Lesson 3

The Segment of
Catering Business

Catering Management
 About The Segment of Catering
Business
Introduction
● This module covers the knowledge skills and attitudes required in the catering business industry and provide
students or trainees the opportunity to discover information on how to attract target customers.
● The food service industry encompasses those places, institutions and companies that provide meals eaten away
from home. This industry includes restaurants, schools and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other
formats, including 'on- premises' and 'off-premises' caterings.
● In Catering is a multifaceted segment of the food service industry. There is a niche for all types of catering
businesses within the segment of catering. The food service industry is divided into three general classifications:
commercial segment, non-commercial segment, and military segment. Catering management may be defined as
the task of planning, organizing. controlling and executing. Each activity influences the preparation and delivery
of food, beverage, and related services a competitive, yet profitable price.
 CATERING SEGMENT
● Catering management is executed in many diverse ways within each of the three segments. The commercial
segment, traditionally considered the profit generating operation, includes the independent caterer, the restaurant
caterer, and the home-based caterer. In addition, hotel / motel and private club catering operations are also found in
this category.
 CATERING SEGMENTS FOR FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY

Commercial Military
Non-commercial
Segment Segment
1. Independent Caterers
Segment
1. Military Functions
1. Business/Industry Accounts
2. Hotel/Motel Caterers
2. Diplomatic Functions
2. School Catering
3. Private Clubs
3. Health Care
4. Restaurant/Catering Firms
4. Transportation Catering (in- flight/airline
catering. catering, railway catering, ship
catering)

5. Recreational Food Service (amusement and

theme parks, conference and sport arenas)

6. College and University Catering

7. Social Organizations (fraternal and social

clubs)
WHICH TYPE OF CATERING SERVICE IS RIGHT FOR YOUR
EVENT?
Tip #1: Consider a few important things.
● How much work can YOU do before and during the event? How much work do you
WANT to do?
● What type of experience are you going for? For example, do you want a casual serve-
yourself or an elegant table service experience for your guests?
● What is a realistic budget?

Tip #2: Understand the different types of catering services.

● Food truck catering - Food trucks will often cater smaller private events. Usually, they have 2-3 staff members pull
up and serve out of the window. Food truck selection can be simple to fancy. Works well for very casual outdoor
affairs, but can be impacted by weather. Even if they do offer more service like buffet set-up or even plated service. It
varies greatly from truck to truck what they consider catering.
● Fast casual catering - Local and chain fast casual restaurants usually offer drop-off catering. If hot service is
required, the food is heated before delivery and held in holding units. This is very safe if handled correctly and
effective in many applications like quick lunch meetings or events held in parks and backyards. Typically, this type of
food is served with disposable plates and flatware.
● Grocery catering - Many grocers offers deli, bakery, and prepared foods decide in advance if you can pick up the
items. Grocery catering can be a better alternative to fast casual because you have more variety. Consider grocery
catering for family reunions or small workplace parties.
● Restaurant catering - Ideal when you want to host your event at a nice location and/or have a more advanced menu.
Many restaurants have function rooms and will allow you to decorate with centerpieces, but not much else. All decor
and event liming is typically up to you, not the wait staff. Works well for small-to medium-size rehearsal dinners and
retirement parties.
● Limited-service caterer - When you want really good food for your event at a park or at home. A limited service
caterer may prepare some food on advance and some on-site and set up the buffet. Where the food gets cooked
depends on the menu and the budget. The rest will be up to you, including the set up and takedowns of tables and
chairs. Limited service caterers often cater to high school and college graduations.
● Full-service caterer - When you hire full-service catering company. a hire someone to act as the hub of your whole
event. The DJ, the party planner, the florist, everyone interfaces with the caterer.

The full-service catering company should order linens and china for you. Then, on the day of, they set up tables, chairs,
place settings, and decor. There are event chefs who cook everything on-site, even dressing coleslaw just before service,
to kitchen fresh as possible. The food may be served butler style, buffet, or table service. There is usually a bar staffed
by a trained safe serve bartender, too.
All you have to do is provide your details in advance and enjoy your event too! This is truly the best option if you are
looking for someone to fully execute your catered event
Full-service catering is ideal for weddings, fundraisers, galas, full-day trainings or meetings, parties, and even company
picnics.
Tip #3: Read the fine print.
Be warned! Some say they are full service when they are not a full-service catering company. If you want someone to
serve bar, put on chair covers, and (most importantly) take responsibility of clean up, make sure to ask explicitly and
double check the contract before making your deposit.
Also, don't be alarmed by a service fee, but do ask what it covers, for example, the fleet of refrigerated trucks with the
lift gate, pre-event meeting with chefs and event specialists assigned to your event, loading of truck, washing and
polishing supplies after event, breakage of equipment due to travel, buffet design elements (includes floral). Note that
the service fee is separate from gratuity. Gratuity is at the customer's discretion as way of thanking the good services
rendered by the staff.
 MARKETING PLAN FOR A CATERING BUSINESS

