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Food Wholesalers 101: Everything You Want to Know About Them

Author: Cafe Deli
by Cafe Deli
Posted: Nov 10, 2017

Lots of cafés and small eateries in London prefer to have their food supplies delivered by food wholesalers. These wholesale food companies provide both raw and cooked products to a host of eateries at a much reduced price. If you run a café or restaurant, here’s a post covering everything on such food caterers.

Everyone is familiar with the term wholesale. But what exactly do wholesale food products constitute? How is a wholesale food business run? How is it any different to a regular business? Does one benefit from buying food in wholesale?

Find answers to all of these questions and more below!

First off, wholesale food products are no different to any other food products except that they are sold in bulk quantities. Lots of cafés, coffee bars and casual dine outs these days run without an active kitchen. They, in fact, purchase their products from high-quality food wholesalers thereby cutting costs and focussing solely on presentation and décor.

This has quickly become a rather common business model with some of the most popular cafés in cities like London.

What Are The Most Common Food Products Sold Over Wholesale?

Typically, the most common food products sold over wholesale are the variety that is easiest to store. While high dining gourmet restaurant will never purchase entire meals from a wholesaler, they do purchase their basic raw materials in bulk quantities.

However, several cafés that run without an active kitchen chose to get entire cooked meals over wholesale. This can range from simple cheese and dairy products to breakfast items like bacons, sausages and eggs. It also includes cooked meat and seafood, both of which are typically ordered on relatively short notice due to their need of proper preservation.

Other products typically include:

  • Cakes
  • Brownies
  • Soups
  • Drinks
  • All kinds of spreads and sauces
  • Oil, vinegar, condiments
  • Bakery items like breads, croissants, paninis and bagels
  • Potatoes, grains, rice and pasta

How Does A Wholesale Food Business Run?

Some wholesale food business veterans suggest choosing a specialization before everything else.

For instance, it makes sense for companies offering wholesale food Surrey to cater specifically to just fish and chips. This helps the business streamline its products targeting a specific market. In fact, deciding on a target market is of critical importance as it tells you who is likely to purchase the particular kind of food. It also guides the business towards knowing the retailers they must work with.

The next steps involve renting out a kitchen, hiring cooks and setting up the logistics of the business. One also needs to pay attention to the kind of packaging required. A wholesale food business must also make provisions for plenty of storage space. Remember, the supplier of wholesale food items must also, in turn, buy their raw materials inbulk wholesale.

Thereafter, the company needs to get all legal permissions, licenses and permits – before moving into framing policies with clients. These policies could range from anything like minimum order amounts, credit terms, lead times and more.

Finally, the wholesale food business is ready to promote its brand to the public!

Why Do Cafés Buy Food In Wholesale Amounts?

Cafés, coffee shops and some small eateries tend to prefer buying wholesale ready-made food and beverages for plenty of reasons. Below listed are some of the biggest benefits.

  • No cost incurred for an active running kitchen
  • No need to spend on manpower for the kitchen
  • Special subsidised prices on wholesale purchase
  • Guarantee of certain standard of quality when buying from reputed food wholesalers

Such a food business can also cut costs by setting up operations in a place where rentals are cheap. For instance, several wholesale companies provide food to cafes in London while operating out of Surrey. As per market research,wholesale food Surreycosts 15-20% less than retail market rate.

All in all, a wholesale business model for food products works well for all parties. The wholesaler doesn’t need to spend on building a décor, while the cafés don’t require spending on having a kitchen or cooks.

About the Author

At Café Deli Wholesale, we supply wholesale drinks such as coffee and are one of the best coffee suppliers – so call us today and ask us for samples and additional information about our various blends. Check us out today.

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Author: Cafe Deli

Cafe Deli

Member since: Aug 23, 2016
Published articles: 18

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