Attract New Revenue with Corporate Catering

If you're a long-time restaurant owner, you may have occasionally encountered the hopeful question, "Do you cater?" Maybe it sounded like a hassle at the time. But if you don't cater already, perhaps you should consider it.

For restaurateurs hunting for a new revenue stream, corporate catering is a worthwhile option. It boasts the potential for significant margins while adding efficiency to your process and saving you money. Plus, the industry is booming. In fact, Global Catering Services predicts catering to grow at a CAGR of 6% with a revenue of $187.56 billion during the forecasted years of 2021-2024. When done correctly, corporate catering is an excellent expansion to your business.

Of course, the key to building a successful revenue stream is approaching your new venture with a mix of knowledge and dedication. Here's everything you need to know to get started!

What Is Corporate Catering?

Corporate catering is a dining option where your restaurant provides food for a company and its employees. The services you provide can be used daily, for special occasions, or at one-time events like training and all-day meetings. There are two typical prep options to either deliver meals or cook on location.

 In recent years, the corporate catering industry has grown as more companies hire corporate catering services to boost employee engagement and relieve stress during significant events. And more food services have been jumping on this bandwagon with an approach to corporate catering called virtual brands.

This delivery-only business model has remarkably risen in popularity within the past five years. Virtual brands empower restaurants to explore other cuisines and ideas by operating a secondary restaurant brand from another location or even within their existing kitchen. This brand has no brick-and-mortar storefront, allowing chefs to explore new cuisines and concepts with low startup capital and minimal effort. Delicious examples of virtual brands include Mr. Beast Burger and HotBox by Wiz Khalifa.

If you want to test the waters of corporate catering, a virtual brand could provide a safe way to experiment without risking the reputation of your established business.

Make Sure Your Business Is in Good Standing

Of course, before you can hope to succeed in your new revenue stream, you first must ensure that your primary business is in good standing. Building a new revenue stream can be demanding, especially in its first few months, so you want to remove unnecessary stress and distractions where you can.

If your primary business is struggling, has financial troubles, or needs equipment replacement, we highly recommend addressing those needs first. If not, you could find yourself taking resources from one to sustain the other, which often results in restaurant owners shuttering both operations. 

Map Out Your Corporate Catering Venture

Catering is a versatile business venture. You can cater private parties, corporate events, weddings, charity events, you name it. And naturally, having your pick of where to apply your services can be overwhelming. So, before you kick off your efforts, it is vital to have your business plan mapped out.

 Take the time to ask yourself crucial questions like, how much of your operation do you want to dedicate to catering? What equipment do you want or need for your kitchen? You also must consider what kind of catering format you wish to offer.

When it comes to corporate catering, there are five popular choices to choose from: 

• Individual orders: Each employee submits an order and gets a customized meal.

• Platters: The most popular option. Your catering staff supplies a spread of food that employees can sample from to build their own plates.

• Buffet-style: Your restaurant brings large trays of food, and you serve employees cafeteria-style or allow them to grab their own portions.

• Food Trucks: Companies book your services, and your team brings a food truck to cook and serve on-site.

• Pop-up restaurant: A few restaurant staff come to take food orders and prepare them directly.

 Having a solid concept and roadmap in place can help guide your catering in the right direction and keep you from spreading yourself too thin.

Choose Your Menu

In addition to mapping out your business plan, you must also consider your menu and pricing. Some of your clientele will choose your services because they like your menu, while others will choose you for affordability. No matter the reason, you want to impress them and keep them coming back for more. Your catered items are merely a taste of what you have to offer at your restaurant, so the quality must match.

Be sure to iron out details like what items you'll feature on your menu, how food will get transported, and whether they'll be ready to eat or require reheating. If you're unsure what to provide, a great rule of thumb when perfecting your menu is to start with the offerings people know and love. Once you have a loyal following, you can begin to test and introduce new dishes. 

Stay Educated and Up to Date

Just as you stay in the know about the restaurant industry, so must you stay up to date on the corporate catering industry. By educating yourself and keeping tabs on the latest trends and best practices, you ensure that everyone stays safe and your clientele continues to have a pleasant dining experience.

Staying up to date also includes employing the best tools and resources of the trade. An excellent example of must-have technology is a restaurant management platform like Deliverect. With its comprehensive and seamless software, you can keep orders running smoothly with features like menu tracking, invoicing, and order and inventory management.

Account for All Finances

Luck favors the prepared, and there are hefty costs often associated with starting new revenue streams. We suggest creating a list to anticipate expenses and saving a startup fund accordingly if you hope to find success. This fund may include a nest egg for food, labor, insurance, maintenance, and gas/mileage.

It would also benefit you to save funds for unexpected costs. No one wants their corporate catering idea to stall because of a few unforeseen setbacks. To help lower your initial expenses and make the process go smoothly, consider leasing or renting your most costly equipment before you choose to buy.

Deliverect

Investing in a new revenue stream can be an exciting chapter in a restaurant owner's life. However, it can also be daunting and stressful to get things up and running. These simple yet effective tips can help you along your journey to success.

Get yourself organized for any new food service endeavor with robust restaurant management software. With Deliverect, you can run your restaurant and catering venture from one location while seamlessly integrating with your current POS system, managing your menu and inventory, and more.

Are you interested in learning more about Deliverect and how it can enhance your business? Contact our team today!