Identification of Target Audience

 Identify who the buyers of your catering services are. The target audience for your business may vary according to the
food offerings, experience and know-how of the caterer. Understanding who your audience is, how they think, what
they feel and the needs they have can help you to offer the catering services they seek and to reach them with your
marketing efforts.

Branding
 The marketing plan should contain the brand image of your catering business. The brand you build directly correlates
to your target audience. A catering business needs to develop a reputation for high quality, tasty dishes, punctuality,
strong customer service and varied menu choices, among other things. The image built of the business through
promotions and advertising should reflect the aspects that are the most important to the audience you are targeting in
your business.

Create Goals and Plans

 Defined goals and the detailed route you plan to take to reach your catering business goals are an essential element of
the marketing plan. Goals can be somewhat simple or large-scale, but should be specifically, detailed in the plan.
Get to Know Competition
 In developing the image and creating marketing ideas, it is important for a catering business to be aware of the
competition. The marketing plan should evaluate the strengths of the competition, as well as its weaknesses. Using
this information, the catering business will build its image by maximizing its own strengths while improving upon the
weaknesses of the competition

Budget
 The financial aspect of the marketing plan pertains to the budget set forth in the written marketing plan. Allocate a
portion of the catering business income to pay for the marketing and advertising effort. The budget covers print and
online advertisement, television advertisement, catering organization memberships, newsletters for vendors, direct
mail pieces, brochures, website development and other marketing effort.
MARKETING A CATERING BUSINESS, HOW CATERERS GET
CLIENTS
Step 1: Design a Catering Logo
 Whether you design your own logo or hire a graphic designer, having colors and graphics that can be associated with
your catering brand is the first step to creating a solid marketing strategy. The logo should be easily recognizable,
even from a distance, and make sure that it cannot be confused with someone else's logo.

Step 2: Build a Catering Website

 Before you do any kind of advertising, you need to have a website up and running. This is because whoever your
advertising reaches, they'll most likely look you up online first. You need to have a professional and attractive-
looking website to encourage them to hire you as their caterer. Be sure to list your contact info so that any potential
customers can get in touch.

Step 3: Create a Press Release

 Write up your own press release to inform the local media that you are opening your catering business. Make sure
you include your contact information and list your web address. The press release should include information on your
personal history, your education, your experience in the culinary industry and why your business stands out from the
rest. Send your press release to community bulletins, the event section of local newspapers, culinary magazines and
bridal journals.
Step 4: Tell Everyone You Know
 If you are starting your own catering company, chances are you have already provided food or planning for some kind
of event, or at least you have friends and family members that know what an awesome chef you are. Now it is time to
pull those favors you have been collecting. Contact everyone with a catering marketing letter that tells them about
your new business. Send them a link to your website. Tell them that if they know someone who is getting married or
someone who works at an office, you want to cater their wedding or next corporate event at a discount.

Step 5: Print Your Catering Logo

 Now it is time to start stamping your graphics on all of your disposable catering supplies and marketing materials.
Create your own letterhead with your logo and contact information at the top. Print your logo on paper catering
menus that you can hand out or place in hotel or convention center lobbies. You can also make your own
merchandise, like hats and t-shirts, and print the logo on there. Be sure to print your website URL on all of these
items to encourage more online visitors.

