VEGG catering - for sale
innovative plant-based cuisine
Asking Price: $50,000
Seller financing available for the right fit
VEGG is an established boutique catering company serving the greater Austin area for over 7 years. VEGG specializes in innovative and sustainable plant-based cuisine and offers a diverse global menu with a focus on vegan weddings and events. With a 5-star reputation, VEGG is well known and loved in the vegan community and corners the market for plant-based catering in Austin. https://www.veggaustin.com
Assets Included in Sale
Menu recipes
Websites, branding, social media accounts, catering contract templates
Support for operating the business
Optional: 10x15 storage unit with stored event catering equipment. Currently $119/month
Catering equipment, prep tools, existing ingredients, and supplies:
Catering equipment value: $4,250
Platters and serveware value: $1,300
Food preparation and cooking equipment value: $3,500
Disposables value: $1,000
Plastic food storage and cooking utensils value: $750
Growth Opportunities
Ability to cater multiple events on the same day
Ability to cater for more than 200 guests
Custom menus
Expansion to offer plated and family style catering services, currently VEGG offers buffet style only
Add other bundled catering services including bar packages, floral, event rentals, entertainment, decor, coordination
Reason for Selling
Owner is starting a family and needs to step away.
Ideal Buyer
A catering company that wants to add a plant-based offering to their existing catering business which will boost annual revenue by a minimum of 100K.
An existing plant-based restaurant or food truck that wants to add another revenue stream which will boost annual revenue by a minimum of 100K.
An owner-operator well versed in the plant-based food industry that wants to hit the ground running with a profitable food business.
Contact
Diana Howe
email: Diana@veggcatering.com
cell: 310-926-0822
Financial statements available upon request
About Diana Howe, the founder and owner
I grew up on a small family dairy farm in the village of Quincy, Michigan. Growing up on a farm, we always had fresh milk, a freezer full of beef, and a small garden, but the majority of our diet was based on convenience – highly processed coming from a box, bottle, or can.
After college, I moved to Los Angeles, where my world opened! It was there that I became increasingly interested in health food culture and the environmental movement.
I discovered farmers’ markets, learned the importance of buying organic, and began eating and cooking more whole “living” foods. In conjunction, I watched thought-provoking food documentaries that inspired me to make lifestyle changes that decreased my ecological footprint and improved my health. The documentary film that ignited real dietary change was Vegucated, a film that uncovered the hidden side of animal agriculture and factory farms – from that day forward my plant-based journey began.
I transitioned to a plant-centric diet gradually until the bulk of my diet was from non-processed whole foods. Cooking with whole foods has caused my palate to change, and to my surprise processed foods I used to love no longer taste the way I remember them. I am now able to “hear” my body and appreciate a connection between the foods I eat and the way I feel.
My love of cooking and desire to learn led me to enroll in the professional chef program at The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts where I trained in vegan, vegetarian, Ayurvedic, Macrobiotic, raw living foods, and gluten-free cuisines.
Following culinary school I co-owned and operated; Seed Catering Co. Currently, I am head chef and owner at VEGG, where I specialize in vegan catering, vegetarian catering, culinary pop-ups, and retail food products in local Austin grocery stores. I live in Austin, Texas with my hubby Pat, pup Gizmo, and daughter on the way.
Problem
The Austin catering market lacks caterers that offer a variety of creative, thoughtful, and delicious plant-based menu options for plant-based consumers.
Solution
VEGG occupies a niche in the catering market that offers an exclusively plant-based menu in which everything on the menu is vegan with some dishes easily made vegetarian and/or gluten-free at the client’s request. Clients are excited to discover a caterer that offers a robust and global plant-based menu in which they can choose from anything on the menu instead of being limited in their choices like a typical catering company may offer. VEGG is the first and only plant-based caterer in Austin.
Target Market
Middle-class vegan, vegetarian and plant-based clients are typically 28 to 45 years old. Clients are eco-conscious and care deeply about animal welfare, the environment, and their health. Clients want their celebratory events to reflect their lifestyle.
The biggest market segment for VEGG is vegan and vegetarian weddings. The couple wants their wedding day to reflect their values as well as the opportunity to introduce their guests to and impress them with delicious plant-based dishes.
