How to Get Corporate Catering Clients in the UK

Corporate catering is one of the most reliable revenue streams in the events industry. Unlike weddings, which are one-off bookings clustered around weekends, corporate work often means recurring contracts, midweek bookings, and steadier cash flow throughout the year.

But winning corporate clients requires a different approach to marketing, menu design, and client management. This guide covers how to break into the corporate catering market and build a sustainable book of business clients.

Why Corporate Catering Is Worth Pursuing

Before diving into tactics, it's worth understanding why corporate work is attractive:

• Recurring revenue — a company that books you for monthly board lunches gives you 12 bookings a year from a single relationship
• Midweek work — fills your quieter days (Tuesday to Thursday), complementing weekend weddings and private events
• Higher volume — corporate conferences and away days can be 200–500+ covers
• Less emotional decision-making — corporate buyers choose on reliability, professionalism, and value, not Pinterest mood boards
• Faster payment — many corporates pay on 30-day terms, which is reliable once the relationship is established
• Year-round — no wedding "off-season." January is quiet for weddings but busy for corporate kick-offs and planning days

The trade-off: corporate clients expect consistency, punctuality, and professional communication. There's less room for the creative, bespoke approach that works in weddings. Corporate clients want to know it'll be right, every time, without hand-holding.

Step 1: Build a Corporate-Specific Portfolio

Your wedding portfolio won't win corporate clients. They need to see that you understand their world.

What corporate clients want to see

• Working lunch spreads — clean, professional, easy to eat in a meeting room
• Boardroom catering — elegant but unfussy. Think quality sandwiches, salads, and presentation
• Conference catering — high volume, dietary-inclusive, efficient service
• Drinks reception and canapés — corporate networking events, product launches
• Awards dinner / gala — formal seated dinner for 100–500+ guests

How to build the portfolio if you're starting out

• Stage a shoot — prepare corporate-style menus and photograph them in a professional setting. A clean boardroom table with your food styled on it costs very little but looks the part
• Offer discounted first bookings — approach 2–3 local businesses with an introductory rate for their next event. Deliver brilliantly, photograph everything, and ask for a testimonial
• Reframe your existing work — if you've done buffets, networking events, or any non-wedding catering, present those in a corporate context
• Create a corporate-specific PDF or web page — separate from your wedding content. Corporate buyers don't want to wade through wedding galleries to find what's relevant to them

Photography and presentation

Corporate food photography should look:

• Clean and well-lit (natural light or professional lighting)
• Plated on simple, elegant tableware
• Styled in a professional setting (boardroom, conference table, modern kitchen)
• Shot from multiple angles — overhead for buffet spreads, 45-degree for plated dishes

Step 2: List on FolkAir

Getting found by corporate event planners and office managers who are actively searching for caterers is half the battle. List your catering business on FolkAir — the UK events marketplace — to appear in front of businesses searching for caterers in your area.

Make sure your FolkAir listing highlights:

• Corporate catering experience
• Service types available (working lunches, boardroom, conferences, dinners)
• Capacity (minimum and maximum covers)
• Delivery area
• Dietary capabilities
• Sample menus or starting prices

Platforms like FolkAir work well for corporate because office managers and event coordinators search for suppliers the same way they search for anything else — online, with filters for location, category, and service type.

Step 3: Connect with Corporate Event Planners

Corporate event planners are gatekeepers to the biggest contracts. One relationship with a busy planner can generate dozens of bookings per year.

Where to find corporate event planners

• LinkedIn — search for "event planner," "event manager," or "event coordinator" filtered by your region. Follow and engage with their content before pitching
• Event agencies — research agencies in your area that specialise in corporate events. Send a professional introduction with your corporate portfolio
• Industry events — attend business networking events, exhibitions, and trade shows. The International Confex, Event Production Show, and regional business expos are all worth attending
• Venue recommended supplier lists — corporate venues (hotels, conference centres, stately homes) maintain lists of approved caterers. Apply to be on them

How to approach planners

• Lead with value — don't pitch immediately. Share useful content, comment on their work, offer genuine insight
• Send a concise introduction — who you are, what you do, your corporate experience, 2–3 photos, a link to your portfolio or FolkAir listing
• Offer a complimentary tasting — planners need to trust your food before recommending you to their clients
• Follow up once — if you don't hear back in 10 days, one polite follow-up. Then move on. Planners are busy; pushiness kills relationships
• Be easy to work with — planners value caterers who respond quickly, provide clear quotes, and don't create problems

Step 4: Approach Offices Directly

Not all corporate catering goes through event planners. Many companies — especially SMEs — book catering directly through office managers, PAs, or operations teams.

