Expanding your catering business isn’t just about getting more clients—it’s about building strong partnerships with restaurants that align with your services. Winning restaurant partners can increase catering orders, improve delivery efficiency, and help scale your business long-term.
But how do you attract the right restaurant partners? Here’s how to position your catering service as the ideal choice.
- Understand What Restaurants Are Looking For in a Catering Partner
Problem:
Many restaurants hesitate to offer catering because they lack the resources, staff, or logistics to scale.
How to Fix It:
- Position catering as a low-risk revenue stream—show how your service adds sales without extra operational strain.
- Address their pain points—emphasize how your logistics solution eliminates delivery challenges.
- Highlight growth potential—showcase how other restaurants have successfully expanded into catering with your partnership.
Example in Action:
A restaurant that partnered with a catering service saw a 25% increase in off-premise sales within the first six months.
- Offer Flexible Catering Models
Problem:
Some restaurants worry about committing to catering full-time due to staffing or operational concerns.
How to Fix It:
- Provide tiered catering options—restaurants can start with small-scale catering before expanding.
- Offer kitchen prep-only partnerships—some restaurants may want to cook but not handle logistics.
- Use a gradual onboarding process—allow restaurants to ease into catering without upfront risk.
Pro Tip: Restaurants that start small with catering partnerships are more likely to scale up once they see demand.
- Showcase Strong Delivery & Logistics Support
Problem:
Many restaurants hesitate to enter catering because they don’t want to manage deliveries.
How to Fix It:
- Partner with a reliable catering delivery service to eliminate their logistics worries.
- Offer temperature-controlled transport to maintain food quality.
- Provide real-time tracking so restaurants and customers can monitor deliveries.
How Weknock Helps:
- Handles all delivery logistics, so restaurants only focus on food preparation.
- Ensures professional catering-trained drivers for a seamless customer experience.
- Provides real-time order tracking to reduce order-related concerns.
Example in Action:
A restaurant that switched to a dedicated catering delivery service reduced missed or delayed orders by 40%.
- Use Case Studies & Social Proof to Build Credibility
Problem:
Restaurants are hesitant to commit without seeing proof of success.
How to Fix It:
- Showcase testimonials from existing restaurant partners.
- Share before-and-after case studies on how your service improved catering sales.
- Offer trial partnerships to let restaurants experience catering without a long-term commitment.
Pro Tip: Restaurants are 60% more likely to partner with a catering provider that offers real-world success stories and case studies.
- Network & Leverage Industry Events
Problem:
Many restaurant owners are not actively seeking catering partnerships, so you need to meet them where they are.
How to Fix It:
- Attend restaurant industry events to connect with potential partners.
- Host catering tastings for local restaurants to introduce them to your service.
- Engage in online restaurant owner communities to position your service as a valuable resource.
Example in Action:
A catering provider that networked at industry events and trade shows gained six new restaurant partners in a single quarter.
Final Thoughts: Building Profitable Restaurant Partnerships
Attracting new restaurant partners requires understanding their challenges, offering flexible solutions, and proving the value of catering as an additional revenue stream. By showcasing strong logistics support, success stories, and easy onboarding, you can help more restaurants tap into catering—without extra burden.
Want to attract restaurant partners with seamless catering logistics? Let’s talk about how Weknock can help.
