How To Start a Catering Business

Few things make or break an event like the food. While the power of a great restaurant experience is undisputed, there’s something uniquely challenging and compelling about great catering: If you can transport a flawless dining experience into many different (often unpredictable) locations, in any kind of weather, that’s a kind of superpower. 

Good catering feels seamless to the guests, but the reality behind the scenes is an intricate balance between menu planning, operational logistics, next-level organization, and day-of execution. If you want to take your culinary chops on the go, read on to learn how to start a catering business.

How to start a catering business

1. Identify your niche
2. Write a business plan
3. Register your business
4. Obtain licenses and certifications
5. Secure funding
6. Find a home base
7. Find suppliers
8. Hire catering staff
9. Craft a marketing pla
10. Establish your process
11. Expect the unexpected

A successful catering business pairs delicious food and exceptional service at scale. Whether you’re driven by a love of food or the pleasures of a well-executed event (ideally, both!), here’s what to know about getting your own catering business off the ground.

1. Identify your niche

Identifying your unique offering helps you stand out from other catering businesses and match your services with the right audience, balancing your passion and client requests. You might have a knack for a specific culinary style (say, Oaxacan flavors, Scandinavian smorgasbords, or open-fire cooking) or a dietary focus (like all-vegan or allergen-free menus).

Maybe you specialize in small gatherings with intricately plated servings over larger family-style events like weddings, or you excel at the buffet-style catering of corporate events. Once you know your niche, identify the middle ground between what you bring to the table and what the market demands through your market research: Knowing where you want to be and what you want to execute will help you set everything from your menu to your prices. 

2. Write a business plan

Once you’ve outlined your vision, it’s time to support your strategy with a business plan. Your catering business plan should include a high-level summary of your catering business, target audience research, sample menus with pricing, equipment needs, financial projections, and more. Your business plan can serve as both an internal roadmap and an external proof of concept for any potential partners or financial backers.

3. Register your business

Here’s how to register your catering business:

• Choose a business name for your catering company. Aim for a memorable and/or meaningful name that reflects your unique offering. Your LLC name doesn’t have to be the same as your public-facing brand name (also known as a “doing business as,” or DBA name).

• Decide on a business structure. Consider all relevant business structure types. While you can operate a catering company as a sole proprietorship, it offers less liability protection than a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation structure. 

• Register your business with federal agencies. Registering your business at the federal level grants you an employer identification number (EIN), which you’ll need to hire employees and pay business taxes. 

• Register with state and local agencies. Registering at the local level may require the licenses and certifications listed below. Check with your local business bureau for details specific to your state and county. 

• Register for taxes. Sales tax permits are issued by your state’s tax authority. Businesses, even those providing a service, like catering, are required to collect sales tax unless you’re operating in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon. 

4. Obtain licenses and certifications

Specific permits for catering businesses will vary by state, but you’ll need to meet the food safety standards of your local health department no matter where you are. At a minimum, you should expect to apply for and maintain:

• A business license 

• An employer identification number (EIN)

• Food safety certification

• A health permit 

• A food handling permit (also referred to as a food handler’s card) 

• A liquor license or alcohol-specific permit (if applicable)

In California, for example, catering businesses must have a food handler’s card (obtained through a certification course) and a Type 58 permit if they intend to serve alcohol at events. Applying for a general health permit may require you to provide food safety certifications, example menus, prep kitchen layouts, and more. 

5. Secure funding

There are many ways to fund your catering business, from small business loans and grants to angel investors and crowdfunding. To decide between them, consider how much you’ll need and the trade-off for each funding type (debt versus equity, for example). Prepare to show your business plan to financiers to give them confidence in your ability to pay back loans and grow into a profitable business.

The catering industry is considered a low cost to enter business thanks to its flexible hours and relatively small startup requirements. The biggest costs include leasing a commercial kitchen rental space to work from and the equipment you’ll need for high-volume food production or specialty serving. 

6. Find a home base

Depending on the scope of your catering services, you may need a commercial kitchen facility with prep space, room to host client tastings, equipment or servingware storage, and parking for company vans or trucks. Preparing food in your own home also comes with liability issues and is not permitted in many states, so a commercial kitchen may be a requirement, depending on where you live. You can start small and invest in space as you need it. 

