How to Start a Catering Business: A Complete Guide to Success 

Are you wondering how to start a catering business? This line of work can be highly profitable if you get it right. That said, catering is hard work and you need to be skilled and experienced to make a success of your business. 

There are many types of catering businesses, too, so you will need to consider how to market your company and what to focus on. You might, for instance, focus on weddings but be willing to take on parties, funerals, and other family events. 

As I explain in this article, settling on your niche is an important first step. You can then work through my other steps to get your catering business off the ground in 2025. 

By the end of this piece, you will know exactly how to start a catering business and have the tools you need to launch your new operation.

What is a catering business?

A catering business is an enterprise that provides food-based products and services to a broad range of clients. There are both in-house and external catering companies. They are all concerned with providing food and drinks to individuals, corporations, and events. 

When you’re learning how to start a catering business, it’s helpful to consider what niche you want to get into. For instance, you might consider any of the following options: 

• Wedding catering 
• Event catering (targeting festivals, sports events, etc.) 
• Corporate catering (for meetings and office-based events) 
• Party catering 
• Speciality catering (such as vegan or gluten-free food) 

While you don’t necessarily need to niche down, it certainly helps. You can always adjust and refine your offering, but knowing what your main business will do is a key starting point.

Are catering businesses profitable?

The latest statistics show that over half (52%) of catering companies in the United States make between $1 million and $7.5 million annually. Additionally, industry experts suggest that most catering companies should strive for a pretax profit margin of between 7% and 8%.

Therefore, we can deduce that a successful catering business can be both successful and worthwhile. There’s a good opportunity to turn over a large amount, and if you’re careful with your cash flow and financial planning, you can expect decent profits each month.

How to start a catering business in eight simple steps

Okay, so now you know you can potentially make good money from your catering enterprise, it’s time to dive into the steps required to get started:

Step 1: Decide on your niche

As indicated above, you need to consider which type of catering service to offer. After all, a vegan catering business is very different from a wedding catering enterprise. To decide which type of business to launch, consider the following:

What are your skills and interests?

If you’re a vegan yourself, you might be motivated to launch the first plant-based catering company in your area. Equally, if you have coeliac disease, you might be inspired to create a gluten-free catering firm. 

Also, think about your background. Maybe you’ve been working at a wedding venue for five years and know what it takes to cater a wedding. Conversely, you might have been working at a sporting venue and have a fair idea about what food, beverages, and services work at big spectator events. 

So, begin by thinking about what skills, experiences, and interests you have. This should help create a pretty good idea of the type of catering business to go with.

What does your area need and want?

Next, you must research the current catering offering in your proposed area of business. If there are already five independent wedding caterers in a small town, it’s probably not a great idea to open another. 

If you’re going down the niche route and are planning a vegan catering firm, make sure your proposed area has the necessary customer base. For instance, a vegan catering business might not be a huge hit in rural Texas, where practically everyone eats meat! 

Here, you need to be realistic about your expectations and aspirations. You also need to get a good idea of what catering companies are already out there and how your business will fit into the current landscape.

Start with a Google search of catering businesses in your area. Call them up and get details about their services. Then, head onto TripAdvisor and other review sites to see what people make of them and where they can improve. 

This hands-on approach to research will provide you with valuable details and help you to fill gaps. It will also help you to avoid mistakes that current catering businesses are making.

Step 2: Create a business plan

After drilling down your niche and crystallizing your initial ideas, it’s time to put a plan together. A business plan is primarily a document for yourself, so you need to make it as straightforward, relatable, and readable as possible. 

My advice is to include the following sections:

• A mission statement about what type of catering business you want to launch and why you think it will work (include research to back this up).
• Financial details, including how much you need to set up your business (more on this shortly). 
• An overview of how much you will charge to meet the expected profit margin in the industry (at least 7%). 
• Property details and whether you will rent a shop or storage unit for your business. 
• Information about your marketing plan and details on how you intend to grow the business. 
• Short (1 year), medium (3 years) and long (5 years) term goals that you expect to meet. 

Your plan should be clear, concise, and easy to follow. After writing it, run it through our free AI grammar checker and save it on your computer. You can then refer to it and amend it as you work through the rest of these steps. 

Step 3: Research the licenses, permits, and certificates required

When you operate a catering business, you must obtain the relevant licenses, permits, and certifications to do your work. This can be a bit of a minefield, as I found out firsthand when setting up my coffee business in the UK in 2017. 

