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