If you’re planning a daytime team event, how much time should you devote to corporate luncheon options? Some event planners might hope that the quality of the conference, awards show, or fundraiser will speak for itself, with food being a lesser priority. However, after a packed morning of presentations, demonstrations, and other exercises, your guests will need a chance to recharge together. Therefore, to keep them engaged and energised for longer periods, corporate lunch menus are well worth your time and effort.
Here, we’ll cover the main benefits of serving a sizzling spread at your next live event, from its impact on productivity, to how the decisions made will reflect on your brand long after the plates have been cleared away. Crucially, we’ll also reveal our six top tips for arranging a feast to suit even the most diverse requirements.
Cutlery at the ready? Let’s tuck in!
What are the Benefits of a Corporate Luncheon?
A corporate luncheon is a great opportunity to bring people together. As part of a wider business event, the relaxed atmosphere can boost team bonding and morale, while providing a welcome break from an otherwise busy agenda. Additionally, because event catering is often cheaper earlier in the day, it’s often more cost-effective than an evening meal.
Whether you’re planning a corporate buffet, multiple courses, or something else entirely, you can expect the following brilliant benefits:
- Improved Team Relationships: It’s vital during live events to create a space in which your teams can wind down. Few things bring people together quite like food, so a corporate luncheon is your chance to give everyone a well-earned breather, enjoy some nifty nibbles, and foster deeper connections.
- Boost Productivity: A lunch break not only helps people to connect — which in itself can create a more productive environment — but also sets everyone up for the activities you’ve planned for the rest of the day. This can work wonders for engagement.
- Easier Networking: Anyone who has spent a day at a conference or seminar will appreciate the chance to make connections with people from outside of their own business. Meals are an amazing way to switch from concentrating on new information to perusing corporate lunch menus with potential new clients.
- Save Money: If you’re on a budget, it’s best to avoid the expense of a sit down meal in the evening. Venues tend to charge more for these popular slots, so moving your occasion to the daytime can lead to much more appealing rates, without having to sacrifice quality.
- Raise Funds: Charities will often stage fundraisers during the day, with the likes of corporate buffets providing the ideal backdrop for generating donations for your worthwhile cause.
Finally, bear in mind that food can be a big talking point during and after an event. Therefore, if you can provide a tip top spread, it will reflect well on your brand. If you’re struggling with this, speak to an established event manager — they’ll use their expertise to take care of everything for you.
Tips for Planning Amazing Corporate Lunch Menus
There are a few crucial steps to planning corporate lunch menus. Before hiring an event caterer, you’ll first need to understand your diners. Once you have a clear idea of tastes and requirements, you’ll need them to source quality ingredients, deliver peerless presentations, and provide superb service. Get all this right and guests can expect a captivating culinary experience.
Our top tips for planning amazing corporate lunch menus are:
Cater to Everyone
Planning any type of business event requires that you tailor the experience to your audience to boost engagement. Catering is a perfect example. If you want everyone to enjoy themselves, you’ll need to know as much as possible about preferences, dietary requirements, and cultural elements before the gathering takes place. You can cater to all tastes by providing the likes of veggie and vegan specialities, halal food, gluten-free and healthy options, and more.
Finally, if you just want to play it safe, you can’t go wrong with a diverse corporate buffet.
Make Sure Your Caterer Uses Quality Local Suppliers
As we noted earlier, nothing gets people talking quite like food. Whether it’s good, bad, or plain old mediocre, people will discuss it in depth, both in-person and online. To stay on the right side of the conversation, you should aim to provide fresh, quality ingredients that are just begging to be eaten.
So, why should you insist that your caterer goes local for this? Well, modern audiences have increasingly high ethical standards, and locally-sourced products not only benefit nearby businesses, but also cut your event’s carbon footprint. This is your big chance to stand out from the competition as a company that cares and takes its responsibility seriously. The benefits of which include building trust with your existing clients and future-proofing your brand by appealing to new audiences.
Find a Caterer Who Prioritises Presentation
Providing tasty local delicacies will go a long way towards a successful corporate luncheon but, to seal the deal, you’ll also need to think carefully about presentation. This means finding caterers who employ creative ways to display their offerings, and aim to delight diners with unusual dishes and perfectly-arranged plates.
It’s one thing eating for pleasure, it’s another thing entirely to elevate your grub from being a mere meal into a true artistic experience.
Provide Slick Service
Finding your dream venue is a big part of event planning. However, unless you’re bringing in separate caterers, you’ll need to ensure that the venue team values professional, courteous service as much as you do. Whether you’re organising an awards show, product launch, or team-building session, this factor can make or break the occasion. To make the right decisions, check venue reviews in advance to gauge opinion and, if you have reservations, consider a change of location.
Complement Your Event’s Theme
The theme of your event is what will separate it from other occasions. It’s important to reflect this in your corporate luncheon with the likes of branded signs, menus, table dressings, and room decorations. The theme not only unifies every element on show, but shows that you’re a professional brand.
It might seem like a relatively small touch, but the devil is in the details when you’re on a quest to impress.
Use an Event Manager
Need help arranging that all-important corporate lunch menu? Then it might be time to talk to a seasoned professional. An established event manager has the skills to turn a loose idea and a fixed budget into a unique experience that even the most demanding of modern audiences will love.
These specialists can plan anything from a small scale corporate buffet to an ambitious banquet with ease. Experts in all elements of live events, they’ll also harness their many useful contacts to secure favourable pricing — all with quality guaranteed.
Gold Service Guaranteed with ConnectIn Events
Are you looking for an event manager who won’t make a meal out of your next corporate luncheon? ConnectIn Events has been planning gatherings of all shapes and sizes since 2009. Our friendly team excels at taking on board your requirements and turning them into unique experiences that can help you to wow any crowd.
Our in-house expertise covers every aspect of event planning; from design and production, to elite entertainment and technical assistance. We even offer FREE venue-finding, to make sure that you get the perfect location for your occasion. A flexible manager of all types of business functions, we can incorporate as many of our leading services as you need. It could be a corporate buffet or black tie ball — we do it all.
Contact us today to get cooking!
