A successful catering business is more than rental inventory or wonderful food. It needs business management skills like handling customers or being ready for any unexpected situation. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an event catering or office catering service; you have to make it feasible.
If you have landed on this page then you might be interested in making corporate office catering affordable. If so, then you have to apply smart strategies.
Below we have enlisted some tips for elevating your corporate catering business. It will help you in gaining more customers and improving profit margins. But first, understand what corporate catering is. Read on!
What Is A Corporate Catering Business?
Corporate catering is defined as a business of providing meals for the staff of a firm. It could be every day or sometimes for events such as training or meeting. Some companies are specialized in corporate office catering, while some restaurants also offer catering services.
First, you have to choose a caterer, describe the items you want, and what time you want a meal. Further, you have to confirm whether they have delivery or pick up your order option.
On the contrary, it’s not simple to order an office lunch for a huge group. It is because some caterers need to order in advance or a few hours before. Also, remember corporate catering menus are different from the regular menus. It mostly consists of buffet stations or dishes that could be shared so that employees can eat whatever they like.
Well, the eating options would be limited and not similar to the restaurant’s standard menu. But it’s important to choose the right company for office lunch box catering in your town.
For example, if you are working in Melbourne, then search for the best caterers in Melbourne or nearby. Out of hundreds of caterers, choose the best-suited as per your requirements.
Tips for an Affordable Corporate Catering Business
You might have understood the corporate catering business. Now, move forward toward the ways of making your business affordable.
1. Prefer Buffet
Office meals don’t have many choices, but Buffett has. So, to make corporate office catering affordable, a buffet-style menu is the best option.
Food is typically presented on a dining table or food station in buffets. Employees come and help themselves by serving food. Or when needed a caterer can allot teams for serving dishes to the customers.
The best part is a buffet can be scaled up as well as down to match the needs of a company. With a tight budget, the buffet offers a range of meals.
The major benefits of a buffet-style menu are:
● Low cost
As compared to other food styles, the buffet is a budget-friendly choice. And comparatively, implementing buffets style is 30% to 50% cheaper than other plated meals.
● Informal
The buffet is considered an informal type of serving style. After a tiring working schedule, employees enjoy having food informally.
● More food choices
You can get creative with your menu. In your corporate office catering, you can serve a variety of food to employees. Everyone loves to eat lunch, having many options. There would be no more need to choose either a taco bar of chicken or waffles. In a buffet style, you are allowed to add both of them.
For an employee, what is better than a buffet on a budget? And people will love to choose an affordable catering with a range of delicious meals.
2. Save on labor
To operate your corporate catering business smoothly, you have to cut down labor costs. But the question is, where to cut labor?
It’s better to hire part-time employees at an hourly rate instead of permanent workers. Moreover, with the permanent staff, you have to be financially committed. That is why part-time employees are better at making sense.
For example, if you have many burdens, you can hire skilled laborers for the day-to-day chore. And when your business is off-loaded with work, your permanent staff can manage this.
3. Use technology
Using technology rather than human labor is a new normal. So, you can invest one time in technology and save your money.
As you know, technology is automated, so it can handle catering operations within a few clicks. It would need a little human labor and effort. It can handle features such as; billing, reservations, online order, and much more.
Invest in Necessary Equipment
Regardless of your level of experience in the catering industry, whether you are a beginner or an experienced caterer, there is some professional cooking equipment that is a must-have. You will find it difficult to manage a catering business without the basics.
Focus on what equipment will be most useful for cooking the dishes on your menu. For example, you should have more ovens in your kitchen if your specialty is desserts.
4. Cook as per order
If you are managing lunch box catering every day, then keep your eyes on wasted food. At the end of the day, always check the least liked item by people. Don’t cook that particular item; it will save time, effort, as well as money.
Also, you can ask office management to order the food items they need for lunch. It will reduce the wastage of food on a regular basis.
Final Words
Hiring a catering service provider off-loads the office management from the hassle of every day. Also, the caterer helps deliver the food or set up their place for serving. They can provide essential service items and wash them later. Having catering arrangements ensure that your office looks like a highly professional organization that cares about the well-being of employees.
If you have corporate or event catering in Melbourne or a nearby area, then first make it affordable. It is because most of the offices consider hiring affordable catering services. The above listed tips will help in approaching more customers to your business.