No matter where you live and operate your catering business, you will probably need several permits and certificates to run your business legally. At the very least, you will need: 

• A license to conduct business, issued by your state or local authority. 
• Your certificate of incorporation (awarded when you register a limited company).
• Various health permits, depending on what type of food you prepare and where you serve it. 
• Health insurance and sufficient insurance policies to cover all aspects of your business.

Unfortunately, every country (and US state) has its own requirements for setting up a catering business. Therefore, you will need to search for what is required wherever you live and do business. 

A handy shortcut is to ask Arvin for a full list of license and permit requirements to set up a catering business. Prompt our AI tool and ask Arvin to create a checklist, which you can work through as you apply to the relevant authorities in your area. 

Step 4: Decide how to structure your catering company: How will you operate?

The best legal structure for a catering business is a limited company. This enables you to apply for insurance, hire staff, and access tax benefits. You can also set up a company bank account as soon as your business is registered. 

Then, you need to consider how to structure your actual business. Will your catering business prepare food in a kitchen before delivering it to various venues? Or will you prepare food on-site when you partner with event venues? 

There are actually several options to consider when it comes to food preparation:

Option 1: Hire a shop or commercial kitchen to prepare food

The most expensive option is to hire a premises for your catering company. This will serve as your main kitchen; you can prepare and deliver all food to your partner once it has been prepared. You can also store your ingredients and equipment on-site. 

This is the best option if you’re planning a large-scale catering firm and plan to prepare food for hundreds of people at a time. You need sufficient space to prepare food to the best possible standards. Also, you will need to hire people to help you, so having a professional space for them to work is crucial.

Option 2: Designate part of your home as your commercial kitchen

If you’re planning to set up a small catering company, perhaps to service a few small events in your local area each month, you might be able to register part of your home as your commercial kitchen. Ideally, you could set up a kitchen at the back of your property and cook from there. 

This saves so much money and means you can work from home. Most states and countries have very strict requirements for home-based catering businesses, but it is possible. You should contact your local authority for the steps required if you want to base your catering business at home.

Option 3: Prepare all food on-site at venues and rent a small space for storage

Another option is to use the catering facilities at the venues you work at. Depending on your business model, this can be an excellent way to save on rental costs, bills, and rates. After all, if you’re preparing food at the venue, you don’t need to build or rent a commercial kitchen for your business. 

If you go down this route, you will need to have some type of storage space where you can keep your tools and equipment. But still, you probably don’t need to rent a huge amount of space and can keep your costs as low as possible.

Option 4: Invest in a mobile catering unit

My final recommendation is to invest in a mobile catering unit. You could equip a van or trailer with a commercial kitchen and travel with your kitchen to each venue you work at. Though this often requires additional permits and insurance, it can be a smart solution. 

After all, if your catering business is fully mobile, you can reach even more customers. You also don’t need to pay ground rent and other fees, though setting up a mobile unit is often expensive.

Step 5: Prepare your finances & invest in your business

Learning how to start a catering business will only be successful if you can secure enough funding. There are a few ways to fund your business: 

• Savings: The best option is to use your savings. This saves you from paying interest on a bank loan or any other type of finance. 
• Business loan: Most banks and financial institutions offer business loans to startups. Though they often come with high interest rates, they’re accessible if you have a decent credit score. 
• Family or friends: Alternatively, you can contact your friends and family members to see if anyone can help you fund your business. Draw up a loan agreement, propose a fair but low interest rate, and avoid the bank entirely. 

There are so many variables that will affect the cost of launching your catering business. However, research suggests that most people spend at least between $10,000 and $50,000 to get their business underway.

So, do your math and conduct accurate research that you can include in your business plan to ensure your projections are accurate. With your funding in place, you can start putting your brand together, as I explain below.

Step 6: Launch your brand

Your brand is one of the most important aspects of your new catering business. After all, people buy from brands, not companies. You can think of your brand as the story behind your business, and it’s the way that you represent yourself online. 

The first step to launching a brand is deciding on a name for your business. There are so many ways to come up with a name, but consult your friends and family for ideas. Then, do some research online and take inspiration from other catering firms. If you’re struggling, use our free business name generator for ideas and options. 

You can then run some of these ideas past your business partners and friends to see if any make the grade.

Creating a logo without breaking the bank

When you’ve settled on a business name, it’s time to create a logo. This is the most crucial element of your brand and can make or break your success when marketing your business. 

