About CATERING MANAGEMENT

CATERING MANAGEMENT

CATERING MANAGEMENT (CM) is the German-language trade newspaper for the caterers and the communal-feeding industry, published ten times a year by the FORUM Zeitschriften und Spezialmedien GmbH in Merching. First published in 1991 (ISSN 0948-9479), the title is "Deutschlands auflagenstärkster Fachzeitung im Bereich Gemeinschaftsverpflegung" — Germany's highest-circulation specialist newspaper for communal feeding. The segments — the GV's diversity — deserve their telling. The care catering — the clinics, the nursing homes, the senior facilities — feeds the vulnerable: the dietetics, the textures, the dignity. The school and daycare catering — the Kitas, the schools, the mensas — feeds the young: the nutrition education, the DGE standards, the acceptance. The company restaurants — the Betriebsgastronomie — feed the workforce: the employer branding, the health, the sustainability. The event catering — the celebrations, the fairs, the conferences — feeds the occasions: the flexibility, the presentation. The vending — the machines, the 24/7 supply — feeds the gaps: the workplaces, the public buildings, the night shifts. The public buildings' operators — the administrations, the institutions — feed the citizens: the canteens, the catering contracts. CATERING MANAGEMENT's readership — the caterers and the decision-makers across all segments — spans the diversity: the newspaper for the whole GV.

Overview

The newspaper serves the Gemeinschaftsverpflegung (GV): the communal-feeding businesses — the caterers, the care caterers, the school caterers, the company restaurants, the vending operators — and their decision-makers. The editorial program covers the trade's agenda: the branch news (politics and economy, prepared for the target group), the background reports, the best-practice stories, the product novelties, the tips and checklists for the large-kitchen everyday — the kitchen planning, the hygiene and IT solutions — plus the management topics (personnel, quality management, finance). The seminar calendar in each issue presents the continuing-education offers.

The communal-feeding market — the title's economic context — deserves its telling. "Deutschlands zweitgrößter Food-Markt? Nicht Restaurants, nicht Lieferdienste — sondern die Gemeinschaftsverpflegung" — Germany's second-largest food market: not the restaurants, not the delivery services, but the communal feeding. The scale — the Dehoga figures: the GV facilities (the daycares, the schools, the company canteens, the clinics, the nursing homes, the mensas) feeding some 17 million people daily; the total market volume of the communal gastronomy some 16.8 billion euros in 2024 — makes the GV "ein gewichtiger Faktor" (a weighty factor) in the out-of-home feeding. The responsibility — the quality, the sustainable procurement, the good working conditions, the sensible concepts — grows: "Gemeinschaftsverpflegung ist mehr als Essen, sie ist Teil unserer Gesellschaft" — communal feeding is more than food; it is part of our society. The technology and equipment — the kitchen planners' central role — carry the capacity: the large quantities reliably supplied, the innovation embraced. The readership's economic weight — the communal feeding as Germany's second-largest food market (after the restaurants, before the delivery services): some 17 million people fed daily (Dehoga), some 16.8 billion euros total market volume in 2024 — gives the title's relevance.

History

The first issue appeared in 1991 — in the communal feeding's professionalization era: the caterers' rise, the vending's growth, the care and school feeding's expansion. The 18th volume was already documented in the mid-2000s; the title's continuity through the decades — the 1991 founding to the current issues — makes it the GV press's veteran. The publisher's portfolio — the FORUM Zeitschriften und Spezialmedien GmbH's program — deserves its telling. The young independent company — founded 2008, Mandichostr. 18, 86504 Merching — specializes in the construction and real-estate, food, and animal markets: the specialist magazines and special media for decision-makers, specialist planners, investors, and animal lovers. The titles — Facility Manager (the building-services journal), hotelbau (the hotel-construction magazine), CATERING MANAGEMENT (the communal-feeding newspaper), DER HUND and Pferdebetrieb (the animal magazines) — cover the portfolio's pillars. The online products and the corporate-publishing services — the customers' marketing and communication support — extend the print. The group — part of the international FORUM MEDIA GROUP, "einem bedeutenden Fachverlag mit weltweiter Präsenz" (a significant specialist publisher with worldwide presence) — gives the international backing: the Merching house's local newsroom, the group's global reach.

