If you’re a foodie with a career dream, have you ever considered going down the catering path? If not, you should consider what that might look like for your future, as it could be a good career choice for someone like you. And if you’re wondering, here’s why!
Catering is a Popular Industry
Catering is part of the food and beverage industry, which in itself is a very popular choice for many new business owners. After all, consumers spend around £300 billion on food and drink every year. There really is a slice for everyone.
But when it comes to catering in particular, you’re not just running the line and passing food down to the end customer. You’re running a company that offers unique food and a special experience, and that allows you to be creative, compelling, and personal.
It’s Also Very Flexible
When you’re your own boss, you can set your own hours. You can pick and choose the clients you take on and the events you cater. You get to work as one on one or as hands-off as you really like.
This element of flexibility, combined with the fact that catering allows you to indulge your love of food and the experience it creates, draws in many entrepreneurs.
After all, the majority of your working hours will be from home. You just need a kitchen space to create menus, test out recipes, and put together sample platters for clients to try.
Your Start Up Costs
But what about the cost of running a new catering business? What is your balance sheet going to look like?
Catering can have a low-cost investment to it, but over time, these costs can creep up. There’s no sharp curve to it, like in many other businesses, but it’s something to be aware of as early on as possible.
Indeed, here are two of the main areas where you’ll see scaling costs start to affect your budget:
Equipment
You’ll regularly invest in new equipment for preparation, storage, transport, and serving. For example, you may start out by working with pre-packaged foods only, as these are easiest to set out.
But if you start working with fresh ingredients, your equipment inventory will then change. Chilled food needs to be prepared in separate areas, as well as transported in separate conditions.
As such, you’ll need specific kitchen equipment for dealing with chilled goods as well as bale arm trays for keeping chilled ingredients secure, contained, and uncontaminated during transit.
Travel
Again, the further out the event or client, the more it’s going to cost you to get to them. Similarly, you’ll need to think about the condition of the food you’re transporting across that distance too.
Baked goods, for example, may need to be kept at certain temperatures to preserve their decorations. Buttercream can easily melt if the cake isn’t kept in a cool container.
Want to start a food business? Make sure catering is on your list of ideas!