Getting Catering Business Ready for the New ‘Old Normal’

The news for catering business is not great. Even the county daily e-newsletter is regularly reporting restaurant closures of established and new venues. Locally a celebrity chef forged ahead with the building changes for a new pub-restaurant; only to cancel the project on the point of opening. It’s now time for everyone to recognise that the last 10 years have been an aberration of low interest rates and high expectations. For the foreseeable future the old normal is back.

Bleak Catering News

Creed Food Services have produced an excellent report based on a survey of 150 UK Directors, General Managers, Assistant Manager and Chefs of hotels, restaurants and pubs. It’s called Plates to Profits.

The findings are stark:

• 86% of catering business surveyed said they’d close in next 3 years, if business costs did not reduce and they didn’t increase prices. Half said in a year!
• 23% did not consult their own wholesalers for cost saving advice. An own goal given the mutual benefits this brings.
• 43% are operating with fewer staff. Half have changed the menu to simpler dishes to respond to this.
• 39% are buying more pre/semi-prepared dishes while a similar percentage have reduced opening times or food availability on certain days

Customer behaviour has changed

Consumers face a long-term reduction in disposable income. Two thirds of customers have reduced the amount that they spend to eat out. But they will pay for good quality (86%) and pay more for such (75%) according to a Lumina study.

Plates to Profits respondents reported customers:

• Visit less regularly – 45%
• Reduce the number of courses they order – 43%
• Choose more affordable dishes and reduce the number of sides – 40%
• Not order tea/coffee at the meal end – 29%
• Not order alcohol, but chose soft drinks or water – 19%
• Book earlier timeslots or take advantage of early bird offers – 33%
• Choose food share options – 45%

The Economist, in July, published an interesting report through a collaboration with Visa internationally comparing catering customer habits pre and post pandemic in cities. While weekday lunches have held up, weekday evening events have dropped by almost 3%. Conversely Saturday and Sunday lunches have increased in popularity. Saturday afternoon is now the spending peak not Friday night.

Catering Business Action

Now is the time to take positive action to ensure survival and future growth in your catering business. Consider what your answers would be to the Creed questions or Economist/Lumina studies.

This will help your responses to the new old normal based on your data. Those insights will help you respond to the menu selection, staffing and cost challenges. Also consider what menu choices offer the biggest margins; and how you could do more on food waste by rethinking could happen such as vegetable peelings/trimmings and fruit as toppings or side dishes.

Plates to Profits offered 5 suggestions to consider:

• Maximise covers to streamline operations for peak time. Relook at your space inside and out and how it could be used.
• Charge for quality bread and butter. Consumers will pay for the quality and the unsold is easily turned into alternatives.
• Offer 2 or 3 course set menus. This reduces ingredients, streamlines mains and gives perceived value for money.
• Offer sharing experiences through encouraging sharing options. The faff of the second plate is offset by the responsiveness to customer cost saving need.
• Offer higher priced specials of mains, sides and desserts. Change frequently to reflect seasonality to manage costs, streamline menus and meet the proven desire for sustainability.

Like all catering businesses, A C Services is reviewing its operations to ensure it can flexibly meet the needs of its current and prospective clients in this changed economy. After all, following our success this year, we’re aiming to be crowned the best Service Partner for Rational in the UK again next year. This will only come by working sensibly together.

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