How to start Food catering services

How to Start Food catering services

Overview

To think of the occasions which happen in this country. For starters, there are around 10 million weddings happening every year in India, accounting for 2000per day and atleast 144weddings per minute.

Now talking about another, birthdays. Factually speaking, of each of the 365 days and considering only the population of Hyderabad which accounts for around 2 crores, there’s atleast one birthday being celebrated every day.

Just imagine the number of occasions which take place among this 1380004385 populated country in various aspects ranging from being required at airports to as small as a passing out celebration.

Not so sure about the “I’am here for the food” guest list but there’s this one group without which the wedding cannot take place and they do not need no gatecrashing, the food catering services.

Hungry for this business opportunity now, aren’t you ?

Market potential and uses

Catering services, are defined as a business which provides the services of food at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, film studios etc

The catering service market is estimated to be worth ₹15000-₹20000 crores in India. The market potential for this business specifically in the country is vast because of the increased disposable income of people and the increase in the occasion being celebrated in this country.

Moreover the need of people to maintain and celebrate their occasions as a private affair especially for this high-end weddings, after parties, farm house parties, barbecue nights, poker nights etc has been contributing to the need of catering services

Further the potential of the catering services can be defined and elaborated on the following basis

On the basis of types of catering services

Weeding catering services
Corporate catering
Buffet catering
Sit down catering
Food truck catering
Office delivery
Restaurant catering

On the basis of cuisines

Inter regional cuisines : South Indian, North Indian etc
Inter city/state cuisines: Hyderabadi, Punjabi etc
Inter country cuisines: Mongolian, Mexican, Italian, continental etc

On the basis of catering services

High tea
Dinner
Breakfast
Luncheons
Street food
Desserts

On the basis of uses of catering services

Birthday parties
Weddings
Office parties
Celebratory occasions
Aircrafts
Hotels and restaurants
Process of establishing a catering service
Kitchen location and rent
Decide if sources of capital
Gather and assemble equipment
Get license and permits
Source out vendors
Hire manpower
Market your business

License required

The licenses required to run a catering service business is

Food Establishment License
Alcohol license
FSSAI license

Other licenses:

Food safety license
Health/trade license
Eating house license
Environmental clearance
NOC from the fire department
Signage license
Playing of music in restaurant license
Shop and Establishments Act
Nominations under PFA act 1954

Investment required

The investment required to set up this food catering service is

Small scale : ₹1 lakh – ₹5 lakhs
Large scale : ₹10 lakh – ₹20 lakh

Profits made

The profits made from running a catering service business would be :

Small scale: ₹1 lakh-₹4 lakh per month
Large scale: ₹10 lakh – ₹ 15 lakhs per month

Also read :

Target consumers

The target consumers for your food catering service business would be

Aircrafts: The aircrafts are the large target consumers for this food catering business. A catering service for an international aircraft would prepare around 200000 meals of different foreign cuisines per day. To imagine the scope of your business here is a goldmine itself

Weddings: The Indian population is expected to spend 20% of their wealth on weddings which also includes food catering for different cultures and cuisines to be made available at that occasion
Restaurants and hotels: These requires catering services of the sit down and buffet types to meet the financial, occasion as well as meal needs of the consumers

Commercial offices: These require food catering service as a part of their routine meals in the form of canteen or to host formal parties and meet the taste and cuisine requirements of all sorts of employees

Events and occasions: Events and occasions like Birthday parties, farmhouse parties, pool parties, bachelorettes, surprise parties, bridal showers, poker nights, barbecue nights etc also require food catering services

Area required

The area required for setting up a food catering service depends on the occasion and people being catered

More than 25 people – 100 sq ft
20-25 people – 70-80 sq ft

Raw materials required

The raw materials required to set this food catering service business are

Cooking oven
Serving equipment
Tin foil
Plastic wrap
Cutlery
Refrigerator
Cooking stoves
Garbage bins
Disposable containers for storage
Coffee and beverage stations
Cambro

Manpower required

The manpower required for this food catering business is 12-15 people which include

Chefs
Waiters
Bus boys
Coordinators
Labour

Business model and growth

The business model of a food catering business can be defined using these four variants

Value proposition: The value which this business is likely to provide to you is
Wide target consumers

High profit margin and turnover
Low investment
Easily available consumers and demands

Target consumers: The target consumers for this business are

Aircrafts
Commercial offices
Weddings
Exhibitions
Birthday parties
Hotels and restaurants

Competitor review: The few key competitors in this food catering business are

The Indian catering company
Tandoori nights
Dana Choga
Paramprika
Little food Co.

Marketing strategy: The marketing strategy that can be implemented by your food catering business is

Word of mouth promotion
Tie ups with restaurants
Weddings
Social media promotion
Google listings

Growth

The food catering service has the potential and has witnessed the following growth prospects

The food catering service in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% by 2024
With an increase in the consumer spending on events and occasions and the catering service they choose becomes a decider in justifying their social status and standing

Profit margin

The profit margin which this business is likely to yield to you is 35%-40%

Suggestions

You should worry about the cuisine you would experiment with the next time you attend a wedding and not about taking or not taking up this business opportunity because it’s a no brained and here’s why

Firstly, the profit margin and the annual turnover from this business is vast because of the increased disposable income of consumers and rising need for celebrating occasions in India
Secondly, the scope of expansion of this business is vast contributing to the target customers you have to cater to which are immensely populated in India
Lastly, till there are weddings there’ll be a catering service required so you’ll probably never run out of this business.