Catering: The Rationale Creating This Part of Your Business
Catering is one of the fastest-growing segments of the foodservice industry, with caterers, banquet halls and hotels commanding the majority of the special-event market but not monopolizing it.
Indeed, restaurateurs increasingly are getting into the game, expanding their catering and private-dining services as a way to garner incremental sales and optimize overhead in the face of escalating operational costs and slimmer profit margins. “Without a doubt catering is one of the bright stars in terms of growth opportunities,” says Hudson Riehle, the National Restaurant Association’s senior vice president of research and information services.
At many businesss catering sales represent an increasing proportion of the overall business. In a recent NRA survey of 234 operators from the casual-, family- and fine-dining segments, about half reported that catering sales now account for a larger proportion of overall sales than they did two years ago.
Beyond catering by businesss, however, many specialized off-premises caterers and hotels reported double-digit sales growth. And social catering is expected to outpace substantially the overall growth rate of the business industry, according to the NRA.
I can help you set-up and manage a successful catering extension of your business so that you can begin to realize more profit and growth from this increasingly in-demand area of the business.
