A restaurant lives on covers; a caterer lives on contracts. Either way, a large share of new customers now start with a search: a private dining room for a client dinner, a caterer for a wedding of two hundred guests, office lunch delivery for Friday. They type it into Google or ask an AI assistant, scan the first names that come up, and book or enquire with whoever looks most credible.
You have decided to invest in visibility with Traffic Engine, or you are seriously considering it. That leaves a practical question: which plan? This guide helps you decide based on the size of your business, your ambition and the competition in your area, using only the prices published on the offer page.
The three standard plans at a glance
Every plan begins with the same one-time setup of €1,500 (the €690 Visibility Audit is deducted if you start within 30 days), followed by a monthly plan on a 12-month commitment with a measured review at three months.
| Plan | Per month | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Presence | €1,100 | Entry seat: steady, baseline visibility |
| Momentum | €1,900 | Growth seat: the most common choice |
| Flood | €3,500 | Intensive seat: for owning the territory |
The three seats in any given sector and area go to three different businesses, each with its own positioning. So you are not just choosing a level of effort; you are claiming a place.
Presence: be findable, nothing more
Presence suits the neighbourhood bistro that does well on regulars, or the small caterer who simply wants to stop being invisible. The goal is modest but real: when someone searches for your kind of food nearby, your name is part of the answer.
It is the right plan if your capacity is limited (a small dining room, a kitchen that cannot take many more orders) and you want to see results before going further. The first-year investment is €14,700 including setup.
Momentum: fill the room and win the contracts
Momentum is the plan most businesses pick, for a simple reason: it is the one that genuinely moves revenue. It suits a restaurant that wants fuller weeknights, more corporate lunches and group bookings, and a caterer chasing weddings, christenings, conferences and corporate receptions.
The first-year investment is €24,300 including setup (€1,500 plus twelve payments of €1,900). Set that against what a single wedding or corporate catering contract is worth to you, and the number of extra bookings needed to cover it is usually small. The return calculator runs the numbers with your own figures, and our guide on how many customers it takes to break even walks through the reasoning.
Flood: own the territory in a crowded market
Flood is for ambitious operators in competitive cities: a small group with several sites, a caterer aiming to become the go-to name for large events, a brand opening a new location that needs to be known fast. The pace is intensive, and the plan only makes sense if your operation can keep up: kitchen, front of house and someone who replies to enquiries the same day.
At €3,500 a month, the first-year investment reaches €43,500. It is a growth decision, not a reflex. If you are unsure, our guide on what visibility budget a restaurant needs helps you find the right level.
The exclusive plans: lock the sector
Momentum Exclusive (€3,900 a month) and Flood Exclusive (€5,900 a month) follow the pace of Momentum or Flood with one decisive difference: no other restaurant or caterer in your vertical is served by Kolonell in your area for the length of the commitment.
These plans can only be bought while the sector is empty. Once the first standard seat is signed, exclusivity is off the table. They mostly appeal to upmarket caterers and restaurant groups that want certainty that no direct rival benefits from the same work. The reasoning is laid out in our guide to sector exclusivity for restaurants.
Deciding in five minutes
- Your dining room is usually full and you just want to exist online: Presence.
- You have spare capacity or want event and corporate contracts: Momentum.
- Your city is fiercely competitive and you have the team to handle demand: Flood.
- You want to stop direct rivals taking a seat, and the sector is still open: an exclusive plan.
One last factor people forget is timing. Seats are capped at 3 per sector and area. If two competitors have already signed, only one place remains, and exclusivity is no longer possible.
A word on what should not drive the choice. Picking the cheapest plan because the budget feels tight often means paying for twelve months of effort too light to change much in a busy food scene. Picking the most intensive plan to impress yourself, when the kitchen cannot absorb more covers, wastes money just as surely. Start from capacity and ambition, not from the price line. The Visibility Audit exists precisely to ground that conversation in what your area and your competitors actually look like.
What every plan has in common
Whichever plan you choose, you get a dated report every week, you follow results in your own Search Console, and you have a measured review at three months. The guarantee is the same across the board: what your plan includes goes live on schedule, or the following month is free. Kolonell commits to delivery and measurement, not to what Google or an AI assistant decides.
If you are still unsure which level is right, start with the Visibility Audit: it compares your business with other restaurants and caterers in your area and recommends the plan that matches your potential. See the plans and available seats.