Food & Beverage - Special Events Catering Industry - By Joe Dunbar
The economy continues to make a slow but somewhat steady bounce off the canvas. With people paying down credit card debt and buying with cash instead of debt, we can expect the consumer to remain value conscious. Employment statistics mask the true unemployment which is higher than 10%. Still we see employers ready to hire in 2011. Most businesses run lean and mean and hiring will be modest.
There are many reasons to be thankful and profitable companies may want to show their employees a good time this holiday season. The winning formula for landing these parties is a flexible menu with plenty of options. Try to get your hands on 2003 numbers. From everything I read, I see the average sale per guest in sync with numbers from 2003. If you think of where the economy was in 2003, you'll remember a year of transition. They referred to the business climate as the "Goldilocks economy" since it was neither too hot nor too cold.
We see a bit of heat in the stock market and real estate markets have ended the free fall price drops in most areas. People feel better when their investments are increasing in value. Even though the value of most portfolios and real estate holdings are below peak levels, 2010 numbers have been positive.
Luxury restaurants are still seeing below par sales levels so you should be careful if you market exclusively to the affluent. These prospects have a tremendous number of options available in most metro areas. On a positive note, the cost of premium wine has plummeted. My dentist loves California Cabs from boutique vineyards. He told me he is paying over 60% less for many of his favorites.
Hopefully, we will all benefit from the solid gains in 2010 this holiday season.
Joe Dunbar
Dunbar Associates
P.O. Box 579
Fairfax, VA 22038-0579
800-949-3295
http://www.joedunbar.com
jdunbar401@aol.com
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
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