The catering industry is an industry that serves millions of clients. It is very important to know which type of catering business you want to venture into before you start investing your capital.

Catering can be defined as preparing and serving drinks and food to clients. These clients can be industry workers, flight passengers, prisoners, health care workers, office workers, etc. If you are thinking of expanding an existing catering business or starting one from scratch, you should learn about the pros and cons of each type of catering operation so as to determine which one is right for you.

Type Of Catering Business

1. Industrial Catering

This type of catering business specializes in providing meals for airlines, universities, factories, prisons, hospitals, schools and other institutions. The good thing about venturing into this type of catering is that you are guaranteed of payment for a long time because you will be required to sign an annual or semi-annual contract.

Unfortunately, starting out as an industrial caterer is very difficult because you need to have pre-existing connections at institutions. Most caterers, however, gradually grow into the business. Another problem you might face is maintaining the high standard of food quality because of the massive amounts of food you will be required to provide.

2. Mobile Catering

With this type of catering business, you do not need to sign a contract; all you have to do is move from one place to another in a truck or van designed to carry cooking equipment and food. One advantage of starting this type of business is that you do not need a high amount of capital to start. You can start part-time and eventually expand it to a full time operation.

You can also manage this type of an operation alongside a restaurant operation or an event catering business.

Since you are operating on a mobile truck or van, you have to figure out a way to fit all your cooking equipment into a small space. It may also be difficult for you to create brand awareness because you will be traveling from one place to another.

3. Business Catering

If you venture into this business, your main focus will be providing food to corporate parties, conferences, training sessions, lunches, business meetings, etc. This type of catering business is very competitive but it is high in demand.

Business catering is in demand throughout the year unlike special event catering or mobile catering. If you provide excellent services and food at a corporate party or meeting, your client might call you to provide your services at another event.

The only disadvantage with this type of catering is that you will be competing with fast casual chain restaurants who dominate the business catering market. You will also be limited to the type of food you are expected to serve at these events. Corporate meetings try to please everyone so you will only be allowed to serve food that is widely popular.

4. Special Event Catering

Your main focus in this type of catering business will be to provide food to large scale parties, receptions, anniversaries and weddings. You can decide to specialize in only one type of event or do them all.

It is a great business to venture into if you want to showcase your skills and creativity. You will be able to get word-of-mouth reputation just from using your chef skills.

This type of work requires you to be dedicated and frankly, you have to enjoy it; otherwise it can be stressful. You also have to pay close attention to detail because a single mistake can send your clients into a fit.

Lease To Save On Startup Costs

Given those four types of catering businesses, you probably now have a good idea as to which type is suitable for you. Since you are a startup, you should consider leasing your commercial kitchen equipment.

You need to have the best equipment so that you can produce quality food and drinks. Commercial kitchen equipment is not cheap and unfortunately, you can’t compromise on the quality. Leasing is a great way for you to acquire state-of-the-art catering equipment at a relatively cheap price. It does not take a lot of time to apply and when you visit online platforms such as LeaseQ, you can get a free and instant quote.

For more information on leasing catering equipment, simply CLICK HERE.