Many people prefer to order food online thanks to companies like Uber Eats, Dr D, and Zulzi. Online ordering is convenient as many people don't have to leave the house. This model works not only for takeout and groceries, but also for catering services. You can also make money by starting your own online catering service business.
Online catering services include ordering systems solutions that allow businesses to manage, streamline and optimize their ordering processes. This allows customers to easily order food online, manage orders and track delivery.
It's the season for celebrations now. This is the perfect time to start a catering business. If you're online, you'll probably receive a wide range of orders. That means more money.
This article will explain the steps to start your own online catering business.
Types of catering services
Before you start a business, you need to know the different types of catering services. This will help you know which one you specialize in and what it entails.
Corporate Catering Service
Corporate catering is when providing catering services to businesses or corporate events. These events can range from opening hours or small to large, casual, and sometimes outside.
Companies typically use catering services to celebrate launches, end-of-year features, or expansion or new partnerships.
Wedding catering service
Wedding catering requires a lot of planning, timing and open communication with everyone involved in the wedding. Weddings can be small, large, private, or public (celebrity, politician).
When you cater to a wedding, you need to prepare meals that cater to everyone and their diverse flavors. In addition to that, you may be asked to bake the cake and help with the decorations. If you want to make extra money, this is great.
Social Event Catering Services
Social events can be like birthday parties, graduation parties, baby and bridal showers, and new building parties. These events are extremely exclusive and require careful planning by caterers.
As a caterer, you need to meet the unique food requirements and cultural beliefs of your clients so that they do not provide food they don't eat.
Concession Catering Service
This type of catering service is for sporting events, festivals and concerts. As a caterer, you need to make sure that the menu is developed for a diverse crowd. This makes it easier to serve everyone and ensures that people find what they want at your food stall.
The catering business does not need to provide one service. You can have a multi-service business offering weddings, concessions, social catering, and corporate catering services.
How to start an online catering business
Now that you know what kind of catering business you want to start, you can take the steps you need to start your business.
Step 1: Register your business
Like all businesses, you must register for legal reasons. Your business can be registered with the Corporate and Intellectual Property Committee (CIPC). Additionally, tax requirements must be registered with South African Revenue Services (SARS).
There are other compliance certificates that you need to register. These include:
Acceptability certificate. Zoning permission. Fire safety certificate. Alcohol license (if applicable)
Once you have all these permissions and meet all your compliance requirements, you can move to the next step.
Step 2: Build your brand
To run an online catering business, you need to focus a lot on your brand. Here are some of the things you need to do:
Create a logo for your company. We develop a website where you can order and view menus. Find out more about materials costs, labor costs, electricity, water and more to price your menu. Develop social media pages and marketing channels.
These are just the basics of building a brand. Developing a brand is not something that's turned off at once, it's a consistent practice of updating your website, running marketing campaigns, and staying in touch with your customers.
Step 3: Get the equipment
You want to run a food business, so there are some important tools you need. These include:
A cooking stove. Baking oven (if applicable). A refrigerator that stores food and ingredients. Cutlery for preparing foods. Cutting board for food preparation. Mixing bowl. Plates and cutlery to serve food. Scrub the food to keep the food warm. We serve food. Transport when you have to transport food. Food containers to keep food hot and fresh.
Step 4: Find and set up an online ordering system
Now, the overall point of this business is that your services can be found online. This means you need a good online ordering system that integrates with your website. Here's what you should look for in the ordering system:
Automatic menu. Payment processing function. Reports and analysis. Scalability. User management. Automatic order. Customization options. Order tracking. Delivery tracking. Security solutions. Customer Support and Service Tools. Delivery scheduling. Upselling tool. Customize menus. Omnichannel order. Order management.
Essentially, the online ordering system is an e-commerce platform. Therefore, you need to choose a platform that is easy to use and allows customers to easily order.
Some platforms to consider are:
Gonnoorder: Gonnodorder is a platform that allows food businesses to accept orders for pick-up or delivery from websites or social media pages.
Shopify: Shopify is an e-commerce website builder and also offers a variety of integrations for payment processing, automated orders and tracking.
Curate: Curate is a platform for catering companies that help you book, propose events, and streamline your processes.
These platforms allow you to track, manage and run all your catering services. Just as technology makes things easier, it's perfect for something like ordering, and it's still up to you to provide fresh and delicious food to your clients.
To talk to experts, visit SME advice and book an appointment with one of our friendly experts.
