Planning on tendering Outsourced Catering Services?

Are you planning on tendering Outsourced Catering Services in 2026? The experts from Crescent Purchasing Consortium recommend now as the ideal time to start considering what your next catering procurement process is going to look like.

Tendering a contract for outsourced catering can be daunting prospect, due to the complexity of assessment and time it can take to appoint a supplier (plus resources required), not to mention a mobilisation period, once your contract is awarded. 🤝

If your current catering contract is due to expire prior to September 2026, now is a perfect time to evaluate your position and determine a plan of action for an effective tender. First, you will need to confirm if there are potential extensions left with your incumbent supplier you can take advantage of (which you can hopefully find within your previous tender documentation or in the terms and conditions between yourself and the supplier). CPC recommends not waiting until it is too late to run any tender.

In some instances, the entire process, from start to go-live, can take as long as six months to complete, so start planning now!

Whether you are familiar and comfortable with running this kind of tender, or you’re new to catering, but confident with your ability, you may be worried about having the capacity for such a project or even need some assistance with the process. CPC is here to help. We can discuss your available options with you and see if there is any further support CPC can offer. Our catering consultants can assist, be it through helping with a specification, providing expert advice, or running the entire process on your behalf. Alternatively, if you wish to run the tender yourself, CPC Contract Manager Lisa O'Shea is on hand to support.

For further information on CPC's Outsourced Catering Services framework and associated template documentation, please see its dedicated framework page. If you are interested in our Catering Consultancy services, there’s more information here - and feel free to contact Catering Procurement Manager, Mary Bee, or email [email protected], to find out more.