Catering

10 easy ways to increase your holiday catering orders

With the right setup on marketplaces, your brand can move up in rankings, get more attention, win more orders, and build lasting relationships.

Photo: Gemini

December 8, 2025 by Kelly Grogan — Co-Founder, CRUMBS

The holiday season is the busiest and most important time of year for catering. Marketplaces are a key place where this demand appears. Corporate teams are meeting up again, hybrid offices are celebrating, and families are planning their big annual events. During November and December, marketplaces get a big boost in search traffic, new customers, and large orders. If your restaurant is set up well during this time, you can build momentum that lasts into the new year. The aim is not just to make the most of December, but to keep the orders coming in January, February, and beyond.

The holiday advantage

Between November and December, marketplaces usually see a big jump in corporate group orders. Admins and office managers are looking for holiday lunches, simple catering packages, and reliable last-minute options. Marketplaces boost this demand by spending more on ads, which brings in thousands of new customers. Even if it seems like you're only competing with a few local restaurants, the platform often shows over a hundred choices nearby. Knowing how crowded it is and how customers search is key to helping your brand stand out.

1. Optimize Your Menu Filters for Maximum Visibility

Menu filters play a big role in whether your restaurant shows up in search results. If your items aren't coded the right way, you won't appear in the searches you want. Make sure each item is marked as individually packaged when it should be. This helps you show up for group orders. Dietary filters are important too. Even if you're serving twenty people, one gluten-free or vegetarian meal can decide if you get the order. Keywords matter as well. If you want to show up for searches like "wraps," "hot chicken," "bowls," "Greek salad," or "tacos," include those words in your item names or descriptions. The best way to spot missing keywords is to look at your storefront as if you were a customer. If you don't show up for the terms you want, update your menu text right away.

2. Build Easy Holiday Packages That Reduce Decision Fatigue

Speed matters during the holidays. Buyers want to order quickly and get on with their day. Making simple, preset holiday packages removes obstacles and helps you get more orders. These packages don't have to use special or seasonal ingredients, though those can help. Just bundle your best-selling entrée, sides, drinks, and dessert into one easy option. Marketplaces often suggest combinations on your menu, so use those as a guide. Adding a holiday package also lets your listing appear in the seasonal "Holiday Filter," which is shown at the top of the marketplace and gives your brand valuable and free visibility during the busiest weeks.

3. Adjust Minimums and Lead Times to Capture More Orders

Lowering your order minimum, ideally to about $50, is one of the best ways to get more orders. This small change opens the door to frequent buyers like pharmaceutical reps, hybrid teams, small offices, and managers feeding whoever is in that day. These customers often order again and can become long-term catering clients. Lead time is important too. Many orders are placed within 12 hours of pickup. If your team can handle orders for 10 to 20 people on short notice, lowering your lead time helps you get more last-minute business during the holidays. And remember, if you can't accept an order, call the guest to let them know what you can do.

4. Turn On Auto-Accept to Improve Your Ranking and Reliability

Turning on auto-accept is one of the easiest and most effective changes you can make. It helps your reliability score, boosts your ranking, and gives customers instant confirmation. This leads to fewer cancellations and builds trust. Combine auto-accept with a strong internal process, whether that's using Olo, a POS integration, or having a team member check new orders regularly, so nothing gets missed. Running a tight operation during the holidays pays off in both revenue and reputation.

5. Update Your Hours and Holiday Closures Now

Wrong hours are a major reason for cancellations, and cancellations can hurt your ranking more than you think. Check and update your hours before the holiday rush. Make sure your listing shows any closures or special hours for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. If your team starts early, think about opening earlier to catch breakfast meetings and morning events. If you use tools like Marqii to manage listings on many platforms like Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, and Waze, use them to update your holiday hours in one easy step.

6. Strengthen Accuracy and Packaging Before the Busy Weeks Begin

Accuracy is even more important during the holidays, since orders are often large and part of company celebrations. One missing entrée or a mislabeled box can hurt trust, but a perfect experience can bring repeat business all year. Help your team succeed by making sure every item prints as its own line on order confirmations, packing bags for next-day orders the night before, and keeping "catering emergency kits" with napkins, cutlery, and plates ready. Adding handwritten notes or holiday cards is a nice touch that guests remember, and it's easy if you prepare them the night before.

7. Improve Delivery Tracking and Driver Tools

Guests expect transparency, especially during the holidays. If they can't see where theiGuests want clear updates, especially during the holidays. If they can't see where their driver is or if the order has left the restaurant, they get anxious and call the store more often. If you use your own drivers, make sure they are set up in the driver portal so guests get accurate tracking. If you need better tools for routing, overflow, or timing, platforms like Cartwheel can give you a more professional, branded delivery experience. These tools help manage the chaos of large, multi-stop holiday deliveries. They also make deliveries more profitable for you and can lead to more tips for your team.

8. Convert Marketplace Customers Into Direct Catering Clients

The best long-term advantage of a strong marketplace presence is the ability to convert one-time marketplace customers into long-term direct clients. Use bag stuffers, business cards, or QR codes to gently guide customers toward placing their next order directly through your website - better yet, commit to delivering those key orders that will result in business year-round. If you don't have a direct ordering solution yet, tools like FamilyMeal make it easy to stand up a simple catering ordering page quickly. Every conversion reduces commission costs and builds a stronger customer pipeline for future months.

9. Gather Reviews and Create Follow-Up Routines

Most marketplaces don't aggressively request reviews, so you'll need your own system to capture them. Use QR codes, cards, or digital tools like Ovation to guide guests toward leaving feedback. Reviews help with ranking and also provide social proof for new buyers who are browsing your page during the holiday rush. After each order, follow up with a thank-you message and a quick question about any upcoming events or meetings you can help support. And don't forget January-reach out again to re-engage customers once the holiday dust settles. If you don't intentionally schedule follow-ups, they simply won't happen, so build this routine into your weekly workflow.

10. Manage Sponsored Tools with Intention

Marketplaces have several tools to help you get noticed, like Sponsored Listings, Rewards, and Preferred Partner programs. These can work well, but only if you use them wisely. If you're the only restaurant in your category or price range, you might not need to spend anything. But during busy weeks, competition increases, and a small investment in boosts or rewards can keep you in front of buyers who are ready to order. Check your results each week and adjust your spending based on demand, not just out of habit.

Final thoughts

The holiday season brings more visitors, new customers, and big catering opportunities than any other time of year. With the right setup on marketplaces, your brand can move up in rankings, get more attention, win more orders, and build lasting relationships. The most successful operators treat marketplaces as an active channel and a partner, not just a passive listing. Make sure your setup is strong, your menu is optimized, and your team is consistent. Make it easy for guests to choose you. That's how you turn holiday demand into catering growth all year long.

If you want to get more catering orders this season and in the future, CRUMBS can help you improve your listings and create a strategy that works. 🍪💚

About Kelly Grogan

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