🍱 Catering service business — investment, profit & project report
Plan a wedding + corporate catering business: commercial kitchen lease, service equipment, transport, events/month, pax per event, food cost %, break-even and 5-year profit. Currency-aware (₹/$/€/£/¥). Includes downloadable project report in Word & PDF for bank loan applications.
📸Gallery
📋Eligibility — by region
🇮🇳India
- FSSAI Catering licence (Central or State depending on turnover), GST, Shop & Establishment Act, mandatory designated Food Safety officer for events > 100 pax.
- Liquor licence (state excise) for wedding bar service; police entertainment licence if live music / DJ.
🇺🇸USA
- State catering licence + commissary requirement (cannot legally cook from a home kitchen); ServSafe Manager certification mandatory.
- Local health-dept catering permit; mobile-food vehicle inspection if transport branded vans.
🇬🇧UK
- FSA Mobile Caterer / Hot Food Trader registration with local council (28 days before); EHO inspection of commissary kitchen.
🇪🇺EU
- EU 852/2004 hygiene regulation + country-specific mobile-food / event-catering licence; HACCP plan mandatory.
🌏Australia / Canada / others
- AU: State Food Act + Council mobile-food/event-catering registration. CA: Provincial commercial food-premises permit + event-catering endorsement.
🏗️Setup requirements (capex breakdown)
Edit any value to match your local prices — totals update live and flow into the calculator below.
| Item | Specification | Cost (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial kitchen lease + setup | Gas + chimney + steamer + deposit | |
| Service equipment | Chafing dishes + serving spoons + linen + uniforms | |
| Transport | Used van or contract rental | |
| Refrigeration + holding | Cold room + freezer + insulated holding | |
| Branding + marketing | Portfolio shoots + website + wedding-show stalls | |
| Working capital | First 2 months raw-mat + advance payroll | |
| Total capex | ₹11,50,000 | |
| Year | Revenue | Cost | Profit | Cumulative |
|---|
⚠️Risks & mitigation
- Client cancellation: Mandate 30% non-refundable advance at booking, 50% T-15 days. Wedding cancellations within 7 days cost full food cost — get the contract clause in writing.
- Vendor no-shows: Maintain 2 backup vendors per category (vegetables, paneer, ice). Lock cooks 10 days in advance with token payments.
- Wedding-season concentration (Nov–Feb 70% revenue): Push corporate lunch boxes + tiffin contracts for May–Oct to smooth the curve.
- Food-poisoning incident liability: Public liability insurance is essential (₹15-25k/year for ₹50L cover). One bad event ends the business without it.
💰Funding & support programs
🇮🇳India
- PMFME: 35% subsidy up to ₹10L for catering & food-services micro-units.
- MUDRA Tarun: ₹5L–₹10L collateral-free term loan.
- Stand-Up India + MoFPI wedding-event SME schemes for women / SC/ST caterers.
🇺🇸USA
- SBA 7(a): up to $5M for catering build-out; USDA RBDG for catering in towns < 50k pop.
🇬🇧UK
- Start Up Loans + Innovate UK Food Manufacturing Fund for SME catering.
🇪🇺EU
- CAP Pillar II / LEADER: rural-tourism catering grants 40–75%.
🌏Australia / Canada
- AU: Restaurant & Catering Australia training + grants. CA: BDC Small Business Loan up to CA$100k.
📄Generate project report (Word + PDF)
Fill in your details — defaults are pre-populated. Click Print as PDF for a browser-printable PDF or Download Word for an editable .docx file usable in bank loan applications.
❓FAQ
What's a realistic food cost % for catering?
Wedding catering: 35–42%. Corporate boxed lunches: 30–38%. Above 45% means you've underpriced (or your menu is too premium for the per-pax rate).
Can I cook from a home kitchen?
In India, FSSAI allows home-based caterers under State Basic licence up to ₹12L turnover. In the US and UK, a commissary / commercial kitchen is legally mandatory — no home cooking.
How much advance should I demand?
Industry standard: 30% at booking (non-refundable) + 50% at T-15 days + 20% on event day. Anything less and a cancellation will eat your raw-material cost.
Do I need my own van?
Not in year 1 — rental at ₹2k–4k/event keeps capex low. Buy a used van (₹2-4L) when you cross 8 events/month, where rental costs more than EMI.
What's the biggest first-year mistake?
Underquoting to win the first 3 weddings. A ₹400/pax quote that should have been ₹500/pax means you'll lose ₹15k per event on staff overruns. Always quote with a 10% contingency line.