianz Arena), and cultural institutions, with shared operating DNA.
• DO & CO AG: Austrian-listed premium hospitality group specializing in event catering, airline catering, and hotel/restaurant operations. Directly comparable in the sports, cultural, and corporate event segment (e.g., Allianz Arena, UEFA, Formula 1 paddock clubs), serving as the European benchmark for high-end event catering.
• Aramark Sports + Entertainment: US-based global food services provider with a major sports and entertainment division serving stadiums, arenas, and convention centers (NFL, MLB, NBA). Comparable in premium hospitality catering, public concessions, and event-driven food service at major venues.
• Sodexo Live! (Sodexo): Dedicated event hospitality arm of Sodexo operating stadium, arena, convention center, and cultural venue catering worldwide. Directly comparable in exclusive venue concessions, VIP hospitality, and large-scale public catering at sports/cultural events.
• Levy Restaurants (Compass Group): Premium event hospitality subsidiary of Compass Group focused on sports and entertainment venues (NFL, NBA, MLB, Wimbledon). Comparable in proprietary restaurant concepts, premium hospitality suites, and high-volume concession operations.

Regional players

• SV Group: Major Swiss food and facility services company operating restaurants, staff restaurants, and event catering across Switzerland. Comparable as a Swiss-headquartered full-service caterer serving corporate, institutional, and event clients, though with broader focus on staff restaurants.
• ZFV (Zürcher Freilager AG): Swiss cooperative catering and hospitality group operating staff restaurants, hotels, and event catering. Comparable as a Switzerland-based full-service caterer serving events, corporate clients, and institutional dining, with similar cultural-linguistic positioning.
• Marché International (Moevenpick Restaurants): Swiss-origin international restaurant and catering brand (formerly part of Mövenpick group) operating motorway restaurants, event catering, and food service. Comparable in Swiss event and high-volume food service operations with a hospitality concept-led approach.

Emerging players

• Gourmetta / Event & Catering Competitors (Zürich region): Swiss regional event caterers and corporate hospitality providers (e.g., Züri-Wests Catering, Genusswerk) competing for trade fair, congress, and corporate event mandates in the same Basel/Zürich corridor as Wassermann. Comparable in serving trade fair clients, Messe booth delivery, and mid-size corporate events.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wassermann_co

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Wassermann Catering