How to Start a Catering Business in India

Why catering pairs perfectly with a cloud kitchen

Your kitchen sits idle between 15:00 and 18:00 and most of the weekend morning. Catering fills exactly those hours, uses the same equipment and staff, and pays a 30-50% advance. Many kitchens listed on Cloud Kitchen Adda make a third of their profit from bulk and party orders.

Pick a catering type

• Corporate / office catering — recurring, invoiced monthly, predictable. Best cash flow.
• House parties & small events — 20-80 guests, easy to start, high referral value.
• Weddings and large functions — highest revenue, highest risk, needs serving staff and rented equipment.
• Meal contracts — hostels, hospitals, construction sites. Thin margin, huge volume.

Start with the first two.

Licences you need

1. FSSAI — Basic Registration up to Rs 12 lakh turnover, State licence above that. Apply via our FSSAI guide.
2. GST — see GST for cloud kitchens. Outdoor catering is taxed differently from restaurant service — confirm with your CA.
3. Shop & Establishment registration.
4. Temporary food stall permission for public venues.

Per-plate pricing that does not lose money

Build every quote in five layers:

• Raw material per plate (target 30-35% of price)
• Kitchen labour and overtime
• Transport and packaging / chafing dish rental
• Service staff at Rs 700-1,200 per person per event
• Margin of 20-25%

Always quote a minimum guest count. A 100-plate quote for a 60-guest turnout is where caterers lose money.

Equipment beyond your kitchen

Bulk vessels (handi, deg), gas burners with cylinders, insulated transport containers, chafing dishes, serving spoons, and hot boxes. Rent the large items for your first ten events instead of buying — rental is cheap and tells you what you actually use.

Winning your first orders

1. Cater one event free or at cost for a local society or office and photograph everything.
2. Register for bulk enquiries on Cloud Kitchen Adda bulk & party orders so people planning events in your city find you.
3. Partner with two or three local event planners and decorators.
4. Keep a WhatsApp catalogue with fixed packages — Rs 299, Rs 449, Rs 649 per plate — so people can decide in one message.

The rules that keep you out of trouble

• 50% advance, balance before service. No exceptions.
• Written menu confirmation 48 hours before the event.
• Cook 5% over the confirmed count, never 20%.
• Maintain temperature logs — food poisoning at one event ends a catering brand.