After the COVID-19 pandemic catering has become a much larger and more viable channel for the restaurant industry. In 2023, catering accounted for 11% of revenue for the food business industry, and the category keeps growing.
On June 25, technology platform Lunchbox hosted the first Catering Leadership Summit at Emmy Squared in New York City, primarily sponsored by Shift4, with additional support from 1Huddle.
The event featured a panel discussion of top tips and strategies for the modern catering program between Lunchbox CEO James Walker; Alexis Ortiz, senior catering manager at Naya; Maggie Farrell, head of marketing for KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot parent company, Vertex Hospitality Group; and Sergio Perez, chief marketing officer for Emmy Squared Pizza.
Here are some key takeaways.
Customization is key
For many restaurant operators, the catering menu is more expansive and customizable than the traditional in-store menu, in order to appeal to catering customers that have specific needs. The key is for catering leaders to get involved with the ordering process so that customers don’t feel overwhelmed by the vast variety of options.
“[For our brand Hook & Reel], when you think about a Cajun seafood boil, you could put in shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops, potatoes, corn, broccoli — there are so many options,” Farrell said. “You really need to get that insight from your local partners to ask, ‘What does your boil look like? What is your guest looking for? What is the flavor profile? Do they like spicy?’ So, when creating that core menu … it’s that variability and customization you still want the guests to have.”
Create uniform standards
While there might be nearly endless options and customizations a catering customer could pick for their party on the front end, the back end processes should be standardized to make execution simpler and to guarantee the same results for any catering order, regardless of size.
“When I started at Naya, I realized the stores weren’t using a catering checklist that was consistent across the board,” Ortiz said. “As we continue to grow, we want to be able to say to every store, ‘Here’s what you need to do [for catering].’ So, that was the first thing that I implemented.”
Using Excel, Ortiz created a prep sheet where catering managers could input all of the information they need and hand it over to the kitchen so nothing was forgotten.
“We implemented that about six weeks ago, and we’ve already seen about an 85% reduction in missing items,” she said.
Communication is crucial
All three executives agreed that effective communication — both on the front and back end — is crucial to any successful catering order.
“We recently had to close one of our restaurants temporarily due to the heat because nothing was temping properly — So I made some calls, and I was completely honest and told our customer we were going to be late that night and everyone was like, ‘Of course!’ Instead of waiting until the last minute, we had constant communication,” Ortiz said.
Get creative with marketing
Marketing for the catering side of the business is different than marketing for regular, everyday customers. Ortiz said that one of her favorite ways to advertise catering services is by hosting popup events so customers can see what they’re able to do, and they’ll think about Naya when they need to host a party.
For Emmy Squared, Perez has seen success with hosting free tasting events for executive assistants and wedding planners, as they are the people who would be booking catered events.
“We like to bring them for a night out — drinks and food on us, an opportunity for them to try all the menu lines, and then even get them to place orders before they leave,” he said. “That has been a success for us as well as a referral program. We send out an email that says, ‘If you refer somebody, we’ll give you X percentage off on your next order.”
Know your customers well
Ortiz said that one of the best ways to ensure repeat catering business is to use data to get to know customers’ habits well, and to know the difference between marketing for a catering customer that places an order once a year for a holiday party, or an office manager that does a weekly lunch order.
Farrell added that getting out into the community to get to know customers is crucial as well.
“We give operators a kit that says, ‘Here are the five local schools within a three-mile radius. Here is their PTA president. We’ve already done some outreach, and we’ve invited them to a soft opening,’” Farrell said. “You don’t just drop a restaurant into a neighborhood — You really need that buy-in.”
