Catering businesses are always looking to entice customers and convince them to part with their cash, and new entrepreneurs are looking to get into the catering business to make their customers happy while turning a profit. Both need an offer which is attractive, simple to produce and that is as profitable as possible.
We believe the answer to both these groupsโ problems is: Pizza.
Why Pizza?
In this blog Iโm going to outline the five reasons I think opening a pizza business is a great idea for anyone in catering who likes happy customers and turning a healthy profit.
Itโs highly profitable
Pizza is becoming more and more popular in the UK for caterers – and I think a big part of that is its profitability.
Itโs so profitable because of the nature of the foodstuff – you can create a massive menu with very few ingredients. You can keep a stock of basic ingredients and make every popular pizza conceivable – and as you donโt have to pre-cook them, you can hold this stock for longer, giving you less chance of wasting them.
Also, many of the ingredients have a long shelf life, such as pepperoni, which can live in the fridge for months before opening and up to a month after.
As you create each pizza fresh to order, this further reduces wastage, as you arenโt batch cooking and then hoping you sell before the food reaches its use by date.
The kit setup is simple
If you are new business the kit burden you need to get started isnโt very onerous. You can be up and running with a fridge, a dough mixer, a dough roller and a pizza oven. These can be hired (for instance from U-Select) for a weekly rental or bought second hand, allowing you to get up and running quickly, easily and relatively cheaply.
For businesses that are already running, it’s even easier, as often they will have refrigeration, so thereโs even less to procure and find room for. Not only will this setup allow you to produce all the pizzas you need, it will also reduce the labour needed to produce each pizza, reducing the time you take making each pizza, increasing your profitability.
You donโt need much room
With that amount of kit, you donโt need much room! This means you only need a small space and some good ventilation to add a pizza offer or to start a new concern. If you are getting into takeaway you need a tiny space really and you can make a successful business. In an existing business, the kit can easily slip into your setup and some restaurants even create a small pizza section to take care of grab and go customers, boosting profitability.
Pizza is darned quick to make – which helps you turn a profit
It takes 60-90 seconds to put together a pizza if you have your dough balls pre-prepared, and then a further 3-5 minutes to cook them. If you produce for the takeaway or the grab and go market – especially at lunchtimes in urban centres – you can make a killing.
For restaurants, a pizza oven can also help to add to the theatre of your dining experience. This gives customers more value, but ALSO gets them in and out more quickly than many made-to-order meals – boosting your table turnover and increasing your potential earnings.
With the right kit, no staff training is needed
If you use a conveyor oven for your pizza production, where the cook time is set and results are remarkably consistent, you can easily use untrained staff to run it. In a restaurant you can give them that section, if you are a takeaway you can concentrate on serving customers, safe in the knowledge the machinery you have in your kitchen means your customers will get a consistent, high quality product no matter when they come in.
Conclusion
If you are considering opening a pizza restaurant or adding a pizza offer to your existing business, I can give you five key things to convince you it is a good idea:
Itโs profitable
The kit setup is simple
You donโt need much room
Pizza is really quick to make, increasing your profit
With the right kit, no training is needed
If you set up right, thereโs no reason running your own pizza restaurant shouldnโt be a successful, profitable and straightforward business for you.