Corporate catering as a subscription: winning business lunches and repeat orders

Why repeat corporate orders stabilise your catering business

Many caterers live from peaks: Christmas parties in December, weddings in summer, and quiet weeks in between in which the kitchen and team are not fully used. A business lunch subscription turns this around. Every working day you produce a known quantity, buy in a predictable way, deploy your permanent staff evenly and earn a base revenue that covers your fixed costs. The events on top then become extra profit instead of a question of survival.

The demand is there: according to a study by the think tank Denkfabrik Zukunft der Gastwelt and the German Institute for Communal Catering (DIG), employees are returning to Germany's roughly 8,000 staff restaurants and canteens despite working from home, and workplace catering is the largest segment of communal catering. Many smaller companies, however, have no canteen of their own. That is your opportunity: offices with 15 to 150 employees, medical practices, law firms, agencies, coworking spaces and production sites without a kitchen. How to approach corporate clients in general is covered in the guide winning catering clients. Here it is about the step from a single order to a fixed subscription.

The models: from lunch delivery to a mini canteen

Corporate catering comes in different shapes. Which model suits you depends on your kitchen, your vehicles and the size of your clients. Most caterers start with one model, gain experience with two or three clients and then expand.

The weekly subscription and the meeting service are especially good for getting started: low investment, little technology, clear quantities. Daily individual orders by employees bring more revenue per office, but need an ordering system and clean billing per person or via the company.

Offer and menu plan: rotation, choice, dietary needs

If you cook for the same people every day, you need variety without overloading production. In practice, a rotating menu plan over four to six weeks, adjusted to the seasons, often works well. This is a rule of thumb, not a fixed rule: no dish comes back too often, but you can still standardise recipes, purchasing and working hours. How restaurants use the same principle for their lunch menu is explained in the guide to the lunch menu.

• Two to three lines per day: for example a meat or fish dish, a vegetarian dish and a light option such as a salad or bowl. More choice costs production time and increases leftovers.
• Vegetarian and vegan as standard: in offices, the vegetarian line is often chosen by others too. Do not plan it as a niche.
• Recognisable classics: a fixed day for a popular dish, such as schnitzel on Thursday or curry on Wednesday, builds loyalty.
• Allergens per dish: allergen information also applies to delivered food. Label it in the weekly plan and on the packaging, following the rules for Austria or Germany.
• Fixed portion sizes: define the weight of each component so that every portion is the same and the costing is right.

Price per head, minimum orders and cut-off times

For a subscription you cost differently than for a one-off event: the food cost per portion is lower because you produce larger quantities, but packaging, driving and driving time come up every day. The price per head has to cover food, production, packaging, delivery, overheads and profit, even on days with few orders. The basics of costing per person are in the guide writing and costing catering quotes, the principle of mark-up and contribution margin in the guide costing your dishes correctly.

For VAT, food is taxed at 10 % in Austria and 7 % in Germany. In Germany, the reduced rate has also applied to food served with service since 1 January 2026 (§ 12 (2) no. 15 UStG, the German VAT Act), with drinks excluded. Drinks are usually taxed at 20 % and 19 % respectively (as of November 2026). Companies usually think in net prices, so quote net prices plus VAT and show food and drinks separately. Clarify special cases with your tax adviser.

The framework contract: what has to be in writing

A framework contract sets the terms once, after which individual orders run without a new quote. That saves both sides time and protects you from discussions when ten portions too many were suddenly ordered or the price of butter has risen by a third. A template does not replace advice: have your draft checked once by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), the German hospitality association DEHOGA or a lawyer.

Invoicing deserves particular care (as of November 2026). In Germany, all businesses have had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. You must issue e-invoices to business clients for supplies from 1 January 2027 if your total turnover in the previous year exceeded €800,000, and from 2028 this applies to everyone (§ 27 (38) UStG). Invoices via EDI remain allowed as a transition until the end of 2027, and small-amount invoices up to €250 may still be sent as other invoices after that (§ 33 UStDV). A monthly invoice as an e-invoice is more convenient for corporate clients than twenty individual receipts anyway. In Austria there is currently no general e-invoicing obligation between businesses; only invoices to federal government agencies must be submitted electronically via the Business Service Portal (USP). Many larger companies do ask for structured invoices with an order number and cost centre. Your tax adviser can tell you which obligations apply to your business.

Logistics: routes, time slots, packaging

With business lunches the same things count every day: on time, at the right temperature, complete. A late lunch annoys forty people at once. Plan your clients by route, not by requested time. Two offices on the same street are profitable, a single office on the other side of town often is not.

• Bundle routes: win new clients preferably where you already deliver. A business park with five companies is ideal.
• Deliver hot or chilled: hot food needs to be kept hot throughout, chilled dishes for reheating need an unbroken cold chain and a microwave or oven at the client's. Chilled delivery eases production because you can cook the day before.
• Record temperatures: measure and note them on departure and on handover. The details are in the guide to catering logistics and hygiene.
• Labelled packaging: dish, allergens, date and, if applicable, the name of the person who ordered. With reusables, agree on fixed return boxes in the office.
• Plan B: a backup driver and vehicle for breakdowns, and a phone number for questions during the delivery round.

Meal allowances as a selling point in Austria and Germany

Many employers want to do something good for their staff but do not know the tax options. If you can explain how a lunch allowance works, you are no longer just selling food but a solution for staff retention. Do not give tax advice, though; refer to your client's payroll department. You should know the basic rules, however.

A worked example for Germany: your lunch costs €9.50 per portion. The company orders and pays for it with you, hands the food out to its employees and charges them €4.57, so it covers €4.93. Because the co-payment reaches the benefit-in-kind value, there is no taxable benefit under the basic rule, and for the company it is a visible perk. In Austria, the company can even cover the full cost of lunch at the workplace under the conditions above without any wage tax being due. According to LStR margin no. 93 it basically makes no difference whether the food is cooked on the premises or delivered from outside, so this generally also covers a caterer without its own restaurant. Meal vouchers are different: the €8 limit only applies to restaurants and delivery services, and pure retail does not count (LStR margin no. 96). Whether your specific model qualifies should be confirmed by the client's tax adviser.

Winning offices: trial week, contact person, website

The decision for a lunch subscription is rarely made by management alone. Usually it is the office manager, HR or a works council looking for a solution, and the team that wants a say in the end. Your goal is therefore not a quick contract but a trial in which everyone can taste the food.

Before a company calls you, it almost always looks at your website. A dedicated page for corporate catering with models, a sample weekly plan, delivery area, cut-off time and a short enquiry form is more convincing than a PDF attachment. In your Google Business Profile, add services such as “corporate catering” and “business lunch” so that you show up for searches like “office lunch delivery” plus your town. Many caterers send the weekly menu plan by email; how to set that up in a legally sound way is covered in the guide to the restaurant newsletter.

Keeping clients: feedback, quantities, price adjustments

Winning a subscription is one part, keeping it for years is the other. Companies rarely cancel because of a single mistake, but often because the food becomes monotonous, the portions shrink or nobody responds to complaints. A short conversation with your contact person every few months prevents this.

Review your subscription business at least once a quarter: portions per day, revenue and contribution margin per client, cost per route, leftovers. This shows you which clients are worth it and where you need to renegotiate. Satisfied corporate clients are also the best referrers for Christmas parties, summer parties and anniversaries, and therefore for the events that come on top of your base revenue.