Affiliate programs in the food and restaurant industry

In the maze of shady credit card spam on Facebook and scam mails which promise a "great income opportunity", reputable affiliate programs concerning the catering industry often get lost in the shuffle. Most restaurateurs prefer to keep their hands off those partnership programs. Although they could easily earn some extra money since they know the restaurant industry very well.

How does it work?

As an affiliate you are a partner of a company. You recommend the company's product via link and get a commission in case you sell successfully. There is no charge for partnership programs and they are free of obligations. You sign up and get a link, which you then can forward to friends or publish on your website. If you are into social media, it may also be appropriate to spread the link on Facebook and Twitter.

Well-known companies that offer affiliate programs are for example Amazon or Airbnb. If you link to an article on Amazon and a user reaches the online store on this way, you get between 1 and 10 percent of the shopping value – even if the user buys something else at Amazon. If you ask a friend to sign up on Airbnb, both of you get 18 Euro (20 Dollars) travel credit. If the friend offers his own apartment for rent, you get 71 Euros (80 Dollars) travel credit extra.

Why do companies offer affiliate programs?

Companies offer affiliate programs in order to increase their own publicity and disseminate their product. That is worth a percentage of the profit to them.

Reputable providers and blogs are generally transparent in the display of affiliate links, which makes it is easier for the user to classify the information for themselves. Otherwise they could quickly get the feeling that products are recommended only due to the high commission.

Which affiliate programs exist in the restaurant business?

There are some affiliate programs concerning the restaurant business which are especially interesting for domain experts and people who know the catering industry:

• CentralPlanner – If you recommend the reservation system CentralPlanner, you will receive 25 percent of the sales each month per customer who signs up through your link.

For example: You recruit 10 customers who choose the Professional Plan. This means 80 Euros (89 Dollars) for you every month as long as the new customers use CentralPlanner!

You can sign up for the CentralPlanner affiliate program here.

• Upserve - The restaurant management platform offers its partners  $100-$300 per demo and $1,000 to $3,000 per signed customer (depending on tier).
• RestaurantEngine – The solution for restaurant website design pays you 100 Dollars (89 Euro) for every customer referral.
• The Gift Card Café – This company helps restaurants to sell instant or physical gift certificates from their own website. Affiliates get 15 Dollars (13 Euros) commission for every new sign-up.
• A Best Kitchen – The restaurant equipment company offers up to 4 percent commission for affiliates.
• QSR – The restaurant management system offers a one-time payment of 100 Dollars (89 Euro) per store or 10 Dollars (9 Euro) per month forever for each customer you refer.

Whether you want to refer the products only occasionally or search specifically for customers is up to you. The affiliate programs offer you a lot of freedom, but also the opportunity to earn some extra money.