Food and beverage operations are operations that engage in the business of the provision of food and a variety of beverages (Cousins, Foskett, and Gillespie, 2002). Food and beverage provision away from home accounts for a significant portion of the hospitality industry activities as well as of the comprehensive economy. Like the hospitality industry of which it is part, foodservice operations are categorized by their diversity (Davis et al., 2013). The operations include public and private operations ranging from small and solely owned and operated units to large global corporations that manage global brands as well as from catering to the most expensive hotels in the world to prison catering. Every day, millions of meals and beverages are provided by the foodservice industry globally in a wide variety of types of food and beverage operations.
This paper identifies and discusses the diversity of foodservice operations in the hospitality industry. It also, elucidates how such operations can contribute tangibly and intangibly to the profitability of an organization with appropriate examples from both commercials and non-commercial businesses.