Historically, you’d have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a professionally-designed logo. Today, you can ask Arvin to create a professional logo for your catering business in seconds.

Our AI logo maker will create a logo for your company in seconds based on your preferences and any prompts that you enter. If you’re not happy with the first logo, run the tool again until you’re satisfied. You can then download your logo and use it on all marketing materials for your catering business.

Step 7: Start marketing your catering business 

You’re now at the stage where you’re ready to begin marketing your business. I recommend both online and offline marketing to attract customers and to get your business underway. For inspiration, discover 101 affordable and effective marketing tips for small businesses.

Then, proceed with some or all of the following ideas to promote your newly launched catering brand:

Offline marketing ideas

• Create flyers and post them door-to-door in your local area. Include a special discount for the first customers that hire you as an incentive. 
• Book a spot at a local catering conference and promote your business via a stall. 
• Join a business networking group and promote your new business to the current members. 
• Approach venues in your local area and ask if you can put flyers up for people looking for catering options for weddings, parties, and other functions.

Online marketing ideas  

• Create a website with details of your services and pricing. 
• Launch social media profiles and showcase your catering talents with real posts. 
• Start working on blog posts to boost your website’s profile and drive traffic to your page. Use our article writing tool to write compelling content for your blog. 
• Create a page for your business on LinkedIn and invite friends and colleagues to follow it. You can then post regular updates as you start winning business.

Step 8: Land your first gig and review your processes

At the start of your catering business journey, patience is required. You probably won’t win your first catering gig overnight, and you will have to invest in marketing to get your business up and running. 

If you struggle to find your first clients, approach your friends and family members. Ask them if you can put on a catering event at their place, free of charge. 

Throughout the evening, take pictures and videos of you and your team in action. Then, post updates to your social media pages and show the world what you’re capable of. 

You can even ask your friends and family to provide reviews of the evening on TripAdvisor, Google, and Facebook to start building a positive reputation for your brand. 

Though it will cost you money, this initial event will serve as the springboard for your business. When people see how skilled you are and how delicious your food looks, they will start hiring you.

A note on invoicing and payment terms

When your first paying customer agrees to work with you, you will need to prepare a quality invoice with clear payment terms. Whether you quote per person, per meal, or for the entire event, spend lots of time working out your costs and consider how much profit you want to make. 

While it will take you a while to get your pricing 100% right, don’t sell yourself short from the very start. Price yourself appropriately and make it clear how much the customer needs to pay on the invoice. 

I also recommend including payment terms on the invoice, which indicate when you expect payment. It’s common for catering companies to charge a deposit to secure the date. Then, up to 50% or even 75% before the event (to cover costs). Then, the final payment is due immediately after the event (or within one or two days). 

Be explicit with your payment expectations and write on the invoice how you expect to be paid (cash, cheque, bank transfer, etc.).

After a few clients, you can refine your processes and payment terms to ensure they work for you and the business.

Conclusion: How to start a catering business

Now that you’ve learned how to start a catering business, there’s nothing stopping you from launching your new adventure. Though running any type of business isn’t easy, a catering business can be extremely rewarding and profitable if you market yourself well and settle on a good niche. 

One of the key things to get right is the licensing. It might be time-consuming to get all your paperwork in order, but it’s fundamental to the success of your catering company. Also, think carefully about how to structure your business before renting out an expensive kitchen, as doing so may eat up many of your profits. 

So, best of luck as you launch your catering business this year. Check out the FAQs below for further tips and information.

How to start a catering business FAQ

How profitable is a catering business?

Though success certainly isn’t guaranteed, you can expect a successful catering business to make a profit margin of 7-8%. To meet this expectation, your business needs to be well-marketed and in a profitable niche.

How do I start a small home catering business?

You can follow the eight steps listed above to launch your small home catering business. Note that if you launch your business at home, you will need to inform your local authority that you’re running a food business. They will then arrange a visit to check it meets their standards for food preparation.

What are the startup costs for a catering business?

You will need money to register your business, apply for the correct licenses, and to market your services. You may also need to buy equipment and transport to do your work. Most new catering companies cost between $10,000 and $50,000 to launch.

Which type of catering business is the most profitable?

The most profitable type of catering business is one that has low-cost ingredients and high margins. For instance, finger food buffets and party style food work well, as you can buy the ingredients in bulk at low cost. You can then charge per person, making a good return on your investment.