Step 6: Pimp Your Catering Ride

 No matter what kind of catering operation you are running, you will need a vehicle to transport your food. Why not
turn that station wagon, van or trailer into an advertisement on wheels? Contact a printing and decal company to get
your catering business's logo and name on your vehicle, as well as your business phone number and website's URL.
Step 7: Go Mobile
 You now have a conspicuous catering vehicle, custom-printed disposables. I to hit the streets. Even if a stand-out logo
and plenty of If business is not booming for you, it may be time you do not have any contracts yet, you can still vend
at local festivals or events and compete in nearby competitions. By doing this, you can create brand awareness with
hundreds or thousands of passersby and hopefully draw customers that are interested in contracting with you in the
future.
Step 8: Advertise
 Advertising is not the most reliable marketing strategy, but it is something you might want to consider. Once you
have all the other foundations of your marketing plan in place, you can begin to advertise. You should advertise in
bridal and events planning magazines that have the same target market as you.
Step 9: Work on Public Relations (PR)
 Once you have catered more than a dozen events and are satisfied with your service, food and initial marketing
techniques, you should think about helping the community. Volunteer to cater for non- profit fundraising events pro
bono, or donate food to a local soup kitchen or fellowship. The more you get involved with the community, the more
the local people and the local media will begin to notice your presence.
Step 10: Look for Lucrative Partnerships
 If your business grows enough that you are getting several contracts a week during peak season, you may be able to
form profitable partnerships. Talk to local hotels, event centers, country clubs, convention centers, banquet halls,
museums and theaters. Show the venue manager how it can be a mutually beneficial relationship. As an incentive,
you can offer to recommend them to any of your own clients who are looking for an event space. If that doesn't work,
you can even offer them a portion of your profits from any clients that they refer to you.
 THE 7 Ps OF MARKETING A CATERING BUSINESS

Price Place
This refers to your pricing Place is where your products
strategy for your products and services are seen, made,
and services and how it will sold or distributed.
affect your customers.

01 02 03 04

Product
Product refers to what you are selling,
including all of the features, advantages
and benefits that your customers can enjoy
from buying your goods or services
.
Promotion
These are the promotional activities you
use to make your customers aware of your
products and services, including
advertising, sales tactics, promotions and
direct marketing.
THE 7 Ps OF MARKETING A CATERING BUSINESS
Physical
People evidence
People refer to the staff and Physical evidence refers to
sales people who work for everything your customers
your business, including see when interacting with
yourself. your business.

05 06 07

Process
Process refers to the
processes involved in
delivering your products and
services to the customer
 INNOVATIVE CATERING AND FOOD TRENDS

• Every year, restaurant experts and industry analysts are forecasting the food trends that we will be
eating every year such as the following innovations:

1. Local Sourcing
2. Tapas and Small Plates
3. Vegan, Vegetarian and Healthy Eating
4. Gluten-Free
5. Eat, Drink & Entertain
6. Sour, Bitter, Spicy and Sweet-Spicy Flavors
7. Pan-Asian Cuisine
8. Breakfast for Dinner
9. Up-Scale Comfort Food
10. Ethnic and International Cuisine
 TYPE OF FOOD FUNCTIONS

• Breakfast
• Luncheon
• Dinner
• Dinner with entertainment and/or dancing
• Coffee breaks
• Receptions
• Hospitality set-ups in suites, meeting rooms or exhibit halls
 THE SEVEN FUNCTIONS OF CATERING

○ There are seven functions to the basic catering management

function. In order for you to properly run a catering company,
you must be intimately familiar with all of these functions.
Missing out just one of them might cause you to mess up an
event.

Planning
 The first and most important catering function that you should know about is Planning. This entails that you
formulate a comprehensive plan for the event on hand. You will find that as the event date becomes closer, the more
difficult the event will become.
Other than creating a plan for
Operations - Execution of Tasks
 The second major function of catering is operations. While almost anyone can listen to and understand the needs of a
customer, it takes a certain degree of knowledge and skill for a caterer to translate those needs into small, executable
tasks.
Organizing the Event
 The process of organizing the event involves setting up a formal structure that is most conducive to the efficient and
execution of each assigned task. You will need to be able to organize the various types of resources at your disposable
in order to do this. You also need to be able to correctly predict market trends and future food prices in order to do
this.
Equipment
 The equipment that you will have to manage will depend on several factors. These include the menu, the service
requirements of the client as well as the type and location of the event.
Implementation
 This is where you start implementing the plan that you have set earlier. You need to be able to communicate well with
the team leaders in order to achieve the desired outcome. You are the one who will have to finalize the schedules,
identify who among your staff will do what, and review the procedures and business processes that you have set in
place.
Controlling
 While your plan is being implemented, you need to ensure that you have the necessary control mechanisms in place
so you know nothing is going to go wrong. This also refers to having the necessary cost control procedures within
your catering company to ensure that you do not overspend.
Understanding Legal & Insurance Issues
 This is where a lot of new caterers get themselves in trouble. You
need to be able to have the necessary insurance plans to cover
personnel, equipment and guests at both on- premise and off-
premise locations.
Thank you!
Members:
Jan Nicole Libaton
Giselle Girasol Bonajos
Krystal Dano
Joey Russell Dorado