You want to be able to make as much money out of your catering business as you possibly can. One of the easiest ways in which you can do this is by upselling. This will allow you to entice existing customers into spending more money by offering them bigger, better catering options. It will allow you to make a decent profit and it will make the event more interesting for you as you’ll be able to produce more intricate, exciting food options, potentially in larger quantities.
When you’re designing menus and considering the food and drink which you are going to provide as part of your business, it’s important to be as flexible as you can be. Whilst having set menu options may be easier from an administrative point-of-view, make it clear that these can be customised. This will allow you to sell more products in higher quantities where appropriate.
It can be particularly easy to upsell at business events, parties and conferences where people are networking and want to impress their clients. It should be fairly simple to persuade business owners or events managers to choose more expensive options or to buy in larger quantities – the last thing they’re going to want is to look like they’ve skimped on food, or have chosen the cheap option.
You may also want to ensure that you’re able to offer more than just the standard menus in order to give your clients further options. Consider whether you want to offer services and products like bars, lighting, centrepieces, chair covers and table cloths. These are all items which can be used to upsell, and the more aspects of an event you contribute to, the easier it will be to get a good reputation as a caterer.