Catering pop-ups and food trucks are becoming big business around the globe; not only have the number of food trucks per capita risen as fast as their service, but the industry itself is now worth $1.2bn in the US alone. For anyone looking to cash in on the street food trend, there has never been a better time to get on board.
Logistically, the way to set yourself up for success is to make use of a commercial kitchen; this type of workspace is essential for a burgeoning food or catering companies, and they have never been easier to rent. Here’s why renting a commercial kitchen will be the key to the success of your small food businesses.
Cold storage keeps your bulk buys fresh
While commercial kitchens are useful, depending on the size of the facility you hire, you may find yourself running out of space relatively quickly, not just in terms of work surfaces, but within your refrigerator as well. Fortunately, many commercial kitchen providers, such as Dephna, have planned ahead, offering cold room storage on site.
Cold storage allows catering businesses to keep goods which need to be stored in cold or frozen conditions in bulk quantities. This is essential for food preparation, whether you need to keep your ingredients in a cool environment or keep your wares chilled once they’ve been prepared. Cold storage also allows you to save on space in a crowded kitchen, and ensures that your goods are fresh and on hand whenever you need them.
Commercial kitchens help you maintain your work/life balance
Commercial kitchens are not unlike food incubators, commercial facilities which allow culinary startups to practice and develop their menus. While commercial kitchens do not come with any utensils or equipment, you can speak to their suppliers about renting ovens and cookers for the space. You will be able to move your own pots and pans into the space for the duration of your contract.
Having a separate space to perfect your business’s food is also an asset for your home life; research has shown that the “blurring of boundaries between home and work” has a negative psychological effect on small business owners. Consequently, by moving your base of operations out of your own kitchen, you will be able to formally separate your workplace from your home, and prevent your domestic life (and your life in general) from being completely devoured by your entrepreneurship.
Scale your service for futureproof success
The most important thing to a SMB is the initial stages of growth, regardless of what sector that business operates in. Hiring employees is one particularly significant step in the expansion of a catering business at any level, and while this will potentially become a costly process as you broaden your staff, hiring cold room storage and commercial kitchens is one way to keep your overheads low.
As commercial kitchen facilities are also hired out on a contract basis, you won’t necessarily be tied to one premises forever. While this means that you can change your location to suit you, your employees or your customers, the changes will also ultimately be made to suit your budget at that time; that can mean a larger kitchen in a more remote location, or a smaller base nearer a metropolitan area.
