By: Ron Williams

“There’s a segment of catering demand most restaurants aren’t even thinking about. And it’s recurring, scalable, and profitable,” says Dan Roland, Co-Founder at Katalyst.

Restaurants often focus on growing foot traffic or squeezing more value out of their dining rooms. But in 2025, the real growth potential may no longer be in-house. Chances are, it’s in the local school across the street or in the corporate training center right down the road.

And Katalyst is helping restaurant owners discover (and capitalize on) this overlooked market.

From student programs to marketing and sales departments, the need for organized, recurring food orders is real. And with Katalyst, restaurants now have the tools to access these opportunities. One key benefit is that they don’t need to invest in new hardware, overhaul their existing POS, or worry about losing control of their brand.

They also avoid losing profit to commissions. Unlike competitors that take a percentage of each order and delay payouts until fulfillment, Katalyst passes catering revenue directly to the operator. This approach can make recurring orders more scalable and lower in risk.

The Missed Opportunity Right Outside the Dining Room

General catering is often associated with huge events or one-time gatherings. What restaurants don’t realize is that catering can be scaled down into a repeat, steady business from educational institutions and professional organizations.

“Think of how many teams travel, how many corporate offices run training sessions, or how many schools host weekend tournaments,” says Roland. “They all need food — and they don’t mind familiarity. They’re not going to complain if they get lunch from the same restaurant again and again. They just want to eat. And when every dollar of that returning business stays in your pocket instead of a third party’s, it becomes a true revenue generator.”

It’s important to remember that these aren’t high-maintenance individual diners. They’re organized buyers with budgets, timelines, and consistent needs. With the right infrastructure, restaurants can turn them into weekly or monthly revenue streams.

Schools, Colleges, and Athletic Programs

Colleges and universities can be an ideal source of catering demand. Teams travel every season. Admissions departments host events. Student organizations run meetings and programs with food budgets attached.

Katalyst helps address this demand by providing digital catering menus, lead-time controls, and flexible delivery options. And this is all without needing to install new devices or disrupt existing operations. It’s also without having to pay commission fees, so operators keep full margin on regular orders like these.

Jamie Aliperti, CRO of Katalyst, shared a real-world example from one of their restaurant clients: “We had a college across the street from a location. The football team would order 68 rice bowls every time they traveled. It became clockwork.”

When you know the team’s travel schedule, you know when the order’s coming. And if you’re the go-to spot, that revenue becomes a steady part of your monthly operations — with no outside platform taking a cut or holding the funds.

Corporate Clients with Ongoing Needs

On the business side, training departments and corporate offices offer just as much recurring potential. These clients aren’t hunting for coupons or waiting for happy hour. They’re simply looking for dependable partners.

One restaurant that Katalyst partnered with caters regular orders for a corporate training center. Orders for 80 to 100 people are placed multiple times per week. The restaurant simply logs in, confirms the order, and lets Katalyst’s system handle the pickup and/or delivery options.

“This kind of B2B catering is low-effort and high-reward,” says Aliperti. “One order might equal a whole night of table service. And you don’t even need servers to fulfill it!”

Used by Growing Brands

Katalyst’s model is gaining traction with restaurants that are expanding quickly. Growing brands recognized the value of a system that’s flexible, digital-first, and built to handle both front-of-house operations and off-premise expansion. 

Katalyst gives such brands the confidence to expand without fear of tech disruption.

“You could be launching your first location or scaling to multiple units,” Roland says. “Our platform can meet you where you are. And unlike platforms that profit off your sales before you do, we follow a Zero-Commission structure. We don’t take a dime from your catering revenue.”

No Hardware Required, No Disruption Needed

Another major reason restaurants might hesitate to expand into catering is fear of change. Katalyst can help remove that barrier.

The system operates independently of a restaurant’s existing POS. That means owners don’t need to invest in new hardware, retrain staff, or change how they take dine-in orders.

Katalyst’s catering solution is web-based. Once a restaurant uploads its menu and sets basic rules (like order minimums or prep time), it can go live in as little as one day.

“We made it as easy as possible. If you can use email, you can run catering on Katalyst,” Roland says.

Custom Delivery Solutions That Work for Real Life

Delivery can often be the biggest hurdle for high-volume catering. Some restaurants have drivers. Others don’t. Some can deliver five miles. Others can only do pickups.

Katalyst is built for that flexibility.

The system connects with platforms like DoorDash Drive and Uber Direct while also supporting regional providers. It even allows businesses to track the driver in real time, which is an essential feature for clients coordinating meals during meetings, events, or travel.

“You need to know your 100-person order is going to arrive on time and intact,” says Aliperti. “We make that sort of information easy to access.”

Set It and Forget It: An Effective Recurring Model

The key to school and business catering is consistency. Katalyst supports regular orders, saved customer profiles, and stored payment methods. That means once a client is onboarded, they can order again and again with minimal effort.

Because catering demand can happen around the clock — from early-morning drop-offs to late-afternoon setups — restaurants can use it to optimize sunk costs. Every hour the kitchen is open comes with fixed expenses for labor, utilities, fuel, and food inventory. Catering helps turn those costs into profit by filling downtime with steady, pre-scheduled orders.

Restaurants also benefit from built-in marketing tools. Custom links, QR codes, and web buttons make it easy to promote catering from within the restaurant or online. One catering client can easily turn into three if they share a positive experience with other departments or local teams.

Well-Suited for Off-Hours and Staff Downtime

Unlike lunch rushes or dinner service, catering can be prepped during slower hours. Many of the businesses and institutions placing large orders don’t need food in the middle of peak service times. They’re often looking for morning drop-offs or mid-afternoon setups.

This sort of scheduling allows restaurants to use their existing kitchen capacity more efficiently. Prep crews can work during slower windows. Orders can be placed in advance. And revenue grows without additional strain on the floor staff.

An Untapped Market With Significant Value

Katalyst isn’t just offering a digital ordering tool. It’s unlocking a business model some restaurants overlook. With recurring demand from schools, athletic programs, and corporations, owners can generate consistent, high-margin revenue without changing how they operate.

And because Katalyst doesn’t take a commission or withhold payment, that consistent revenue remains reliable and low-risk, offering a straightforward solution compared to other platforms.

“We built Katalyst to remove excuses,” says Roland. “If you’re not doing catering, you’re missing a potentially lucrative source of revenue.”

To learn how to tap into school and business catering opportunities, visit Katalyst’s official website.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. The views expressed are those of the author and do not guarantee any specific outcomes. Readers are encouraged to seek independent advice and conduct their own research before making any business decisions. Results and experiences may vary based on individual circumstances.