The Catering Feed: The Catering Growth Podcast

ezCater
  • 5.0 (36)
  • BUSINESS

At ezCater, we want to help restaurants grow a successful catering business. Whether you're in the early stages of building a business or an industry veteran, let us help you dip into the $61.5 billion catering market. In each episode of "The Catering Feed," we talk to restaurant industry leaders of thriving brands who share insights and tactics to ramp up your catering business.

  1. 03/03/2020

    How to Ride the Wave of Big Data Trends in the Restaurant Industry [Podcast]

    In this podcast episode, Tom Kaiser, editor and podcast host of Food on Demand and a senior editor at Franchise Times, discusses how to navigate big data trends and focus your strategic goals. Tune in to hear how to expand your catering business and use customer data to improve your marketing. Episode Takeaways: Data allows you to stay competitive. Collecting and translating data can help you develop targeted marketing messages and differentiate yourself from the competition.Set simple goals. Choose one or two strategic marketing opportunities by focusing on the data that matters to your brand.Consider outsourcing. Many new vendors offer specialized marketing and analytics services for restaurant operators. Outsourcing lets you to focus on the customer experience and delivering incredible food.Build partnerships to expand your business. Whenever you work with a new third-party ordering or delivery service there's a chance to expand your customer base.

    20 min

  2. 02/18/2020

    How to Maintain Your Brand As You Scale Your Catering Business

    The Catering Feed: The Catering Growth Podcast

    21 min

  3. 02/04/2020

    How to Enhance Your Customer's Experience Through Packaging

    The Catering Feed: The Catering Growth Podcast

    15 min

  4. 01/21/2020

    How to Replicate Your Restaurant Experience for Catering Guests

    In this podcast episode, Allison Casey, the Director of Catering for Luke's Lobster, discusses how she expanded catering operations by focusing on the guest experience. Allison shares how a few tweaks to catering packaging, staffing, and loyalty programs can better align your catering business with your restaurant experience and generate major ROI. Episode Takeaways Create brand awareness through catering packaging. Put your logo front and center so guests know who prepared their meal.Train your staff to treat catering customers like restaurant guests. Empower everyone on your team to represent your brand to improve the customer experience. This includes your sales people and your delivery drivers.Use catering deliveries as marketing opportunities. Bring print collateral and coupons to highlight new menu items or promotions.Reward loyal catering customers. Design a catering customer program that rewards order frequency. That way guests will think of you for their next big catering order.

    15 min

  5. 01/07/2020

    Recruiting and Retaining Catering Staff without Sacrificing Your P&L

    In this podcast episode, Grub Burger’s Angela Saunders, Director of Talent Management, and Jim Saunders, Chief Operating Officer, share how talent management and operations go hand in hand. Angela and Jim discuss how to find the perfect team members to stay competitive as your catering business grows. Tune in to discover how investing in labor can transform your catering brand. Episode Takeaways Train hiring managers to look for personal qualities your brand values, like confidence and friendliness, in addition to experience.Staff for the business you want. Don't make cuts in labor before looking for other ways to improve efficiency.Embrace flexibility in staffing. If you're only hiring managers who can work 50 hours a week, you might be missing out on incredible new hires.Create a strong operations and talent management strategy. Without a strategy in place, off-premises sales can actually hurt your brand.

    20 min

  6. 12/17/2019

    Creating and Supporting Your Digital Footprint for Catering

    You already deliver incredible customer service within the four walls of your restaurant. But how do you translate that guest experience to your off-premise sales? The key is to create a digital footprint by using technology and developing your online presence. But, to expand your digital footprint, you need the right operations plan in place. In this podcast episode, Kevin Rychel, the Vice President of Operations for Fuzzy's Tacos, explains that investing in your digital footprint — and the operations to support it — helps attract repeat customers. He discusses how to generate buy-in from stakeholders when launching new technologies, how to support your franchisees as they modernize, and how operations can support your off-premises growth. Episode Takeaways: Apply your existing operational strengths to catering sales. Following up with customers and going above and beyond works every time.Win repeat business with an easy-to-use website, lower lead times, and a great off-site experience.Embrace the power of data. Capture specific customer information to drive sales and conduct more accurate research.Find the right tools and data to increase your digital footprint and support your staff.Kevin Rychel is the Vice President of Operations for Fuzzy's Tacos, where he supports franchisees as they roll out new digital offerings in the catering space. He has more than 20 years of experience in restaurant operations, including roles with Taco Bell and Chili's. For more expert advice on growing your catering business, sign up for CaterUp 2020.

    12 min

  7. 12/03/2019

    How to Design a Catering Menu That Maximizes Profit: A Podcast with James Clark

    How you build your catering menu impacts your guests' entire experience. From the moment they place their order through delivery. So prioritizing the guest experience as you create, test, and promote your menu can keep guests coming back. In this podcast episode, James Clark, Director of Food and Beverage at Murphy Adams Restaurant Group, discusses how to choose and package your menu for catering success and profit. Tune in to learn how the right menu can help you make a great first impression and drive repeat business. Episode Takeaways: - Catering is a marketing opportunity as well as a revenue stream. Easily recognizable, approachable menu items in excellent packaging say a lot for your brand. - Ease of ordering and catering packages that travel well help you stand out both to the customers ordering and those enjoying the order. - Be flexible and clear about how you design menu items for dietary restrictions. Gluten-free and plant-based diets aren't just fads. Menus that consider dietary needs build brand loyalty. - Negotiate with your distributors. Your mark-up could be as high as 20 percent. Don't be afraid to ask about margins and discounts for your brand. James Clark is Director of Food and Beverage at Murphy Adams Restaurant Group, where he oversees culinary innovation, product selection, purchasing, and distribution. A veteran in both fine and fast casual dining, James has more than 25 years of experience in menu building and operations. For more advice from experts like James, check out Cater Up 2020. Register here.

    19 min

  8. 11/19/2019

    Optimize Your Off-Premises Sales with a Ghost Kitchen: Tips from Corey Manicone

    How do you grow your catering business if your brick-and-mortar restaurant isn't designed for delivery? In this podcast episode, Corey Manicone, Founder and CEO of Zuul, reveals how "ghost kitchens" help restaurant brands streamline their catering and delivery services. Listen to learn how a ghost kitchen could help you expand your business by providing custom space and specialized labor for delivery. Episode Takeaways: - Restaurant kitchens aren't always designed to support off-premises dining or delivery logistics. - A well-staffed ghost kitchen helps your brand organize, manage, and optimize labor and logistics for off-premises sales, while minimizing the risks associated with expansion. - Ghost kitchens allow restaurants to focus on what they do best — provide customers with great food and incredible experiences.

    19 min
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At ezCater, we want to help restaurants grow a successful catering business. Whether you're in the early stages of building a business or an industry veteran, let us help you dip into the $61.5 billion catering market. In each episode of "The Catering Feed," we talk to restaurant industry leaders of thriving brands who share insights and tactics to ramp up your catering business.

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