If you’re just getting started, many commissary kitchens are built exactly for this purpose and offer rotating spaces for food-centric small businesses, like small-batch producers, food truck restaurateurs, and caterers. Many cities have directories of these kitchens, like NYC’s CloudKitchens or The Kitchen Door. You can rent catering supplies like plates and serving utensils from a third-party until you have enough bookings on your calendar to justify investing in your own. 

7. Find suppliers

Your wholesale ingredients supplier is an important relationship: The quality of your ingredients has a significant impact on the quality of your final product. Start by searching for local suppliers. Ask about minimum order quantities (MOQ) and references from other caterers or chefs. If you’ve enjoyed the produce at a particular restaurant, ask who their supplier is.

Cross-reference suppliers you find with industry reviews on message boards, or insights from peers in your community. Ask around, see who people trust, and consider a specialty supplier if your menus feature specific, hard-to-find ingredients that require cultural expertise. Many of these smaller shops, like The Japanese Pantry in San Francisco, offer wholesale options for restaurants and catering operations. 

Once you have a sense of what you’ll be paying for ingredients, you’ll be able to set your pricing model, whether as a flat hourly rate (say, $500 for two hours of mobile pizza oven catering for a small party) or per-plate cost. Remember that you’re charging for the costs of ingredients and supplies and the time you spend on food prep, setup, and breakdown, not just the live event time.

8. Hire catering staff

Depending on the type of events you’re planning on serving, you may only need one or two cooks to help you prepare and plate food. Larger, more formal events will require servers to bring food out to the diners, serve beverages, and clear tables between courses. If you’re catering small gatherings and parties, you may be able to get by with just yourself and the occasional extra hand. 

Start by assessing your staffing needs, then put out a call for applicants either through your network or through restaurant industry gig apps like Poached, Qwick, or shiftNOW. Be clear about your preferred level of experience or expertise, and assemble an on-call team on a per-event basis. As you grow, and your event calendar becomes busier and more predictable, you may choose to hire a larger pool of seasonal employees so you can cover multiple events on the same weekend, for example.

9. Craft a marketing plan

A consistent marketing strategy will help you expand your reach to find new potential customers and underscore your legitimacy as a trusted catering brand. Here are a few elements to consider:

• Social media marketing. Share behind-the-scenes content of menu testing and dish creation (from concept to final plating), high-quality photos of plated dishes, and engaging photos or videos of guests enjoying your food at events to spark interest and boost shareability.

• Website. A business website is essential for communicating that your catering business is legitimate. It also embodies the look and feel of your brand identity. It’s a natural home for booking inquiries and a calendar of public events where customers can come try your cooking (if, say, you have a food truck as a part of your business or regularly have pop-up events at local restaurants). 

• Online store. Incorporating an ecommerce element can help you create an additional revenue stream by selling food online. You can branch out as a direct-to-consumer food brand or package and sell proprietary ingredients, like the marinade that steals the show at every party, or the secret seasoning blend that you’ve become known for.

• Traditional media. Mentions in event-specific publications, such as wedding websites, can be an excellent way to generate new leads relevant to your business plan. You may initially choose to work with a public relations (PR) firm to help your business land on round-up lists or catering-specific features, but you can also pitch to publications yourself with a simple one-page press release. 

• Networking. Cultivate relationships with event organizers, marketers, and wedding planners through word-of-mouth referrals. Make a plan to attend industry events and trade shows. If there’s a dream gig you’d love to land, like catering an off-site retreat for a major brand, for example, or a glitzy art scene soirée, don’t hesitate to pitch yourself to the marketing team in charge.

10. Establish your process

Before you begin booking clients, establish your process for client intake, internal planning, client communication points, event execution, and client follow-up. Will you include a personalized tasting as part of the total cost? How collaborative will menu development be? Will you offer dietary substitutions? 

Outline when in the process you’ll walk guests through the event timeline, how you’ll communicate the required set-up time, and what they should expect for the flow of service. If you require a deposit upfront, make sure to say so in your contract.

11. Expect the unexpected

Lastly, it’s crucial to have business insurance, liability protection, and contingency plans woven into your catering operation in case equipment breaks or transportation plans fail. If you own serving ware, like china or glasses, these will inevitably break and need replacing. If your fridge dies the night before an event, have a plan in place to source new ingredients as needed on a tight turnaround, and ask your suppliers what their policies are for same-day deliveries. If a guest has a sudden emergency, like an allergic reaction, have a protocol in place.