Caterers hunger for a slice of World Cup

Many have dreams of expansion and the month-long tournament gives them a chance to try their hand at serving a bigger crowd of customers. “We expect about 3-million people,” Michael Deftereos, MD of Headline Leisure Management, said at the weekend. Headline Leisure Management was appointed by soccer body Fifa last year as the master concessionaire for all 10 stadiums. Headline, a company with a staff of 2500 — and hiring 5000 more for the World Cup — is responsible for all the public sales of food and drink inside the stadiums. It fills the place left open by fast-food chain McDonald's, which chose not to exercise its sponsor rights to supply food.

The company, part of privately owned Fournews Developments, which also owns News Cafe, sees the World Cup as a way to expand its catering operations outside SA, Deftereos said.

“It does give us ability to talk internationally ... whether in Africa, or beyond Africa.”

The cachet of entering the big league, rather than making profit, seems to be the main driver for local companies.

“It's not a case of getting rich. It's an enabler. It allows you to grow your business,” said Adrian Short, CEO of By Word of Mouth, a boutique event-caterer with a contract to supply catering to suites and hospitality tents at Soccer City, Ellis Park and Loftus stadiums.

Short's company is partnering with a German company, Arena One — which catered for the 2006 World Cup — to do the job. Similarly, Cape Town-based Green Catering has tied up with another German company, Kofler & Kompanie, to cater to suites, commercial hospitality and other private groups at eight of the stadiums.

The experience, rather than profit, seems to be the main driver. Chicken chain Nando's, in talks to cater for the 10 official fan parks, said last week the contract was “not particularly profitable”.

And this may have kept some contenders away. Compass, the country's largest caterer with 7000 employees, contracted with Fifa affiliate Match to cater for VIPs at last year's Confederations Cup, but declined to do so this time, citing economic uncertainty and the terms.

Source: Business Day