2026 Warehouse Club Catering Guide
Costco doesn't run a traditional party-platter catering program. Here's what you can actually order for an office — bulk deli, bakery, and Costco Business Delivery.
Costco is the first place a lot of people think of when they need to feed a crowd on a budget — which is exactly why "Costco catering" is one of the most-searched we see for warehouse clubs. While Costco does not operate a restaurant-style catering program with named platter packages, per-person pricing, and a delivery window, it does have is a warehouse full of bulk food and a separate business arm, Costco Business Delivery, that ships snacks, beverages, and fresh baked goods to offices. This guide covers what's genuinely possible, what isn't, and how Costco stacks up against the warehouse clubs that do run real catering programs.
There are a few realistic ways to feed an office with Costco, and they're very different from each other. Same-day grocery delivery and in-warehouse shopping cover prepared trays and build-your-own boards, while bulk office ordering goes through costcobusinessdelivery.com or a Costco Business Center in person. A membership is required for all of them.
The prepared section of Costco's same-day grocery catalog includes a handful of trays and entrées that function a lot like informal dropoff catering — they arrive ready to put out, no cooking required. The Kirkland Signature Roasted Chicken & Swiss Roller Tray is the standout for a meeting: 12 rollers for about $16.92, or roughly $1.41 a piece. The street-taco tray and the hot beef-and-broccoli entrée scale the same idea up to a fuller meal.
Same-day prices are weight-estimated and vary by location — confirm at checkout for your area.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kirkland Signature Roasted Chicken & Swiss Roller Tray (12-count) | $17 (est.) | About 2.13 lb / package ($7.93/lb). $1.41 per roller. |
| Kirkland Signature Chicken Street Tacos (12-count) | $18 (est.) | About 2.9 lb / package ($6.23/lb). $1.51 per taco. |
| Kirkland Signature Beef and Broccoli with Noodles | $32 (est.) | About 4.01 lb / package ($7.93/lb). Hot entrée tray for a fuller meal. |
| Ficacci Mediterranean Olive Platter (1.65 lbs) | $11.34 | Marinated olive trio; ready to serve alongside a board. |
At many warehouses you can pre-order a chilled shrimp platter at the deli counter — the closest Costco gets to the old party-platter experience. It's sold by weight at about $10.99 per pound and comes with cocktail sauce and lemon, and the large roughly 5-pound platter feeds about 24–26 people as an appetizer. This is a deli-counter pre-order, not a same-day catalog item, so availability and pricing vary by warehouse.
For the creative office orderer, Costco makes it genuinely easy to assemble a great charcuterie or cheese board without a caterer. Pre-portioned cracker-cut cheese trays, cured-meat snack trays, and variety packs do most of the work, and the warehouse's wider cheese selection (Manchego, Parmigiano Reggiano, blue, soft spreads) lets you upgrade the board for a client-facing event.
Add wedge cheeses from the warehouse (Manchego, Parmigiano Reggiano, Point Reyes Blue) to scale a board up for larger or client-facing events.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cello Variety Pack — Cracker Cut Sliced Cheeses (2 lbs) | $14.74 | Pre-sliced multi-cheese tray; the base of an easy board. |
| Tillamook Cracker Cut Tray (19.5 oz) | $10.20 | Pepper jack, white cheddar, medium cheddar — pre-sliced. |
| Creminelli Sopressata Snack Tray (4 x 2 oz) | $12.47 | Cured-meat trays for the charcuterie side of the board. |
| Marin French Cheese Petite Variety Pack (4-count) | $15.31 | Soft-ripened variety pack; rounds out a board. |
| Garcia Baquero Spanish Cheese Selection (3-count) | $11.34 | Three Spanish cheeses; pairs with the olive platter. |
| Beecher's Handmade Cheese Party Variety Pack (4 x 3 oz) | $14.74 | Flagship-style party variety pack. |
This is the classic move: someone drives to a warehouse and loads up. Rotisserie chicken, bakery cakes and cookies, deli items, hummus and dip trays, fruit and vegetable packs, chips, and bulk beverages are all available in volume. It's the lowest cost per person of any option in this guide, but you supply the labor — shopping, transport, plating, and serving are all on you. Prices vary by warehouse and aren't published online for in-club items.
In-warehouse pricing is not published online and varies by location — confirm at your local club.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rotisserie chicken | Bulk / per-unit | A reliable group-feeding staple; price set in-warehouse. |
| Bakery cakes & cookie platters | Varies by location | Round cakes and cookie/dessert trays; confirm current sizes in-club. |
| Bulk deli, dips & produce trays | Varies by location | Hummus, dip trays, fruit and vegetable packs sold in volume. |
For recurring office needs, Costco Business Delivery is the channel built for exactly this. It delivers bulk candy and snacks, beverages, and fresh baked goods to businesses, which makes it well suited to stocking a kitchen, running a happy hour, or covering an all-hands. It's bulk delivery, not catering — items arrive in cases for you to put out — but it removes the warehouse trip. Browse the business snacks, beverage, and fresh-baked-goods categories on the business delivery portal to see what ships to your area.
Pricing and delivery availability vary by region and are shown at checkout on the business delivery portal.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Candy & snacks (bulk) | Case pricing | Snack boxes and individually wrapped items for kitchens and events. |
| Beverages (bulk) | Case pricing | Water, soda, juice, coffee and more for parties, happy hours, or stocking the kitchen. |
| Fresh baked goods | Varies by location | Bakery items available for business delivery in many areas. |
Costco purchases — in warehouse, at a Costco Business Center, or via business delivery — require an active Costco membership. Membership tiers and the rules for who can order through business delivery change over time, so confirm current eligibility and pricing before planning an order around it.