Competition
VEGG is the only exclusively plant-based caterer in Austin and the surrounding area. A small number of vegan food trucks offer catering but are limited to pick-up or drop-off catering, small menus, and the number of servings they can prepare out of a truck. There are three restaurants that offer plant-based catering but also have the same limitations as the food trucks.
Why us?
While some vegan restaurants and food trucks can accommodate catering they do not specialize in it and do not have the knowledge, bandwidth, equipment, staff, and resources to execute an event like a caterer. Some local caterers can accommodate a plant-based client but they typically have limited adaptable menu options often simply removing the “dairy, eggs, meat or seafood” from existing dishes and as a result lack creativity and flavor.
VEGG exclusively focuses on full-service plant-based event catering. Our high level of customer service, innovative and sustainable cuisine, beautiful food styling, and eco-conscious practices and products set us apart from other caterers and competition.
Product and Services
VEGG procures whole foods and all-natural ingredients to craft innovative and delicious plant-based dishes. VEGG takes great care to use organic and sustainable ingredients as possible. Everything on the menu is vegan, some dishes can be made vegetarian by request. Many dishes on our menu are naturally gluten-free. Most other dishes can be made gluten-free.
We cater parties, business lunches, weddings, grand openings, fundraisers, retreats, festivals, and everything in between. We offer drop-off catering as well as on-site catering to suit the customer’s needs and budget.
Market Analysis
Austin is a thriving metropolis of progressive free spirits, artists, and innovators, on the cutting edge of culture and technology. Naturally, that means that veganism is a big factor in the local food scene. Most restaurants you stumble into offer a promising plant-based option. Austin boasts well over 75 fully plant-based establishments and counting, making it one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the entire world. Vegans and vegetarians are flocking to Austin.
Plant based catering is booming! Consumers are increasingly reducing their meat intake as a part of a broader clean living, health-focused lifestyle. As a result, consumers are seeking caterers for their celebratory events that specialize in creative plant-based menu options.
VEGG saw 23% growth in business from year one to two. Excluding the pandemic 2020/2021, VEGG is on track to see a 43% increase in sales from 2019 to 2022.
Marketing and Sales
Social media: VEGG has curated and active Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Google: VEGG has over 50 - 5 star reviews on Google and ranks #1 for search terms related to “vegan catering Austin” and “vegetarian catering Austin.”
Pop-ups: Over the years VEGG has hosted and participated in many pop-ups and festivals that give people the opportunity to experience our innovative vegan food outside of hiring us to cater. Among the most popular events are Vegan Friendsgiving Dinner, Super Bowl Sunday, VegFest, and The Wandering Vegan Market.
Word of mouth: VEGG is very well known and loved within the vegan and vegetarian community in Austin and surrounding cities. Diana is active in the vegan social scene and in local online vegan communities. VEGG is also a part of the tight-knit vegan business owner’s group in Austin, where we support and promote each other's businesses to thrive together.
Organization and Management
VEGG had three regular and loyal contractors that picked up shifts on an as-needed basis to prep, cook, and serve as event staff for both drop-off and on-site catering. VEGG also has a wider pool of contractors to hire for larger on-site catered events. VEGG is not currently operating while I am on maternity leave. Contractors or employees would need to be hired to restart operations.
Financial Projections and Metrics
To date I have turned down 15 fall events (October-December 2022) mostly weddings due to maternity leave starting in October. There are currently ~70 inquiries for 2023 events. VEGG is currently booking for 2024 events. If not for maternity leave at the end of both 2021 and 2022 VEGG was on track for gross sales to reach over $100,000 each year.
Appendix
Like most food businesses VEGG suffered during the pandemic years 2020/21 but due to our low overhead, relationships within the vegan biz community and creativity VEGG was able to pivot by offering pre-order meals for sale in the community which kept the company afloat and contractors working. I also developed 3 vegan grab & go retail food products that were carried in 15 local markets around Austin (Mac & Chz, Buffalo Mac and Chick’n Salad). VEGG produced these products successfully for almost 2 years before I decided to discontinue the grab & go line. Those factors included:
The catering schedule picked back up late fall 2021 and into 2022, I needed to focus our resources on catered events that bring in the most income.
The rising cost of ingredients, packaging, and labor
I was pregnant and expecting my son to be born in October 2021. I planned to take the fall/winter off for maternity leave. My son unexpectedly passed away in September 2021. I needed to step away from the business to grieve and recover postpartum.