Smart business owners know precisely where their books stand at any given moment, including the cost of goods required to keep their companies afloat. In the food industry, prices are always fluctuating based on the market and all the factors that impact supply and demand.

This year, the coronavirus pandemic had had a significant effect on food costs as supply chains have been interrupted and, with restaurants closed and events canceled, food demand has been unpredictable and, thus, prices have followed the trend.

In the world of catering, it’s all about the food. At the end of the day, your clients (and their guests) will most remember the quality of ingredients and the beautiful flavors that you strung together for their meals. Even the best customer experience can’t make up for subpar food (although, the opposite could be said as well!)

Thus, your relationship with your food supplier becomes a valuable asset — it’s not as simple as skipping over to the grocery store; sourcing ingredients is an intimate process that is more efficient and sometimes more cost-effective when you know where it’s coming from.

Think about the mutually beneficial relationships you’ve developed with venues, rental companies, planners, and other event professionals. The same goes for the food industry; a strong relationship means regular income for the food provider and more access to products in bulk or at a discount, often at early notice.

Here are four things you can do right now to grow your relationship with your food supplier.

Well, here we are midway through 2020 and most of our New Year goals have been laid to rest. COVID-19 came in and swept aside all of our plans for the year and now we’re solidly in Q3, staring ahead at the rest of the year with hopes to at least take a few steps towards our goals. As we approach widespread reopening across the nation, it’s time to start considering a new set of objectives: recovery goals.

As we start to consider our plans to reopen and start producing events again, the big question for all event professionals is the same: How can we keep our clients and their guests safe? In the catering business, this is a question we’ve always considered — but now we have to look past basic food safety and consider how we can prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Special events will look different for a while; at the very least, we’ll be operating under pandemic guidelines until there’s a vaccine available. Even then, guests may still be wary about crowds of people and public spaces. It’s our duty to make them feel comfortable and safe, so we need to start planning out health and safety policies prior to reopening.

Here are some practices to consider — keep in mind that you’ll still need to do your research on each to ensure that it is implemented safely and effectively.

As we approach the thick of summer, COVID-19 continues to challenge the special events industry and all of us who operate businesses within it. Due to supply chain complications, it’s looking like the catering industry will be hit the hardest. Even after we return to ‘business as usual,’ we’ll likely still be facing challenges in sourcing the ingredients that we need. Of course, that means food prices will go up and, as a result, our menu pricing may need to go up as well.

Let’s take a look at what we can expect in the way of post-pandemic food supplies and how our budgets will be impacted as we reopen.