There is no published per-person catering price for Costco because there is no catering program to price — but the same-day grocery catalog does post per-item prices you can plan around. Prepared trays land in the $11–$32 range (roller tray $17, taco tray $18, hot beef-and-broccoli entrée $32, olive platter $11), and cheese and charcuterie trays run roughly $10–$15 each. A build-your-own board for around ten people typically works out to about $5 per person. These are weight-estimated and vary by location; in-warehouse bulk items aren't posted online, and Costco Business Delivery shows case pricing and any delivery minimum at checkout for your region. The practical takeaway: on raw cost per head, Costco is among the cheapest ways to feed a group — but the savings assume you're willing to do the shopping, transport, and setup that a real caterer would handle. Budget for your own time, not just the receipt.
Because portions come by the tray or by weight rather than in per-person packages, plan by the item. The 12-count roller tray covers about 6–8 people as a light meal; a rotisserie chicken feeds a handful as a main; cheese and charcuterie trays each stretch across roughly 8–12 people on a shared board; and bakery cakes and cookie platters are sold by size, so match the size to your headcount. For an office spread, a workable rule is one substantial main element (a roller or entrée tray, rotisserie chicken, or a bulk deli build), one or two shareable trays, beverages by the case, and a single bakery dessert sized to the group. Confirm same-day availability and bakery sizes for your location before counting on a specific item.
Of the three major US warehouse clubs, Costco is the outlier: Sam's Club and BJ's both offer orderable platters with published prices, while Costco's group-feeding strength is bulk groceries and business delivery rather than a packaged catering menu. Competitor figures are drawn from our BJ's catering guide; confirm current pricing with each club.
| Costco | Sam's Club | BJ's | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formal Catering Program | No — bulk / à la carte only | Party platters via club ordering | Yes — deli & bakery platters |
| Per-Platter Starting Price | $10–$17 (same-day trays) | $36 (sandwich platter) | $39.99 (sandwich ring) |
| Membership Required? | Yes (Gold Star or Executive) | Yes (Club or Plus) | Yes (Club or Club+) |
| Office / Online Ordering | Costco Business Delivery | Yes (samsclub.com) | Yes (BJs.com/partyplanning) |
| Pickup/Delivery | Business delivery or in-warehouse pickup | In-club pickup standard | In-club pickup standard |
| Min Lead Time | Same-day (delivery catalog) | 24–48 hours | 24 hours |
| Platter Variety | Prepared trays + extensive charcuterie/cheese | Good | Solid (multiple deli brands) |
| Custom Cakes | Yes (bakery, sizes vary) | Yes | Yes — Photo Cake plus standard decorating |
| Geographic Coverage | National | National | Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast & expanding |
| Best For | DIY bulk runs + business delivery | Bulk platters + national access | Members wanting low per-person platter cost |
It depends entirely on how much work you're willing to do. If you have a member on the team, a vehicle, and someone happy to shop and set up, a Costco run is one of the cheapest ways to feed a large group, and Costco Business Delivery makes the snack-and-beverage side genuinely easy to handle in advance. For stocking a kitchen, covering a happy hour, or filling out an all-hands with bulk drinks and treats, it's hard to beat on price.
Where it falls short is everything a caterer normally does for you. There's no per-person packaging, no hot delivery, no dietary labeling, no setup, and no guaranteed catering lead time — you're buying groceries and doing the rest. For a polished office lunch that arrives ready to serve and labeled for your team, a restaurant-style caterer is the better fit. Bottom line: Costco is excellent for cheap bulk and recurring office stock, and a poor match for a turnkey catered meal.
Not in the traditional sense. Costco does not run a restaurant-style catering program with per-person packages, published catering prices, or a delivery window. For groups, you either do a DIY warehouse run (rotisserie chicken, bakery, bulk deli and produce) or order bulk snacks, beverages, and baked goods through Costco Business Delivery.
There's no per-person catering package, but the same-day catalog posts per-item prices you can plan around: prepared trays run about $11–$32 (the 12-count roller tray is about $17), and cheese and charcuterie trays are roughly $10–$15 each. A build-your-own board for around ten people lands near $5 per person. Prices are weight-estimated and vary by location, and the cost assumes you handle setup yourself.
Yes, through Costco Business Delivery, which delivers bulk candy and snacks, beverages, and fresh baked goods to businesses. It's bulk delivery rather than catering — items arrive in cases for you to put out — and delivery availability and any order minimum vary by region and are shown at checkout.
Yes. Buying in a warehouse, at a Costco Business Center, or through Costco Business Delivery requires an active Costco membership. Membership tiers and business-delivery eligibility change over time, so confirm current rules before planning an order.
Costco discontinued its old made-to-order deli party platters and has not restored them as a reliable national catering product. That said, many warehouses still take deli-counter pre-orders for a chilled shrimp platter — about $10.99/lb, with a roughly 5-lb tray feeding 24–26 — and the same-day catalog carries prepared roller and entrée trays. Availability varies by location, so confirm directly with your local warehouse before planning around any specific item.
Sam's Club and BJ's both offer orderable platters with published prices and stated lead times, which Costco does not. Costco's advantage is bulk value and nationwide Business Delivery for office snacks and beverages. If you want a packaged platter menu, Sam's Club or BJ's is the closer fit; for cheap bulk and recurring office stock, Costco wins.
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