B. Sc.(Hons) Hospitality Management of Lincoln University at Semester 4/ Year 2

1. ESTABLISHING THE RIGHT
KIND OF CATERING FOR YOU
CHAPTER 3

2. ESTABLISHING THE RIGHT KIND OF CATERING
FOR YOU
• Carving the catering market
• Who is the caterer ( questions to ask before hiring a caterer)
• Mission statement and purpose
• Stakeholders
• Strategic vision
• SWOT analysis

3. The Catering Market
• A caterer’s market is the group of all customers in a geographic
service area who have unmet needs, wants or demands requiring
food and beverage service.
• It is extremely difficult and unreasonable to except one caterer to
service the entire market range of current and potential customers
in need or want of food, beverages and related services.

4. Carving the Catering Market
• The caterer must carve or segment the whole market of customers into smaller
Pieces or niches.
• Segmenting the whole market into niches requires the caterer to identify
customers with similar needs or wants and group them together.
• This Enables the caterer to decide how to best build the business to satisfy that
specific Group.
• To help the caterer identify the specific niche to pursue, a fundamental exercise
would be to invest serious time answering a few key questions.

5. Key questions used to identify a market niche.
1. What kind of catering can be executed right now?
2. What kind of food and service can be provided right now to meet and exceed the
customer’s expectations?
3. What quality standards can be created and maintained in both food and service?
4. What kind of food preparation skills does the caterer have now?
5. What are the caterer’s culinary skills and their relationship to menu design?
6. What kind of equipment does the caterer have?
7. Who will assist the caterer in these functions?
8. What is the skill level of the staff?
9. How fast or slow does the caterer want to grow?

6. •The purpose of answering these questions is twofold.
• First, a careful analysis Enables the caterer to define
who they are today.
• Second, the answers will provide The caterer with an
understanding of what kind of professional
development will be needed to provide continuous
improvement in operations.

7. WHO IS THE CATERER?
• How caterers define who they are begins with
• an analysis of their capabilities as A caterer and
• how they can satisfy customers’ needs and wants.
• This is a starting Point to establish the right kind of catering business.
• One challenge is to identify the market niche the caterer is most
comfortable Servicing
• This niche will determine the customers’ wants and needs to be satisfied
by the caterer’s business.

8. Issues important to the caterer
include:
1. Do they specialize only in on-premise catering?
2. Will the caterer specialize in off-premise catering?
3. Will the caterer attempt to position the business as both an on- and off
premise catering operation?
4. Will the caterer be able to compete in the social market?
5. Can the caterer satisfy the needs of a corporate account?
6. Will the caterer try to satisfy the needs of both corporate and social catering
customers?

9. Mission Statement or Purpose
• One prerequisite for competitiveness in the marketplace is the ability for a
caterer to confidently communicate the mission, or purpose, of the business to
potential Clients.
• The company’s mission is written in a statement which defines the sole
purpose Of why the caterer is in business.
• The mission statement identifies who the Caterer is and communicates what
the caterer can do for all potential customers.

10. • This statement of purpose is the foundation of the organization.
• The mission statement answers the question, “why am I in
business today?” It may also reflect what the caterer plans to
become.
• As a management tool, it guides the caterer’s decision-making
process.
• The mission statement permits the business to remain on-course
while pursuing its market niche by establishing a strategic
business Plan.

11. Importance of the Mission Statement
• The mission Statement is important for the internal organization. It reflects
the company’s Culture. A company’s culture is a reflection of its core
beliefs, values, and History. Employees need to know where the
organization is now and where it Wants to be in the future.
• The mission statement positions the business Independently from the
competition. It helps to set the business apart from its competition by
communicating how The business is better, different, and more
professional.

12. •The mission of the operation will
•validate the caterer’s market position,
•Define competitors,
•identify what they can do, and how they do it

13. Stakeholders
• employees,
• suppliers,
• clients, guests,
• community,
• neighbors,
• competitors,
• government agencies,
• and others who have a direct relationship with the business.

