Catering Business Productivity and Cost Savings

People in the catering industry often forget that increasing the revenue coming into a business is not the only way to increase profit. Focusing on cost cutting and productivity can also lead to substantial savings and a boost in your profits.

Here are some ideas about how you can improve your catering business productivity and some areas that you can focus on to save money.

Sourcing and Purchasing

One area that can often be improved is food and beverage purchasing. Make sure that you estimate required food quantities accurately so that you can plan your catering business menus in a way that minimizes waste. Look into using substitute ingredients that are possibly cheaper yet don’t really change the overall taste or quality of the food.

Frequently contact various suppliers to make sure that your business is getting the best prices. Look at grouping up with other large food purchasers to form a collective and get better prices for buying in bulk.

Challenge yourself to get the percentage of the total revenue from an event that is spent on food down lower and lower without compromising on quality. A good target is 30% and you may be able to go even lower than this once you get more efficient.

Kitchen Space

As some small catering firms may only cater ten or twelve events a month you could consider sharing commercial kitchen premises with other catering companies. This option is becoming more popular among caterers. Why do you need to invest in your own commercial kitchen when you can rent time at a shared commercial kitchen for a fraction of the price?

One of the best ways to get around the ‘kitchen space’ problem is to approach some local restaurants about using their kitchens during their off-hours. This can be a great way to get access to some top of the line commercial equipment and a sizable working space for a reasonable monthly fee.

For more information see our article on Catering Business Kitchen Options.

Productivity Improvements with Equipment

Make sure that your staff know how to use equipment and that it is properly maintained. When important kitchen equipment does break down it is important to have someone on call who can fix your problem within a relatively short period of time. Consider keeping a supply of commonly used spare parts.

If you do end up having to get your own catering equipment look at getting some second hand and possibly renting some of the things that you need until you are well established.

Some of the largest productivity gains for a food service business can come from getting better equipment. Why have staff spend time on food preparation tasks that could be done much quicker with a food processor or other equipment.

Productivity in the Kitchen

Look into ways of being as productive as possible in the kitchen to get food prepared in minimal time with minimal waste. There are many good books available on kitchen management. Think about the way that you work and watch how your staff are working and try to look for ways to improve productivity. Set out checklists for events and assign jobs to staff members in a way that gets everything done and uses their time well.

Managing a Catering Event

When it comes to catering an event the key to success is organization. Have a schedule for everything that must take place in the days leading up to an event and during the event. Plan a tight schedule but also leave some staff time free in case of emergencies.

Saving small amounts of food, man-hours and other resources here and there can add up to some quite considerable savings for your catering business over a longer period of time. The productivity of your catering business can be increased and there are substantial cost savings to be made if you constantly make yourself think about better ways of getting things done.