To a newcomer event catering sounds like a surefire income stream.
Any experienced catering trailer operator will tell you to be VERY careful.
Here are some issues to think about.
1/ Apply far enough in advance.
Many events book caterers, months, if not many months in advance.
2/ You can only rely on agreements whose details you can prove!
It should not be so, but sadly you cannot challenge any agreement that is not set out in writing.
Don’t part with money unless and until you have an agreement in writing
The real issue is profit.
3/ Is A part of a part of a part..enough to make a profit?
A couple of hundred £££ does not sound high for a catering trailer rent or deposit. The answer is it all depends.
Begin by asking the event organiser for the expected attendance, then take what he says with a pinch of salt
and allow for the fact that british rain kills the enthusiasm of all but the hardiest visitors!, and event organisers always assess attendance through rose tinted glasses.
Only a percentage of the visitors will ever use event catering at all, which depends on the type of event.
Whilst some events can be higher, don’t rely on more than (say) one third of visitors using catering at all.
These visitors will split between the caterers. Burger and hotdog stalls tend to get the lions share of trade, perhaps two thirds, with specialist and unusual caterers perhaps getting only one third of the trade.
Then the real problem!
That trade is divided between the catering trailers present.
For that reason you MUST get included in the agreement the maximum number of caterers
invited to attend. Without this the competition can be ruinous.
See how this can play out in practise.
5000 visitors to an event may sound a lot , but even if they turn out to the event, only a third to a half may be interested in catering.
If you arent selling hot dogs or burgers, then you are unlikely to find more than one third of those interested in your offer, and that will be divided amongst all of the caterers present. If there are three caterers, then your trade will be one third of a third of a third.
That could be only a hundred customers!!
So make sure you know the amount of competition, and get this in writing with the organiser, and allow for all of the factors that affect the number of customers before agreeing a deposit and the price of the pitch.
In the end it is all about profit.