The editorial leadership — Chefredakteurin Maxi Scherer, Objektleitung Brigitte Kistler, the Merching newsroom (the 08233/381 exchange) — carries the issues: the branch news, the best-practice tours (the Hamburg tour documented), the yearbooks (the "Bau und Betrieb von Großküchen" kitchen-construction yearbook). The Geschäftsführerin — Rosina Jennissen — steers the publishing house. The digital — catering.de with the issue previews, the ePaper Leseproben, the Vending-Management test subscriptions — extends the print.

Coverage and Content

The editorial program follows the caterer's year. The branch-news coverage — the politics and economy prepared for the target group — treats the framework: the procurement law, the nutrition policy, the labor market. The best-practice coverage — the Best-Practice-Tour (the Hamburg tour: the diverse, engaged, innovative branch experienced) — documents the excellence: the model operations, the concepts. The product coverage — the product novelties, the technology and equipment (the kitchen planners' questions and answers), the hygiene and IT solutions — serves the large kitchen: the FlexiChef, the SteelPlus, the digital.

The sustainability and quality agenda — the GV's transformation — deserves its telling. The sustainable procurement — the regional, the seasonal, the organic — reshapes the purchasing: the supply chains, the certifications. The plant-based shift — the vegetarian and vegan shares rising — changes the menus: the acceptance, the nutrition. The food-waste reduction — the measurement, the prevention — addresses the economics and the ethics: the large kitchens' volumes. The good working conditions — the skilled-labor shortage, the wages, the training — challenge the employers: the GV's attractiveness. The quality management — the HACCP, the audits, the certifications — secures the standards: the vulnerable groups' protection. The newspaper's coverage — the background reports, the best practices, the checklists — guides the transformation: the GV's responsibility for quality, sustainability, and society — the editorial's Christmas message: "Möge es ein gesundes werden, beruflich und privat." The vending coverage — the quarterly supplement: the branch's novelties, trends, and news — serves the automatists: the machines, the fillings, the payments. The seminar calendar — each issue — presents the education: the training, the certifications. The yearbooks — the kitchen-construction yearbook — give the reference: the planners, the specialists.

Organization and Ownership

CATERING MANAGEMENT is published by the FORUM Zeitschriften und Spezialmedien GmbH, Mandichostr. 18, 86504 Merching (HRB 23870, Amtsgericht Augsburg), telephone 08233/381-0, email service@forum-zeitschriften.de. The company — founded 2008, share capital 27,000 euros — specializes in the construction/real-estate, food, and animal markets: the specialist magazines and special media for decision-makers, specialist planners, investors, and animal lovers. The parent — the FORUM MEDIA GROUP — is the international specialist publisher.

The editor-in-chief is Maxi Scherer (08233/381-345, maxi.scherer@forumzeitschriften.de); the Objektleitung is Brigitte Kistler (08233/381-127); the Geschäftsführerin is Rosina Jennissen. The business model follows the B2B trade-press pattern: the subscriptions, the advertising (the kitchen-technology, food, and vending industries), the supplements, and the yearbooks. The test subscription — the free Vending-Management trial with ten CATERING MANAGEMENT issues gratis (29.90 euros domestic, 49.90 abroad annually) — recruits the readers. Detailed current circulation figures are not publicly confirmed (historical IVW: 19,747 spread copies, 2/2009).

Digital Presence

The brand's digital home is catering.de: the issue previews (the ePaper Leseproben — the editorial with the branch's Christmas and New Year greetings), the test subscriptions (the Vending-Management trial), the downloads (the special-issue PDFs). The Widerruf and service pages serve the subscribers. The digital strategy follows the B2B logic: the print newspaper for the deep GV coverage — the branch news, the best practices, the management — the portal for the issues, the trials, and the downloads.

As Germany's highest-circulation communal-feeding newspaper — the 1991-founded trade title, published by the FORUM Zeitschriften und Spezialmedien GmbH — CATERING MANAGEMENT remains the caterers' companion: the branch news, the best practices, and the management — ten times a year from Merching.