Items charged “on consumption” are typically pre-packaged goods, which when unused could be sold again. They are pre-packaged so they arrive to your event already made and packaged by a third-party supplier – things like bags of pretzels, cans of soda, wrapped cereal bars and so forth.
With pre-packaged products, the caterer is able to display these items for attendees to select. After your event the unopened, untampered packages can be restocked and sold at another event.
Pre-packaged does not necessarily mean non-perishable. Yogurts and individual servings of milk or juice are examples of perishable items that can be made available “on consumption.”
One benefits of ordering “on consumption” is that you only pay for what is used. If only five out of 100 guests pick up a bag of chips then you only pay for the five bags.
On the negative side per-item pricing tends to be more expensive because the caterer builds in the handling and restocking costs of pre-packaged items. It is also difficult to budget for items on consumption because you can only guess at how many items will be consumed. Here some history is helpful and your caterer can be of assistance as to how many items typically are selected.
One further note regarding purchasing “on consumption,” be sure you are willing to actually count the consumption. Not only do you need to count how many items were displayed and how many items remained after the event but you need to know if the supply was replenished during the event.
