Finding Your Markets Webinar Series “Growing for Restaurants”

Sponsored by Bright Agrotech www.brightagrotech.com

1. Pros and Cons

2. Restaurant Accounts

3. Chefs

4. Sales Process

5. Pricing

6. Compliance

7. Restaurant Takeaways

webinar overview

Dr. Nate Storey

The Pros and Cons of selling to restaurants1

Pros Cons

The Pros Markets are close to home- Local!

Chefs are appreciative of high quality produce

Chefs are willing to pay top dollar for high quality produce

Chefs are often willing to work with live product

Restaurants can be a significant market in almost any area

More personable kind of market

Very powerful as a component in a portfolio of accounts- best as

part of the picture

Owners and Chefs can disagree on how to spend money

Owners don’t always appreciate high quality ingredients

Can be an unreliable market

Can be time intensive to maintain accounts

Requires more management to service dozens of small accounts

The CONS

2 restaurant accounts

Interested in boutique or specialty crops

Often willing to pay reasonable prices

Often feel at the mercy of food distributors and delivery schedules

Feedback from customers on local food is important

Restaurants can be great markets for small growers

Develops the menu and picks ingredients

the chefThe Chef is typically the person who gets to decide what to purchase for the kitchen

Manages kitchen staff Etc.

3

Most importantly though,the Chef is not always the boss. . .

The owners/managers (if not the chef)

call the shots and can: !Choose or choose not to pay vendors…

Or worse…

Fire the chef

If your chef is fired, you lose the investment in that person and advocacy of that person

They could choose to drop you and go with a cheap distributor…

!For a long-term account, you must have the chef and the owner sold on your product.

3 the sales process

Approach the Chef and sell him on your local/organic/sustainable/delicious

produce as well as the pricing and logistics

STEP 1

STEP 2

Make it known that you’d welcome the chance to explain your product to the owners/managers

Make this about your passion for your product, freshness, etc.

Remember: You’re trying to get everyone excited about what you’re doing and offering

STEP 3

Determine the Product that will be needed and the processes needed to supply it

instagram.com/bright_agrotech

STEP 4

Come to agreement on the relationship What do they want?

How much? Delivery schedule or on call*?

How do you bill? How do they pay?

Custom grown crops or custom techniques? . . .

INSANELY FRESH

This might be something as small as delivery on call for local restaurants, custom products or something that a large distributor can’t provide.

Use this as an opportunity to offer something “special” to your customer…

Emphasize your value.

Use this as an opportunity to communicate your limitations and weaknesses as well…

There are some things that a small producer cannot do that a large producer/distributor can.

Is there seasonality? Are there crop limitations?

Etc.

STEP 5

Get production going and set up a formal schedule/availability list with your restaurant.

Grow!

Grow!

Grow!

Grow Grow Grow

STEP 6

Maintain your account. !

Talk with the chef. Find out what he/she likes and doesn’t like, ask

what you could do better. Find out how to best your competitors.

Keep everyone excited about your products.

5 pricing

You are providing much more value. Price accordingly.

vs.

You cannot and should not price your product competitively with a food distributors pricing.

$

We price our herbs at our standard wholesale pricing…

$2/oz herbs $3-5/lb greens

…delivery included (on call)

Try to keep your pricing the same between restaurants.

Don’t devalue your product or give others the opportunity to do so!

Word will get around regarding special pricing for some but not others.

6

Same as you would do for a grocery store, even though there are no requirements made of you.

!

Sales to restaurants typically totally unregulated- but that is no excuse for not selling high quality, safe produce

Standard Agricultural Best Management Practices

Be sure to check out our “Selling to Grocery Stores” webinar

Restaurants can be a great, profitable way to sell produce locally

7 Restaurant Takeaways

Restaurants can give you great margins

growing for restaurants

Restaurants are very personal sales accounts. You need to stay on top of them/reorders

growing for restaurants

Higher logistic costs- many small accounts versus a few large ones

growing for restaurants

growing for restaurants

Best as one aspect of your sales portfolio. Sell to everyone you can.

Diversify.

Quality and value are incredibly important. Always sell your value.

growing for restaurants

The Bright Agrotech Team

Chris

Paul

Noah

Questions?

Finding Your Markets Webinar Series “Growing for Restaurants”

Sponsored by Bright Agrotech www.brightagrotech.com