Stop being a chef who runs a business.
Start running a business that produces food.
We work with food production and catering companies doing $500K-$8M in annual revenue. Our 12-month engagement builds kitchen capacity discipline, balances B2B/B2C revenue, captures HACCP and ServSafe compliance, and gets you to 22%+ net margins - so the business produces wealth, not just food.
9 patterns we see in >70% of food production & catering companies
Kitchen capacity is the invisible ceiling on revenue
Root cause: No production capacity tracking. Owner accepts orders that physically can't fit in kitchen on event day. Burnout or quality drops.
What we do: Production capacity calendar in Square for Catering or BlueCart. Daily/weekly kitchen hours tracked. Hard caps on bookings. Premium pricing on peak days. 15-20% revenue lift through better mix.
HACCP and ServSafe compliance gaps
Root cause: Documentation lives in chef's head. ServSafe certifications expired for some staff. HACCP plan written 4 years ago and never updated.
What we do: Quarterly compliance audit: HACCP plan refresh, ServSafe certification tracking for all staff, temperature log discipline, allergen labeling protocols. (Note: we don't replace your food safety attorney/consultant - we coordinate with them.)
B2B and B2C cannibalize each other in same kitchen
Root cause: Same kitchen serves retail orders, corporate catering, and wedding events. Workflow chaos. Quality inconsistency.
What we do: Operational separation: defined B2B vs B2C production windows, separate staffing tracks, separate pricing strategies. Target 60/40 B2B/B2C mix within 18 months.
Catering margins compressed to 15% (target: 30-40%)
Root cause: Pricing based on cost-plus, not value-based. Delivery, setup, staffing absorbed into food price.
What we do: Pricing rebuild: food cost target 28%, labor 22%, delivery/setup/service as separate line items. Average margin recovery: 8-15 points.
Food cost above 35% (target: 28-32%)
Root cause: No daily food cost tracking. Vendor prices creeping. Spoilage between purchase and production hidden.
What we do: Daily food cost tracking. Weekly vendor pricing review. FIFO discipline. Designated kitchen manager for inventory. Annual vendor RFP. Drop waste to 2-3%.
No corporate catering pipeline beyond word-of-mouth
Root cause: 100% reliance on inbound inquiries. Owner-chef does sales reactively.
What we do: B2B sales motion: LinkedIn outreach to office managers, weekly corporate lunch programs, partnerships with property managers. Target 8-15 active corporate accounts within 12 months.
Kitchen staff turnover at 80%+ annually
Root cause: Below-market wages, no growth path, peak season burnout.
What we do: Hybrid compensation: hourly + production bonus + quarterly margin-share. Defined path: prep cook → line cook → sous chef → kitchen manager. Cross-training mandatory.
Co-packing or wholesale opportunity ignored
Root cause: Strong product (sauce, baked goods, sides) but never packaged for wholesale or retail distribution.
What we do: Wholesale feasibility audit. If viable, co-packing partnership identified, retail-ready packaging developed, 5-10 regional accounts piloted. Recurring B2B revenue stream.
No CRM, customer database is in invoicing software
Root cause: Square or Toast used for transactions only. No marketing-driven repeat business engine.
What we do: CRM deployment (Square for Catering, BlueCart, or HoneyBook for events). Email list capture at every order. Quarterly comeback campaigns. Loyalty program for corporate accounts.
The numbers we hit
| KPI | Market avg | Plan B target | After 12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net profit margin | 8-14% | 22-28% | 18-26% |
| Food cost percentage | 35-42% | 28-32% | 29-33% |
| % revenue from B2B (corporate, wholesale, recurring) | 20-30% | 55-65% | 40-60% |
| Kitchen capacity utilization (peak vs off-peak) | 40/85% | 70/95% | 60/90% |
| Corporate account retention (annual) | 55-65% | 85%+ | 75-85% |
| Owner-chef weekly hours | 60-70 | <45 | 40-50 |
| Kitchen staff turnover (annual) | 80-100% | <35% | 30-50% |
What working with us looks like
- 01
Month 1: Production + financial audit
We pull 18 months of catering P&Ls. Every event's quote-to-actual margin, kitchen capacity analysis, vendor pricing, HACCP compliance gaps. We identify the 1-2 highest-leverage actions for your specific operation.
- 02
Months 2-3: Capacity + pricing discipline
Production capacity calendar deployed. Daily food cost tracking live. Pricing rebuilt with separate line items for delivery/setup/service. Margin dashboards visible weekly. HACCP plan refreshed.
- 03
Months 4-6: B2B pipeline + kitchen systems
Corporate sales motion launches. LinkedIn outreach cadence operational. Weekly lunch programs piloted with 3-5 corporate accounts. Kitchen staff compensation restructured. SOPs documented.
- 04
Months 7-12: Scale + freedom
B2B/B2C mix at 55-60% B2B. Kitchen runs on SOPs, not chef-owner heroics. Wholesale or co-packing opportunity scoped (if viable). Owner-chef hours drop. We shift to quarterly cadence.
Common questions from food production & catering companies owners
What size food business is this for?−
Catering, food production, ghost kitchens, or all of the above?+
Square for Catering vs BlueCart vs Toast - which do you recommend?+
We're food trucks. Same advice?+
HACCP plan is overdue. Can you help?+
What about co-packing - can we really get into retail?+
Will you help with hiring sous chefs and kitchen managers?+
Who does the work?+
What's your fee structure?+
Stop being a chef who runs a business. Run a business that produces food.
30-minute strategy call. We'll diagnose your top 2 levers and tell you if we're a fit. No pitch. No pressure.