Catering businesses tend to bring in the majority of their revenue during the spring and summer months.  These times are flush with events that require your services.  Graduations, barbeques and weddings typically happen during the warmer months and represent big business for catering companies.  The cooler months can bring about more of a challenge to maintain steady business.  Coming up with creative promotions geared towards autumn, winter and holiday themes are a great way to keep the money streaming in.  Here we’ve outlined several occasions that you can gear your marketing efforts towards.

Halloween

Developing a Halloween themed catering menu can be a great way to draw in business in the autumn months.  This can include traditional candies incorporated into new dessert items.  Simply renaming some of your common menu items to fit the Halloween spirit can be a great add to your marketing.  Serving food out of pumpkins and trays decked out with holiday décor can add a real uniqueness to your guests catering experience.  Halloween is in large part for the kids and the young at heart so it is important that you make things fun.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time for family and quite often the first significant amount of time off during the year for workers and students.  Many times family members don’t want to put the time in to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  As the owner of a catering business this is good news.  You’ll want to be sure that you get any kind of Thanksgiving orders well in advance as some of the traditional menu items can become scarce leading up to the holiday.  Your marketing efforts should be focused towards past and current clients as well as busy professionals.  Be sure to offer all of the traditional dishes as well as some unique items of your own that will make your menu unforgettable.

Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanza

During the winter holidays people can become extremely busy with shopping, travel plans and organizing family events.  This is prime time to step in and offer your services.  Another gold mine for the catering business is office Christmas or Holiday parties.  Start distributing flyers and emails to local businesses as soon as possible.  These parties can be extremely profitable and some of the bigger companies may prove to be extremely good customers if your dishes give off a good impression.  These parties can be a gateway for steady business year round.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve should be one of the biggest events circled on your marketing calendar.  These parties tend to be extravagant and pricey items such as champagne can make profits go through the roof.  As with any holiday you’ll want to ramp up your marketing efforts for New Years Eve early.  This should include targeting current customers with party ideas and even blogging about how holiday parties can be great team building exercises for local companies.

Winter Commencement

Although most graduation parties take place in late spring and early summer, colleges and universities also hold a winter commencement.  This can be a great source of income for your catering business and a niche market that many do not focus on. 

College Bowl Games / Super Bowl

From the middle of December through the first week of January is college football bowl season.  These events have become an American tradition and fans hold parties to watch the games every year.  This is an excellent opportunity for caterers.  Not only does the private market offer great revenue potential, it’s also a great idea to focus on the bar industry.  May fans hit the bars to watch the games, especially during the playoffs.  Many bars offer a very limited menu so doing some networking and making connections with local bar owners could bring in a consistent revenue stream.  The Super Bowl of course is one of the biggest sporting events in the world.  Traditional items such as buffalo wings, nachos and other appetizers should be the focus of your football menu.

Staying Funded

Inventory during the winter months can differ significantly from the rest of the year.  With seasonal items becoming available you’ll want to make sure you have the necessary cash flow to keep the shelves stocked.  Whether you’re looking to run a holiday marketing campaign or just keep up with bills during the slow months, Quikstone Capital Solutions can provide you with the cash need to keep business running smoothly.