Naming a Catering Business

One of the important first steps when establishing a catering business is to choose a suitable name. A name is central to your branding and marketing efforts so you should put some time into coming up with a good one.

Here are a number of points that you should consider when it comes to naming a catering business.

Going with a catering business name that includes the owner's name can be a good way to go, especially if you already have a reputation in the food and beverage industry. This would give customers the feeling that they would be getting reliable and personalized service from an owner operator. However, having the owners name in the title may make it more difficult to sell the business in the future.

Don’t make the mistake of limiting your company by including your suburb or town in your company’s name. You may want to expand beyond your immediate area after a few years in business.

Having a name that clearly states exactly what it is that your company does is also a good rule to follow. Including the word ‘catering’ in the title is a good idea but be careful about being too specific as to the type of events that you provide catering for. If you put the words ‘wedding catering’ in your business name you won’t have much flexibility if you wanted to expand into corporate events further down the road.

The key is having a name that is a little abstract and able to be used for all purposes. It should remain relevant no matter which direction you decide to take your company in the future.

Try to come up with a name that really sells your services. Consider using words that describe your dishes or the quality of your service.

Your company name should help you to stand out from your competitors so it should be easy to remember. It could even be a little humorous or catchy.

Originality is important as you want to stand out in the market and avoid being confused with other businesses. You also don't want to run into legal problems by having a name that infringes on the intellectual property of other companies. It is wise to run a database search at you city or county clerks office to make sure that your name can truly be your own.

A good name should also be memorable and easy to pronounce. Once you have come up with a short list you can run some of them by friends and family members to see what they think. Test them a few days later and see which ones they were able to remember and whether they were able to pronounce them correctly.

Don't forget that you will want a website for your catering business at some point in time. Before deciding on a name make sure that there are some suitable domain names available.

Some naming experts have traditionally suggested that business owners think about going with names that start with the letter A. The reasoning here is that you will be listed closer to the top of the listings in business directories like The Yellow Pages. This point is worthy of consideration but don't let it sway your decision away from an otherwise great name.

Remember that once you are underway in the catering business it is really difficult to change your company name. A change could mean not only expensive changes to your stationary, menus and marketing materials but also negative effects on the brand power that you have built up. And in the worst-case scenario a name change can lead to customer confusion and you may lose some of their trust.

A great name will get your catering company off to the best possible start, help it to grow and could eventually become your company’s most valuable asset. Naming a catering business is an important decision that you should put some serious time and thought into.