Finding direct clients

• Identify target companies — look for businesses in your area with 50+ employees. They're likely to have regular catering needs (team lunches, client meetings, training days)
• Find the right contact — office manager, executive assistant, operations manager, or facilities manager. LinkedIn is the easiest way to find the right person
• Local business parks and serviced offices — these are clusters of potential clients in one location. Some business parks have a preferred supplier arrangement — ask the management company
• Co-working spaces — many host events and need regular catering. The community manager is usually your contact

Cold outreach that works

• Email, not phone — office managers are busy. A concise, well-written email with your corporate menu attached gets better results than a cold call
• Keep it short — who you are (one sentence), what you offer (two sentences), a link to your portfolio or menu, a clear call to action ("Happy to send over our corporate menu — would that be useful?")
• Attach a sample corporate menu with per-head pricing. Make it easy for them to say yes
• Offer a free taster delivery — a platter for their next team meeting, no obligation. This is your best conversion tool. Once they've tasted your food, the sale is half made
• Follow up — one follow-up email a week later. Then leave it. You can re-approach in 3–6 months with a seasonal menu update

Pricing for corporate clients

Corporate clients think differently about pricing:

• Per-head pricing is preferred — it makes budgeting easy for the client
• Tiered menus work well — Standard / Premium / Executive, with clear price points
• Day rates for all-day conferences (breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon tea) — bundle these for value
• Volume discounts for recurring bookings — a 10% discount for a 12-month commitment is standard
• Delivery and setup included — corporate clients expect a simple, all-in price

Typical UK corporate catering rates:

• Working lunches (sandwich and salad platters): £12–20 per head
• Boardroom catering (hot and cold, plated): £18–35 per head
• Conference catering (full day): £25–45 per head
• Corporate dinner (3-course seated): £55–100 per head
• Awards dinner / gala: £75–150+ per head

Step 5: Build Preferred Supplier Relationships

The ultimate goal in corporate catering is becoming a preferred or approved supplier. This means a company or venue includes you on their shortlist of go-to caterers, often with an exclusivity or first-refusal arrangement.

How to earn preferred supplier status

• Deliver consistently — every single time. One bad delivery can end a corporate relationship. They don't have the emotional investment that a wedding client does — they'll simply switch suppliers
• Be reliable — arrive when you say, deliver what you quoted, respond to emails within hours (not days)
• Handle problems gracefully — things go wrong. A shortage, a late delivery, a dietary error. How you handle it matters more than the mistake itself. Communicate immediately, offer a solution, and follow up
• Invoice correctly — corporate finance teams process hundreds of invoices. Get yours right first time: correct PO number, correct amounts, correct payment terms
• Build relationships with multiple contacts — if your one contact leaves the company, you don't lose the account
• Ask for feedback — regularly. And act on it

Venues to approach

• Hotels with conference facilities
• Dedicated conference and events centres
• Stately homes and country houses that host corporate away days
• Sports venues (stadiums, racecourses, cricket grounds)
• Museums and galleries with corporate hire
• University and college conference facilities

Making the approach

• Request a meeting with the events or catering manager
• Bring your corporate portfolio, sample menus, and testimonials
• Offer a complimentary tasting for their events team
• Ask about their approval process — some require specific insurance levels, food hygiene ratings (5 is usually mandatory), or certifications
• Be prepared to provide references from current corporate clients

Building Long-Term Corporate Revenue

Corporate catering is a long game. The first booking is the hardest; after that, it's about consistent delivery and relationship management. A single corporate client who books you twice a month is worth more annually than most individual event bookings.

Invest in the relationship. Send seasonal menu updates. Check in quarterly. Remember their preferences. Make reordering effortless. The caterers who thrive in corporate work are the ones who make their clients' lives easier.

---

List your catering services on FolkAir free → folkair.com/join