Catering consulting - what exactly is it? By entering the industry, you can be a cake or pizza expert. However, you probably do not know all the legal tricks, the rules governing client psychology or the arcane of pricing policy. What if you took expert advice?
What is gastronomic consulting? Good question! Before you pay someone for a consultation, you need to arrange it with them. Because gastronomic consulting may concern:
- menu, recipes and ingredients,
- prices, promotion and competition,
- strategy,
- marketing,
- social-media campaigns,
- decor,
- service and its training,
- public relations,
- regulations and taxes,
- process optimization
- and many other aspects.
Do you know how to distinguish your business in the HoReCa industry?
We can help you. We have been successfully running our own for years.
In Commplace you can take advantage of support in the field of branding, marketing or sales strategy. We have gained our experience also thanks to the management of our own facility - Dwór Korona Karkonoszy. We are the only PR agency in Poland with our own Training and Catering Center. With its own brand of coffee and craft beer. We share the backstage of running this business on our blog. You can read there, among others what it looks like photo cross marketing session and what it is product and culinary photography, and how photographing food influences a brand's communication strategy.
Is it worth using gastronomic consulting?
Starting a restaurant is a lot of nerve and stress. Imagine that someone who has been through this before can guide you over the reefs in a stormy sea of gastronomy. This does not only work at the beginning. If you are losing momentum and running out of ideas, or clients are starting to walk away, it's always a good idea to seek advice from a person or team of advisers with more experience.
At this point, the question sometimes arises whether gastronomic advice makes sense if another restaurateur wants to keep his secrets? Of course, if you seek advice from direct competitors, you are taking a lot of risk. However, the person who offers gastronomic consulting services has a goal of making you successful.
The best proof may be that the most famous Polish restaurateurs themselves often use gastronomic advice from more famous colleagues from abroad. Anyway, there is nothing to prevent you from buying such consultations with someone from another country. Just remember that he will not advise you in areas related to the local market or customer habits, because he simply does not know them.
Catering consulting as an element of effective marketing
Most people are unaware that gastronomic consulting is also an effective element of a marketing strategy. A clear example is the recommendation of famous chefs after the restaurant changed according to their idea in a TV show. How many people will come to such a place just because they will be curious about what the expert has brought.
Another example is a beer blogger who, after years in the industry, advises young people who want to open a brewery. He posts a video with a report from the brewery or with his insights, and thus builds his position as an expert. Thanks to this, they can appear in the minds of tens of thousands of channel viewers interested in beer. When an expert advises you on how to change the decor or logo, treat it as ready-made content for your website. Brainstorming over cards full of ideas is a very grateful material for a company profile. If you are curious about how this is food marketing looks in practice, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with case-studies from our side.
How to choose gastronomic consulting?
At first glance, it can be difficult to define the very concept of gastronomic counseling. Sanitary regulations, culinary arts and interior design are so different fields, and this is just the beginning of the list of what a restaurateur must take care of. Therefore, first of all, you need someone who knows this business from the practical side and has gone through all its stages himself. It doesn't necessarily have to be a loud, expressive name. In his case, you pay largely for your own brand, and famous restaurateurs also have better and worse ideas. Rather, focus on yourself who you trust and who have actually operated successfully in a segment similar to yours.
If you have time, there are several people you can ask for advice. First, instead of clinging to the word of one fallible man, you get a broader perspective. In addition, you can then get valuable advice from an expert in your industry - a famous confectioner will tell you how to compose cakes, but a former Sanepid inspector will already speak about sanitary law.
Finally, there is a question about costs. Here we can surprise you again. Unless you opt for a celebrity culinary service, advice doesn't have to be expensive. Experts and authorities can often be met at workshops and lunches, and even ask questions during a live or broadcast on YouTube. Many offer counseling sessions on Skype. After an hour of such gastronomic consulting, with just a few hundred zlotys less, you can be richer with experience, thanks to which you will be successful.
What kind of advisers should I avoid?
First of all - the aforementioned advisers from distant countries. Their advice may be great, but you can never rely on them blindly. Some cultural differences are insurmountable. For example, if your customers do not accept aggressive US marketing tactics or are not used to drinking wine with a lazy breakfast like the Spanish, then you can only waste your time and money trying to talk them into it. When choosing an advisor, always check his references. If they can't boast of more than 1-2 recommendations, or they don't inspire your trust, then rather look for someone more proven. You can also always visit one of the venues that have benefited from the help of an expert. You will judge for yourself whether the advice was really right.