KOCHI: Caterers in the state are looking to cash in on Onam this year, as the corporate world shakes off the pandemic-induced shift in working culture. With many companies and IT parks returning to work from office, by ditching work from home, business is looking up.
Moreover, low-key celebrations are set to become a thing of the past, spurring profit outlooks. The catering industry is expecting a business of Rs 350 crore this Onam, said Prince George, state president of the All Kerala Caterers Association. Post Covid, business was dull. Last year, we did around `200-`250 crore after restrictions on mass gathering were lifted to a certain extent he said.
“Business has picked up this year, and we expect to do `300-350 crore this Onam,” he said, adding that most of the caterers closed their bookings by Sunday. “This year we have decided not to take single bookings, and the minimum number of orders is for three people. We have increased the price to `300 per package (serving three people), as the parcel cost is expensive. For example, the cost of a parcel of an order for five people comes to around `370,” said George.
Another highlight of this Onam season is the huge demand for payasam. “A Thrissur-based caterer received an order for more than 10,000 litres of payasam on Monday. In Triprayar and Thiruvananthapuram, prominent caterers have landed orders for 2,000 to 5,000 litres of payasam every day this week,” he added.
Kochi-based Vijaya Caterers has seen a 50% increase in its Onasadya business this year. “Though the fear of Covid subsided last year, many organisations were hesitant to organise Onam celebrations in offices with work-from-home culture in vogue. However, this year, with most of the companies asking employees to return to office, there have been grand celebration with huge orders,” said Ajay Kumar, co-owner of Vijaya Caterers.
Sadya options by hoteliers eating into our business, say caterers
Vijaya has been receiving around 15,000 orders every day since August 17. “We also supply sadha to many prominent five-star hotels in Kochi,” he said. Last year there were no major celebrations at central government organisations.
“We received Onasadya’s orders for 200 people from the Indian Navy last year, whereas this year, the order went up to 2,000. Similarly, there were huge orders from organisations, such as Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services based in Infopark,” he added.
Some caterers said their business was affected when hoteliers started taking bookings in large numbers for Onasadya. “We expected orders for around 3,000 sadya this season, but we received only half of it on Thiruvonam day. The reason is that most of the established hoteliers have begun to provide sadya dine-in and takeaway options.
This has significantly affected the business in Thiruvananthapuram, ” said Sreedeep R Nair of Sree Poorna Caterers. “Also, there has been an increase in home-based caterers in the city, eating into our the business,” sai d Sreedeep, adding that though we didn’t receive the expected number of orders this year, there was an overall increase from the previous year.