14. Strategic Vision
• A strategic vision is future looking.
• It is important because it creates a longterm vision for the caterer.
• This strategy helps the caterer to envision where the business is
headed and what kind of demand will exert pressure on the
organization.
• A long-term vision will project growth over the next ten years.

15. SWOT Analysis
• A technique called SWOT analysis is a strategic management
tool caterers use to match their business strengths to market
opportunities.
• SWOT is an acronym that stands for identifying internal
strengths and weaknesses, and the external Opportunities and
threats.
• This excellent tool is used to empower the caterer to Interpret
an overall business position.

16. Strengths
• Strengths are identified as internal attributes, skills, characteristics, or
assets that a caterer possesses which provide an enviable position of
exceptional competitiveness in the market.
• A strength creates a tactical, defensible, competitive position for the
caterer to use as an offensive or defensive weapon.
• This position makes it difficult for other caterers to compete in the market.

17. STRENGTHS OF A CATERER
1. Quality food
2. Unique food
3. Excellence
4. Ambition
5. Passion
6. Personality
7. Human resources
8. Commitment to the process of continuous learning

18. Weaknesses
•Weaknesses are identified as those internal areas that can
limit a caterer’s ability to compete successfully in the
industry.
•The strengths listed previously in this chapter could be
viewed as weaknesses if a caterer, who does not possess
them, Competes against one who does.

19. A caterer can identify weakness AS
1. Those tasks they do not execute well
2. Those done deficiently as compared to other caterers in their
industry.
3. Weaknesses include
1. Lack of physical endurance;
2. lack of culinary, technical, or management skills; and
3. lack of specialized equipment or other tangible or intangible assets.

20. Other weaknesses that may prevent a caterer
from success include:
1. Labor difficulties
2. Last minute stock-outs on food items that are needed for the event
3. Insufficient operating capital and unreasonable lease agreements
4. Unrealistic general overhead such as mortgage or rent payments, utilities, equipment
payments, repairs, and maintenance
5. Insufficient knowledge in the areas of food production, air-conditioning, and refrigeration
repairs
6. Poor communication skills and lack of attention to details
7. Failure to solve problems and lack of accounting and financial skills; inability to be cost-
efficient and profitable

21. Opportunities
• Opportunities are identified as those external, controllable,
future catering events that best match the caterers’ competitive
strengths and which enable him or her to meet and exceed
guest expectations.
• Opportunities reveal themselves as potential, profitable-growth
zones.
• A caterer can identify those growth areas and pursue them as
part of their overall business plan.

22. opportunities for a caterer
1. Business location of the facilities
2. Potential economic growth
3. Physical layout of the facility to support catering functions
4. Adequate parking area clearly marked and lighted
5. Ownership of the professional food production equipment
6. Lack of competition
7. Ownership of the facility and equipment
8. Hours of operation and days of the week available to cater functions

23. Threats
1. Threats are identified as those external elements which can
cause a potential loss for a caterer.
2. Government regulation and increased changes in the interest
rates are uncontrollable threats confronting a caterer.

24. THREATS CONFRONTING A CATERER
1. Competition
2. Target market or communities
3. Is the client unhappy?
4. Future competition
5. Human resources
6. Inadequate equipment
7. Poor management structure
8. Staff does not care about customer needs.
9. Lack of a plan for sanitation—poor procedural follow up can cause a food borne
outbreak and hospitalize guests.

25. Summary
• To establish the right kind of catering, an accurate understanding of the
caterer’s Strengths and a precise customer profile based on the
identification of unmet needs, wants, and demands is required.
• To effectively communicate these strengths to the market, a mission
statement is created to define the caterer’s purpose.
• Strategically growing the business allows for the proper mix of financial
and personal activities correlated to its long-term success.
• One strategic management Tool used to match business strengths to
market opportunities is SWOT Analysis. SWOT is an acronym for
identifying internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities
and threats.

26. Thank you…..
Have a Great day ahead,…………..