Catering Follow-Up Email Templates (5 Emails That Win Repeat Orders)
One email for each moment a catering order slips away, each with one main question and a complete footer. Written for restaurants that cater, not event companies.
These catering follow-up email templates cover the five moments a restaurant's catering orders slip away: the first reply to an inquiry, the quote that goes quiet, the morning after the first order, the next likely order and the account that has stopped ordering. Each email asks one main question and ends with a complete footer, so you can copy one, fill in the brackets and send it. They're part of our restaurant catering revenue guide.
How to use these templates
- Send schedule. The first card gives the timing and the one question for each email. Put the dates in your calendar or CRM when the order is booked, not when you remember.
- Email 1: the inquiry reply. Answer the same day, ideally within the hour. Confirm what they asked for, ask for the two or three details you still need in one question, and say when the quote will arrive.
- Email 2: the quiet quote. Two days after the quote, attach or link it again so they don't have to search, and ask whether they'd like anything changed. Only say you're holding the date if your restaurant really holds tentative dates. Otherwise use the bracketed line that matches your booking rule; in our catering quote template, the date is reserved once the buyer approves the quote and pays the deposit.
- Email 3: after the first order. The morning after, ask how it went, and nothing else. Save the next date for email 4, and ask for introductions later, once the account is ordering regularly.
- Email 4: the reorder nudge. A week or two before their next likely event (the next team lunch, the quarterly meeting), offer the same order again and mention what they had last time.
- Email 5: the win-back. When an account has been quiet for two or three months, ask what changed. Don't lead with a discount or free delivery: you don't yet know whether price was the problem. If you want to make an offer, save it for a second note.
- Footer. Keep it in all five. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide judges an email by its primary purpose. Transactional messages are a narrow set, such as one that confirms or updates an order the customer has already agreed to, and the FTC says not to assume that messages to people you have an ongoing relationship with are transactional. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. Promotional email needs your valid postal address, a clear statement that it's an ad and a working opt-out, honored within 10 business days.
Tips that get replies
- One question per email. "Does Thursday at 12:30 still work?" gets answered. A paragraph of options gets saved for later.
- Use their words. Repeat the headcount, the date and the dietary needs they gave you. It shows you listened and gives the buyer something to forward.
- Sign with a name and a direct number. Buyers reorder from a person.
- Look after your regular accounts. MONKEY's State of Catering 2026, reported by Food On Demand, found that 60% of catering orders come from 5% of customers, so emails 3 and 4 to your regular accounts can matter more than any single new lead.
- Log every send and every opt-out. Whoever covers the inbox next week should be able to see what went out, when, and who asked not to be emailed.
For why these five moments cost restaurants the most, read why restaurants lose catering revenue. To find new accounts to send them to, see how to get corporate catering clients.
When nobody has time to send them
Follow-up is the work that slips first in a busy kitchen. Kutlerri.ai's Catering Sales Agent can take it on: it answers catering inquiries, runs outreach by email, calls and texts, drafts quotes and invoices for you to approve and closes the orders, with Kutlerri's sales team behind it.
FAQ
How soon should I follow up on a catering quote?
Two days after you send it is a good default. A quote that goes quiet usually means a busy buyer, not a lost order, and a short note with one clear question gets the decision moving. If the quote has an expiration date, check in again a day or two before it lapses.
Do catering follow-up emails need an unsubscribe link?
Under CAN-SPAM, it depends on the email's primary purpose, not on whether the person contacted you first or has ordered before. The FTC treats a narrow set of messages as transactional, such as one that confirms or updates an order the customer has already agreed to; an email that promotes your catering or asks for an order is commercial, even to an existing customer or another business. Commercial email needs your valid postal address, a clear statement that it's an ad and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days, so these templates put the footer in all five emails. This is a summary, not legal advice.
How do I win back a catering client who stopped ordering?
Ask what changed before you offer anything. A short, personal note that names their last order and asks one question tells you whether the problem was the food, the service, the price or a change on their side. If something went wrong, fix it and say so; if their team or office changed, offer to set up a new standing order. Save any discount or free-delivery offer for a second note.
Should these emails come from a person or the restaurant?
From a named person. Catering buyers, usually office managers and assistants, reorder from someone they can reply to. Use a real name and a direct phone number in the signature, even if several people share the inbox.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (accessed October 8, 2026)
- Food On Demand, Catering Outpaces Restaurant Industry Growth (accessed October 7, 2026)