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Catering is one of the fastest growing foodservice channels, comprising up to 20% or more of sales for operators that have the right systems and processes in place to execute it efficiently.
Adding a successful catering operation or expanding an existing one requires a guest-centric approach and careful planning, from the creation of the menu to the execution of delivery, all of which can be facilitated by deploying the right technologies.
Fast-casual chain Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican
Following are five key considerations for operators seeking to tap this potentially lucrative channel to help them navigate the challenges and optimize the benefits of catering.
- Craft a catering menu that meets the demands of the channel.
Operators should examine their existing menus to determine which items are best suited for large catering orders. Think of the catering menu as a cousin of the traditional menu that includes customers’ favorite items, packaged in bundles to accommodate groups, a recent catering guide from Olo suggests. The catering menu should also align with an operator’s overall brand image.
Consider that some menus might be suited for a buffet-style set-up, while others lend themselves to individual boxed orders. Operators also should include options for consumers with dietary preferences or restrictions.
Other menu suggestions include bundling commonly ordered items together and offering tiered pricing that makes it easy for customers to select a catering package based on party size. The menu should also encourage add-ons that can drive check size, such as desserts, sides, and beverages.
- Think through your operational requirements.
Operators may want to consider appointing a brand catering manager to oversee catering operations for the enterprise, and a catering sales manager to ensure that operators are optimizing their opportunities to capture customers’ catering orders. It’s also important for unit-level managers and franchisees to understand the catering offering and in particular its labor requirements.
Following are some additional specific operational tips from the Olo catering guide to help streamline back-of-house ordering processes:
• Implement a system that calculates the quantity of items and the ingredients required to produce those items, based on the size of the orders. These calculations should be printable for easy reference in the kitchen during prep.
• Print pack slips that feature a checklist of everything included in the order. Check off the items as they are packaged and include the pack slip with the order to help ensure accuracy.
• Label boxed lunches together with their ingredients, and also include the name of the individual who requested that lunch, if applicable. On self-serve buffet lines, items should also be labeled, along with a listing of common allergens.
- Get the right technology in place.
Having the right technological systems in place enables operators to optimize their catering offerings and provide a high level of customer service.
“Your top tech priority should be integrating directly into the POS system,” according to Olo’s recent catering guide.
A POS integration that can automate order input eliminates the need to manually enter handwritten orders. Operators should work with technology providers whose partnership ecosystems have existing integrations with the operator’s POS, and that enable digital ordering through multiple channels.
“Whether it’s your ordering website, mobile app, locations, or call centers, position your brand to take orders wherever guests prefer placing them,” according to Olo’s recent catering guide.
The guide also suggests that a successful catering operation should include a centralized dashboard that allows operators to manage their setting configurations and see data in real time. Operators should be able to perform tasks such as authenticating tax-exempt status and running detailed reports. In addition, an integrated payment platform can help drive sales, streamline operations, and simplify day-to-day payment processes.
- Market and cross-promote the catering service.
Catering presents some unique marketing opportunities for operators, including promoting the channel to existing traditional customers and vice versa. Salad and stir-fry chain honeygrow, for example, encloses flyers with catering orders to promote traditional meal offerings, J.P. Thomas, vice president of operations service at honeygrow, said in a recent Olo webinar.
Another practical tip is for operators to use branded packaging for their catering orders to promote both the catering service and traditional restaurant visits.
“If someone is at an event that has your catered food, it’s a way for them to discover your brand for more than just catering,” the
To further amplify this discoverability, the Olo guide also suggests that operators set up an enhanced redirect integration with Google. This enables the catering offering to show up in searches and ensures that the catering menu remains accurate on third-party channels.
The holiday season presents an especially strong opportunity for driving catering orders, says Lindsay Holl, a senior sales engineer at Olo with extensive catering experience as a private caterer and at restaurant chains The Capital Grille and Tropical Smoothie Café.
In a recent blog post, she offers several tips about how foodservice operators can optimize sales during the year-end holiday season. For example, customers tend to be willing to spend a little more for their holiday parties than for other occasions, she says, which makes the holiday season ideal for promoting check-building add-ons such as dessert platters, beverages, and take-away gifts such as cookie favors.
She also suggests updating promotional photography to include images of holiday parties, as opposed to business meetings or events. Promotional activity could also include emails and social media posts dedicated to the holiday catering service. Operators might also consider offering incentives such as discounts to encourage customers to place their orders early, Holl suggests.
- Optimize the delivery experience for customers.
Delivery is a key element of the catering offering, and operators might want to consider using a specialized catering delivery service if delivery is not offered in-house.
If an operator chooses to work with third-party delivery services, solutions such as Olo’s Dispatch platform can help manage these partners, for both catering and traditional meal delivery. The Dispatch platform also helps operators maintain a robust customer database so that they can create more personalized experiences for customers, conduct more efficient and effective marketing campaigns, and make data-driven business decisions.
Optimizing delivery is just one of the considerations for operators seeking to get the most out of catering. Careful menu and operational planning, marketing, and most importantly, implementing the right technology solutions are also essential to catering success. Visit http://www.olo.com/catering to learn more about how Olo can help your foodservice operation launch a new catering channel or drive more revenues and profits from an existing one.