Holiday Catering Can Boost Food Truck Sales During Slow Season

Most food truck vendors expect a slowdown in sales in business during December. This is due to consumers spending time with family and friends or heading out to holiday parties. Since most businesses will have an end of year party for their employees, incorporating holiday catering to your food truck can add a serious boost to your bottom line.

By offering holiday catering you can see an increase in catering sales during the holiday season compared to the rest of the year. This is a great way to cover for any slowdowns in on street sales.

Holiday Catering Can Boost Food Truck Sales

Whether your food truck business is just starting up with catering for the holidays or you could use a little help during your slow season, here are some tips to get the most out of offering holiday catering.

Keep Your Catering Menu Concise

Your holiday catering menu shouldn’t be a duplicate of your day to day food truck menu. With that said, offering too many choices can be overwhelming. Base your catering menu to your best sellers, what travels well, and what can be prepared off-site.

Provide Options For Dietary Restrictions

The larger the group, the more likely there is someone who is a vegan, vegetarian or requires a gluten-free offerings. Many HR managers choose their caterer based on whether everyone in their group can be served. That’s why it’s important to stress these options and highlight them on your holiday catering menu.

Don’t Forget Presentation

Just because you’re offering your menu items in bulk doesn’t mean it should look any less appealing than it does when you serve it from your truck. People eat with their eyes first, and a beautiful presentation is sure to be remembered. This can lead to more catering business the rest of the year.

Offer Service Options

Customers appreciate the ability to choose between a buffet or a sit-down meal. Make sure you have the equipment and the staff necessary to offer both, and make sure to market the choice to potential clients.

Build Your Network

Catering a holiday party can be extremely stressful. Don’t forget to leave the kitchen to come out between servings to talk to guests. This gives them the ability to put a face and name to the service, as well as distributing business cards. This small act can mean the difference between a satisfied diner and creating a potential future client.

Ask For Reviews

Did you provide amazing experience for your customer? If you did, make sure they share it with the world. Ask happy clients to provide a review on your Yelp page, Facebook page, or Google business page. People make decisions based on the opinions of others.

Flexibility Is A Must (Kinda)

Our biggest holiday catering tip of all is to be flexible, but not too flexible. While you can’t be all things to all people in terms of the type of food you serve you can be flexible. If you are a BBQ truck, don’t serve Thai food just because a potential client thinks it’s a good idea. Work with your potential customers on dates, times, and bend where you can to make their holiday event as seamless as possible.

The Bottom Line

With the holiday season quickly approaching, preparations are already underway for office parties and family gatherings. Make your food truck the centerpiece of this year’s celebrations by offering holiday catering services. From an increase in sales to greater awareness within the local community, catering just a few events could quickly turn the holiday season into the most wonderful time of the year for your food truck.

Do you have any additional holiday catering tips? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section or social media. Facebook | Twitter