If you’re going to do catering, you need a catering pricing strategy. In speaking with independent coffee, smoothie, juice bar, ice cream, dessert and snack shop owers, they tell me they’re confused on how to package their catering menus and how to sell them.
The menu that you have in your store will be much different than your catering menu. In your store, you can have lots of options. Your menu could take up a whole wall. And each item is individually priced.
You definitely do NOT want to do that with catering. Think of a sandwich. In your store it may retail for $8.00. A customer asks if you can cater sandwiches for them for 100 people. Would you tell the customer that would be $800 for a platter of sandwiches? They’d leave and never come back.
But you can easily get that $800 and more – when you you know how to correctly package, position and sell your catering menu.
When it comes to selling your catering packages, don’t use “bulk pricing”. Bulk pricing is telling a customer the total amount and it gives them sticker shock.
Instead simplify your pricing. Break it down into pieces the catering prospect understands. Perhaps there’s a delivery/setup fee. Then there’s a per person charge for what you’re serving. Tax and gratuity. Simple items the prospect “gets”.
With catering you’re also serving smaller sizes. Instead of the full-sized sandwich, you’d have a platter of smaller servings and then you may have some sides – for which you can charge extra for and allow your catering prospect to choose what they want. Catering prospects love options! And you’ll love the add-on profitability it adds to your bank account.
So instead of telling the catering prospect it will be $800 for a platter of sandwiches, instead say “It’s $200 for us to come out and setup the sandwich station. It’s $10/pp for sandwiches which includes 2 sides. Additional sides are available for $2/pp. We can also provide dessert for $2.50/pp and beverages for $2.00/pp. The only extras are tax and gratuity.” In the catering prospect’s mind, they “get” you need to pack up, come out, setup and tear down. $200 is fair. $10/pp for food in a corporate environment is a great price. And many will want to add on dessert and drinks. When you present the pricing this way there’s no sticker shock and the catering client is thrilled you can provide a done-for-you solution.
Do that math on that. For 100 people, you’d make $1,180 (including 18% gratuity which is standard for catering). And that’s BEFORE offering any additional add-ons. You make MORE than if you had told the catering prospect it would be $800. And your NET profit will be higher also because your serving sizes are smaller.
Break your catering menu into “bite-size” pieces the customer understands. Make it simple for them to say “yes”.
Try this catering pricing strategy and let me know how it works.
