Operator guide · Food & retail
How to start a catering business
Choose whether you’re selling reliable delivery or managed event service. A drop-off office lunch and a staffed reception use different labor, equipment and timelines. Start with one event format you can execute repeatedly, then add services when your numbers and crew can support them.
Before you spend on ads
What to figure out first.
Pick your first offer
For a first offer, sell a buffet-style office lunch to teams that order regularly. Set a minimum order, keep the menu tight, specify portions, and state which setup and cleanup tasks are included. Quote staffed functions separately instead of including them as a casual add-on.
Find the price floor
Start with food and packaging per guest, then account for paid prep, service and teardown, vehicle time, equipment rentals, and venue access. Build each event around a contribution target and count prep hours before accepting a small last-minute booking.
Find your first customers
Send a sample menu and one clear package to office managers or venue coordinators in a manageable radius. Try a paid trial lunch, then follow up with an easy-to-rebook option. Track proposals to paid events and the days that each buyer tends to book.
Keep delivery manageable
Use a written scope and a production schedule that includes venue access, final guest count, dietary requests and allergen communication, load-out, delivery, and equipment return. Check local food-service requirements early, before you commit to a prep location or sales format.
Worked example
Run the numbers once.
Assumes a drop-off lunch with per-guest food, packing and allocated incremental prep and delivery costs. It excludes fixed overhead.
- Volume (guest servings)
- 35
- Price each
- $25
- Variable cost each
- $16
- Gross receipts
- $875
- Total variable costs
- $560
- Contribution before overhead
- $315
Hypothetical inputs, not a quote or forecast. Contribution is not take-home profit. Subtract any overhead, taxes, advertising, and other expenses not included above.
A decision worth getting right
Common question.
Is a per-person price enough to quote a job?
Only if it accounts for the service you actually provide. A minimum, delivery charge, or service fee may be needed to cover work that doesn’t shrink when headcount does.
Where Branch Up Works fits
Build around this work.
Branch Up Works could build package pages, an event inquiry form that estimates headcount and access needs, a pipeline for proposals, and a reminder sequence for regular office customers.
For accepted operators, the funded plan can cover the agreed build and marketing in exchange for a share of attributed sales you collect. You stay the owner.