HOW TO START OUTSIDE CATERING BUSINESS IN KENYA

HOW TO START OUTSIDE CATERING BUSINESS IN KENYA

Are you looking for a good business idea in Kenya? Are you considering starting a catering business in Kenya? Are you asking how you can start a catering business in Kenya? Here is a good business idea for you today. Consider starting your own catering business in Kenya and you can start your journey towards the millionaires club.

With many people organizing events such as weddings, funerals, birthdays, baby showers, graduation parties, church events, political meetings and others, starting a catering business targeting these occasions can be lucrative if you have a good network.

Catering business can be outside or indoors and is more like a hotel/fast food business but the service is mostly marketed to a particular group such as an event, a company or organization. One can also do both outside and inside catering at the same time.

Licensing Requirements to Start a Catering Business in Kenya

You will need a business permit and a health certificate from the health ministry at about Ksh.15,000 – Ksh.25,000 and about Ksh.3,000 respectively. When planning and budgeting for this business, please visit the county government offices to confirm actual costs depending on the size of your business.

Location

A well-marketed catering business may not need a very strategic location. This is a business that is not carried out in one place therefore, as long as you can get a room that can accommodate your kitchen equipment and a few members of staff, it can be located either in a residential area near where you live or even in your own house.

Rooms in town will cost you monthly rents of about Ksh.50,000 – Ksh.100,000 or even more depending on location and floor size. In residential areas rooms are much cheaper and if you operate from your house, no extra costs will be incurred, though you may not have enough space.

Equipment

The items needed for this business are quite similar to those needed for a restaurant or hotel. In summary, you will need a fryer which may cost you between ksh.30,000 and – Ksh.36,000, jiko Ksh.5,000-Ksh.10,000, gas/electric cooker Ksh.20,000-Ksh.45,000.

Others such as utensils, cutlery, washing basins and containers will depend on the type of food you serve. You can budget about Ksh.50,000 for these. A fridge may also be handy. These equipment are available at Ramtons or kitchen appliance shops on Mombasa Road or others in town.

Staff

Your members of staff will comprise of chefs, waiters and waitresses, messengers, cleaners, supervisors etc. There are a number of good and experienced staff out there and salaries will range from Ksh.12,000 for waiters and waitresses all the way to about Ksh.90,000 for managers. This will depend on the size of your business and scale of operations.

Stocks

In this business, you will have an advantage if you buy the food stuff in bulk. For vegetables visit Marikiti twice a week where you may spend Ksh.20,000-Ksh.50,000 depending on size of your business.

If you are outside Nairobi, you can identify a major wholesale market near you. For cereals such as rice, you can get from Nyamakima area in Nairobi or other large scale wholesale shops or even engage someone who can buy directly from Mwea.

Unga, salt, sugar, oils, vinegars and the rest can be bought from wholesale shops or supermarkets. You can visit Dandora for beef where you can get 50.Kg – 100 kgs every two days.

Sales

Depending on whether you are serving a company or an open event like a funeral, wedding etc, you may decide to charge a flat fee ranging from Ksh.150,000 to as much as Ksh.300,000 for your catering services. This will highly depend on the number of people expected or budgeted for during the occasion.

For some companies, the staff may just buy food directly from you or the company may deduct the cost of food from their monthly salaries and pay you. This will depend on your contract or negotiation with the company. For other events, you will negotiate with the organizers.

How much can You Earn from a Catering Business?

Profit from this business will be higher if you market it well and use networks to get clients. Monthly net profit ranges from about Ksh350,000 – ksh400,000 or above for some medium catering businesses in Nairobi.

Challenges

Serving customers can be quite complicated since attitude varies. This is a challenge you will face in catering business. Small mistakes like giving wrong change or bad pricing can be very costly to the business.

Transportation can also be a challenge when delivering the food. It is very important to make prior arrangements with a transporter to avoid disappointment. You wouldn‘t want the time to deliver food to find when there is no transport.

List Of Best Catering Companies In Kenya

This is a list of best catering companies in Kenya. These are professional companies that are in the business of providing food service and preparation of mouth-watering cuisines for occasions such as birthday parties, corporate meetings, weddings, church events, graduation parties, cocktail parties, funerals, canapes and private parties.

In no particular order, here is a list of best catering companies in Kenya.

1. Lime Catering

It is a fully mobile catering company that offers outside catering services, home catering, cocktail parties, executive lunches, breakfast meetings and specialised catering services in corporate functions/events.

Contacts: +254 722 393 158/ +254 708 084 951

Email: limecateringkenya@gmail.com

2. Kates Caterers

It is a catering company that specialises in serving mouth-watering cuisines for occasions such as birthday parties, corporate meetings, weddings and church events.

Contacts: +254 738 860 198/ +254 719 534 688

Email: sales@katescaterers.co.ke

3. Divine Caterers

It offers catering services in cocktail events, launches, team building functions, daily office packages, groundbreaking ceremonies, staff parties, board meetings and social functions.

Contacts: +254 723 501 214

Email: info@divinecaterers.co.ke

4. Paramount Caterers

The company boasts of having over 40 years of experience in event catering, private events, social functions and office catering.

Contacts: +254 713 333 335

Email: info@paramountcaterers.co.ke

5. Unique Concepts Limited

The company specialises in catering for corporate lunches, events, weddings, platters, contract catering and private functions.

Contacts: +254 722 834 774/ +254 732 714 722

Email: info@uniqueconcepts.com

6. Benjoes Grill Caterers

It offers exclusive catering services in church functions, farewell parties, pre-weddings, office deliveries, barbecue catering, graduation party catering, cocktail events, birthday parties and weddings.

Contacts: 0702 616 612/ 0712 793 476

Email: info@benjoesgrill.com

7. Olive Kitchen

It specialises in outside catering services in Nairobi for corporate events, weddings, parties, private events and drop-offs.

Contacts: +254 731 501 501

Email: chef@olivekitchen.co.ke

8. Milimani Backpackers

It offers a wide range of outside catering services for all kinds of functions. It also offers event management services and pocket-friendly prices.

Contacts: +254 722 347 616

Email: info@milimanibackpackers.com

9. Bestcare Services

The company offers high end, delicious and affordable outside catering services in Nairobi and surrounding areas.

Contacts: +254 725 548 383/ +254 722 566 999

Email: info@bestcareservices.co.ke

10. Venus Caterers

They offer catering services all over Kenya, for wedding receptions, birthday parties, corporate functions, funerals, engagement parties, institutional launches and cocktail events.

Contacts: +254 711 357 989/ +254 763 357 989

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