create engaging experiences to increase the impact of your events. You can help your staff bond, give your attendees a chance to network and learn more about your business, or help your employees learn more about how to eat healthy foods.
Whatever the reason may be, getting catering for the event is usually a great motivator for people to get involved in what you’re doing. Food at events alone helps things feel less intimidating, making it easier for attendees to feel comfortable enough to actively participate. It’s a great icebreaker and a fun way to say “thank you”.
We’ll go over types of food-centric corporate events and why they’re an essential piece of your event planning. A successful catered event can have more positive outcomes than you think.
Types of Corporate Food Events
There are a variety of different instances where you’d want to have food at the center of your corporate event. We usually think of corporate catering as secondary or saved for just the company Christmas party, but there are a lot of different food related events you can try out.
Team Building Culinary Experiences
Team bonding helps immensely with productivity and creativity in the workplace and experiencing new things as a group is a great way to facilitate that.
Team cooking classes allow your staff to learn something together in a low-risk and fun environment. They can learn cooking techniques together and help each other along the way. The low-stress environment gives your staff a chance to get to know each other outside of the workplace and create professional relationships with trust and kinship.
You can also have food tastings, wine tastings, or visit a factory to see how something is made. The outing and experience all contribute to a greater sense of belonging with each other.
Executive Lunches and Dinners
Executive meals are meant to give executives time to share a meal and discuss business in a casual setting. The laid-back atmosphere makes it easier to share thoughts and feelings on the business at large and make way for new ideas. Some great business decisions and ideas have been created at executive meetings and they can be an effective way to push through problems or slow progress.
Client or Partner Appreciation Events
You can show how much you love your clients and partners with a fun food experience. The event you create has the potential to be a memorable one and can enhance the positive feelings surrounding your business and brand. From a company culture standpoint, it shows you care about everyone involved in making your company thrive.
If done poorly, this can backfire, however, so make sure all the planning going into an event like this is as perfect as possible. Careless mistakes or poor catering choices can give others a negative opinion of your company. A corporate catering concierge service might be helpful if you’re worried about something slipping through the cracks. You can learn more about how to implement a corporate concierge here.
Holiday and Milestone Celebration
Holiday parties are almost always food-centric and all about celebrating. Milestone celebrations are very much the same, it’s like a holiday only your company celebrates. You can celebrate milestones like exceeding client goals, reaching profit milestones, or a company anniversary.
The entire point of these types of food events is to party and have a good time. Your catering should strive to reflect that with delicious and dietary-inclusive food options.
Health and Wellness-Focused Events
Wellness literacy is something many Americans need help with. “US students receive less than 8 hours of required nutrition education each school year, which is far below the 40–50 hours that are needed to affect behavior change” according to a study done by the CDC. This means many people don’t get the nutrition they need and might not know where to start.
You can bridge the gap by holding wellness events that show your staff delicious healthy foods they can enjoy while educating them on what makes food healthy. Health is essential for properly working bodies and minds, so not only does it benefit your staff to learn to eat healthier, but it helps your company as well.
Why Food is Essential in Corporate Events
Food is something everyone needs to live, and in a corporate setting, it helps lift everyone up to a higher place. 90% of employers say a sense of community is the key to success and there’s no better way to bring a community together than food. You can consistently elevate your events and celebrations by providing delicious food menus, giving your attendees a sense of pride in your business and an opportunity to grow a stronger connection with each other.
Overall, great food helps incentivize and prepare your event attendees to actively participate and have a memorable time while they’re doing it.
Planning a Successful Event with corporate food offerings
A successful event takes effort. The concept of having food events is good on paper, but if executed poorly, can have a negative effect as we mentioned previously. Here are some basic tips to make sure your event goes the way you want it to.
Selecting the Right Venue and Caterer
The venue should be appropriate for the event. A large dining hall in a historic building is perfect for holiday dinners, whereas an executive lunch would do best in a more intimate setting. Try to envision your event in the venues you’re looking at.
Catering should be able to easily accommodate the size of your event and work with the venue you have in mind. A smaller venue might not be able to fit a fully staffed catering event.
Tailoring Menus to Your Audience
Dietary needs and personal tastes should be considered when you’re creating your catering menu. Your goal is to create a positive atmosphere with food and attendees won’t be able to enjoy the food if they can’t eat it. Try to ask questions beforehand about what your attendees are interested in food-wise to get a feel for what people want to eat. Making your eventgoers feel heard can make all the difference when they’re attending your events.
Adding a Thematic Touch
Imagine walking into a company Christmas party and seeing it decked out with Christmas trees and decorations, or an appreciation dinner filled with fun photos of employees. The extra touches you add will contribute to the experiences your attendees have. The immersion shows you’ve put in the effort to create a memorable experience.
Benefits of Corporate Food Events
Corporate food events can help a lot with company culture. Since company culture is the personality of your business, that image will permeate through everything you do. Putting on a great event with delicious catering shows that you care about the company you work for and the people attending it.
You’ll find that food events are a simple way to bring people closer together, leading to stronger bonds between coworkers and your business relationships. When executed correctly, food-centric events can work greatly in your favor.
Trends in Corporate Food Events
Corporate food events are super popular because of how effective they are so naturally they’ve been growing with the modern age.
Sustainability has become increasingly popular, highlighting the importance of reducing waste during catering events. This comes in the form of replacing plastic with paper products, working with local organizations to accept food donations and new ways of calculating how much food you’ll need for a given event. Sustainability adds a layer of “feel good” atmosphere to your events.
With the increase in hybrid and remote work, team building culinary experiences have gone virtual. Things like virtual wine tasting and virtual cooking classes have become popular ways to bring team building to remote work. This is the perfect option for workplaces that still do hybrid and remote work.
Digital menus are a modern staple for catered events. You can increase their effectiveness by implementing interactive menus that allow people to order directly from the menu itself or give them extended allergen and ingredient information. If you think your attendees would have fun with it, you can implement a food scavenger hunt as well.
Corporate Food Events by Zerocater
Zerocater is a service that provides corporate catering options for any event. It’s like the food ordering apps you’re already used to using. No matter the size of your company or event, we can work with your budget to give your event attendees the amazing experiences they deserve. We’ll even store what you ordered last time to give you better menu suggestions. If you’re ready to elevate your corporate food events, send us a message about your event catering needs and your budget. We’ll find the perfect catering plan for you.
