_{At ezCater, we want to help restaurants grow a successful catering business. Whether you’re in the early stages of building a business or an industry veteran, let us help you dip into the $64.8 billion catering market. In each episode of “The Catering Feed,” we talk to restaurant industry leaders of thriving brands who share insights and tactics to ramp up your catering business.}

Customers get upset when they pop open a catering tray and find cold burgers or soggy salad. Especially when the food was meant to impress bigwigs at a meeting. So if you want to fuel your business with the fast-growing catering market—which has jumped 5.4 percent since 2018—it’s a good idea to upgrade your packaging to deliver a great experience. Ordering better packaging is not too difficult, and it can make a huge difference in driving repeat catering business. 

In this podcast episode, Sabert Corporation’s Nicole Buck, Vice President of Food Service, and Susan Beaudry, Senior Director of Marketing, reveal how better catering packaging improves the customer experience. Nicole and Susan discuss how to choose the right packaging for your menu and customers, and why you need a packaging budget. Tune in to learn how a great packaging strategy can help you grow your catering business.

Episode Takeaways:

• Base your packaging choices on your food, the size of your orders, and the distance your delivery driver must travel.
• Choose packaging that’s easy to reseal, reheat, and reuse to ensure your customers get the most out of their catering orders. This is important because 70 percent of catering orders have leftovers, and only 24 percent are eaten right away.
• One of the top concerns for catering customers is order accuracy. To give them peace of mind, use clear lids, label food, and make a catering drop-off checklist.
• You can boost your catering sales by as much as 20 percent if you choose packaging that showcases your food and eases customer pain points.

Nicole Buck is Vice President of Food Service in North America for the Sabert Corporation, where she helps restaurant operators extend their dining experience outside the four walls into catering and takeout. She has more than 20 years of experience in food service and packaging.

Susan Beaudry serves as Senior Director of Marketing in North America for the Sabert Corporation. She supports the sales team with customer efforts and has a background in food service operations.