Businesses that can be considered under the heading of modern catering are those whose catering facilities clearly apply operating, management and customer care techniques and services. In practical or real terms, this applies to businesses whose average number of staff throughout the year is around 75 employees, with a minimum annual turnover of 5.5 million euros.

The businesses have turned a very fragmented catering sector into a professional one. The working organic whole is like any other business in the service or industrial sector and has its departments: Financial, Quality, R+D, Human Resources, Development, Expansion, Logistics, Marketing etc. This environment has given an impetus to the quality of human capital in the sector, making it enormously possible to develop new concepts and promote growth.

These characteristics mean there are more obstacles to getting into the business than in the past, but the cost of finding and fitting out premises compared to other sectors of the economy still means that you can afford to try your hand at different styles. For this reason, the range of catering types is wide and varied. Categories of modern catering change and depend on the owner’s outlook. A possible classification is as follows:

1. Fast Food. The sector’s true origin is to be found in this group. The way food is produced, the introduction of centralised kitchens, logistics, the use of franchises, supply centres, marketing, in sum, each and every one of the sector’s aspects have served as an example to establish each concept. Competition within this group is huge.

1. Hamburger bars. The world leaders are to be found in this sector such as: McDonald’s, Burger King, Johnny Rockets, etc. As these brands are mature products, they have begun to widely diversify both their product and geographic locations. Day by day, they are setting up in lesser populated areas to try and increase their market share. Moreover, the development of US style drive-throughs, where people have at least one meal a day in their car, has enabled the number of customers to continue increasing. Also included in this sector are themes related to chicken, such as; Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pollo Tropical.

2. Pizzerias. A flour base has become one of the everyday elements of westerners’ diets. The main brands in the Spanish market are Telepizza, Pizza Móvil (Ibersol Group) and Pizza Hut (Yum). On a world scale are others such as Domino´s.

3. Roll and Sandwich bars. Research undertaken by the food sector has lead to the development of new concepts. Brands such as, La Brioche Dorée, Upper Crust, Pan´s and Company, Boccata, Prêt a Manger, Rodilla, etc.

4. Kebab. This is a sandwich of Turkish origin. It is seeing a steady but solid growth in western Europe, due to a rising population of Arab origin.

5. Ice cream parlours. Traditional ice cream but with modern techniques. The best known brands are: Haagen Dazs, Farggi, Flanela, Baskin Robbins, etc.

2. Casual Dining. These are traditional restaurants that have introduced new technology, marketing and customer care techniques. The following themes are most outstanding.

	Theme types	Some brands
	Thematic	La vaca Argentina, Cantina Mariachi, Sports Bar
	Mediterranean food	Tapelia, Butarelli, Bazaar. Frescco, Vips
	Oriental	Yo Sushi, Wok.
	Spanish tapas	Tapas Bar, Cañas y Tapas, Tio Pepe, Sagardi, Gambrinus, Mesón 5J, Lizarrán.
	Ribs and American style food	Tony Roma´s, Ribs, Fridays, Foster´s Hollywood y Buffalo Grill.
	Pasta & Pizza	Gino´s, Pastafiore, Pasta City, Pizza Jardín.

3. En-route catering. In this category are firms dedicated to obtaining restaurant and cafeteria concessions in Airports and highway service areas. They also include airline and train passenger catering service firms. The main names in this subsector are: Grupo Areas, Autogrill, Select Service Partner, Gate Gournet and Caféstore.

4. Coffee Shops. All new concepts of modern cafeteria are included in this sector. The clearest example is Starbucks. In Spain, there are companies such as: Café y té, Jamaica, Café de Indias, Café di Fiore, and Starbucks, to name but a few.