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Ag Extension Agent.
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Marketing to Restaurants
Written by Debbie Roos, Agricultural Extension Agent.
Contributors: Ben Barker, Chef and Owner, Magnolia
Grill, Durham; Bill Dow, Farmer, Ayrshire Farm; Stefan Hartmann, Farmer,
Black River Organic Farm; Gwen Higgins, Executive Chef, Aurora's, Chapel
Hill; Alex Hitt, Farmer, Peregrine Farm; Bret Jennings, Chef Proprietor,
Elaine's on Franklin, Chapel Hill; Devon Mills, Chef and Owner, Babette's,
Durham; Sam Poley, Executive Chef, The Weathervane Café at Southern
Seasons, Durham
Crop and Variety Selection
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Don't try and offer something that the buyer already
gets locally, unless you are offering it at a time when local supply
is low (see below). Carve out a niche for yourself by being the first
to offer a new product. Some farmers find it helpful to have a lead
product that buyers will know you by - later on you can add products.
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New farmers should look at where and when they
can break into the market. Try and provide crops when no one else
has them, like at the very beginning or very end of the season, or
during the winter. These are times when farmers' markets are closed
and most established farmers take a well-needed break. Instead of
trying to compete during the busy spring and summer, look at what
you are able to produce during the much less crowded off-season. There
are huge opportunities for seasonal cold weather product.
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Some crops in high demand and short supply locally
include baby squash, baby leeks, beets, fava beans, heirloom varieties,
blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, figs, field
peas, lima beans, purple-hull peas, sweet corn (especially heirloom
varieties). Again, communication is important. Talk to each chef to
determine their individual needs.
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Crop diversity is important. If you are growing
something successfully, resist the impulse to overproduce it. For
example, if you are growing 1/4 acre of broccoli and selling it to
a restaurant, instead of doubling your broccoli acreage and trying
to figure out where to market it, grow 1/4 acre of cauliflower in
addition to the broccoli because there's a good chance the restaurant
you already sell to will want it, saving you the effort of finding
another buyer for the extra supply.
Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling
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Many farmers grow an excellent product but they
kill it before they deliver it through improper post-harvest handling
and storage. Quality starts in the field and can only decrease after
harvest. One of the most common mistakes is over-handling. As one
experienced farmer said, "they need to quit messing with the product!"
Streamline procedures to decrease handling time. Bunch and pack directly
in the field.
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Beginner farmers or any farmer growing a new crop
often don't have a good understanding of "units". If the buyer asks
for 20 bunches of basil, you need to know what a bunch is, and how
they want it bunched. Again, communication is extremely important.
Work this out in advance with the buyer.
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Harvest vegetables at the appropriate stage. Overly
mature vegetables will be rejected. There's a difference between "baby"
and "young". Some chefs don't like baby vegetables - they look cute
on the plate but have no taste. However, all chefs appreciate young
vegetables. The vegetable should be mature enough to have developed
a nice flavor, but young enough to have snap and not be woody or fibrous.
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Harvest and pack intelligently. What you do to
your produce after harvest has a big impact on its shelf-life. Follow
proper post-harvest handling and storage procedures to ensure a long
shelf-life for your crops. Chefs won't buy from growers who don't
know how to handle their product. It may look great coming in the
door but if it wasn't handled properly, it will lose quality fast.
Don't bring tomatoes in still hot from the sun unless you literally
just picked them!
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Keep the chef's needs in mind: provide trimmed,
clean produce that is convenient as possible to the chef. This may
include value-added products such as mesclun mix with micro-greens,
cleaned and ready to go.
Quality
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Small growers generally can't compete with larger
suppliers on price or volume, so you have to compete on quality and
service. Price, quality, and service are all important, but you can't
have all three - you can't provide the best price, the best quality,
and the best service. If you have the lowest price, then you are most
likely sacrificing quality and service. Provide excellent quality
and service at a fair price, and the buyer should have no reason to
look for another supplier.
Communication
- Communication is extremely important in establishing and maintaining
a good relationship with the buyer. Start off on the right foot and
stay on the right foot. Maintain communication during the off-season,
letting buyers know what you are planting, and when and how much you
expect to have. This can be done by phone. As harvest time approaches,
follow-up with more phone calls to remind them of what you have, how
much you have, and when it's coming in.
- If there's a problem (deer, weather, disease, etc.) and it becomes
evident you won't have as much product as you predicted, give the
buyer as much notice as possible. Buyers understand that risks are
inherent in crop production, but it's important to keep the line of
communication open - surprises are not welcome! Buyers need a chance
to line up another supplier.
- During the growing season, give as much advance notice as possible
of when you will have a product and when you expect to run out of
a particular item. The more notice you can give, the better, generally
7-10 days. Buyers need to know in advance when your supply will come
in so they can stop ordering from their larger suppliers and let their
current stock run out. Likewise, they need to know ahead of time when
you expect to run out so they can line up another supplier.
- Start communicating and building relationships with chefs before
the growing season begins, in January and February. Tell them what
you are planning to plant, ask for ideas of what they are looking
for, and then follow-up with reminders as the season progresses.
- Be consistent about when you take orders and when you will bring
them. A restaurant is a system that has deadlines and cut-off times
for when other sources must be contacted. For example, if you normally
provide lettuce and the chef hasn't heard from you by 3:00 p.m. and
their large supplier has an order cut-off time of 4:00 p.m., then
you may lose a sale and damage your credibility.
- Give a bit of warning as to when you expect the current crop to
stop and what is coming up, especially with odd products that might
take time to figure out a dish to use it for.
- Let the chef know if you can not deliver the product when you said
you would.
- Treat all employees in the restaurant as you would a potential buyer.
Staff turnover in restaurants is high, and if someone you know moves
to a new restaurant, they may can help you make a sale.
- Most chefs prefer that you call before you show up at their back
door. Do not call or visit during meal rush times. It's best to contact
them between 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 2:00-5:00 p.m., avoiding the 11:00-2:00
time slot if the restaurant serves lunch.
Service
- Buyers expect professionalism from farmers. You must think and act
like a business person. Call when you say you will, understand pricing,
provide a high quality product, show up on time, and be reliable.
Use a receipt book, not a scrap of paper or the corner of a box. The
importance of professionalism cannot be overstated.
- Don't promise more than you can deliver. Be conservative in estimating
how much product you will have.
- Offer the chef a small amount of a product that you have a hard
time selling. They may be able to use it on their day off and find
a new use or recipe for it.
- Consistency and quantity are important. Be able to provide an estimate
of weekly quantities for the following couple of weeks. Don't promise
more than you can deliver!
- Any written background information you can provide about your farm
is welcome. Chefs usually spend time out in the dining room talking
with customers, and the more they know about your farm, the more they
can tell your story to customers.
Price and Payment
- Local growers should get a higher price than California growers
because local products have usually been harvested within 24 hours
and so have a longer shelf-life, and therefore less "shrink". Shrink
is the amount that is never sold and is thrown away. For example,
a box of lettuce has 24 heads. If it was shipped from California to
North Carolina, it was harvested a minimum of 4-7 days before arriving
at the store or restaurant. The buyer will most likely end up throwing
away 6 out of those 24 heads. Buyers may pay more per head for local
lettuce but end up with less shrink.
- Some farmers will have an oversupply of something and then drop
the price drastically as they scramble to dump it somewhere; you are
not doing yourself any favors and you are hurting other farmers. Rarely
does a buyer purchase more when you drop the price. It's better if
you plan carefully to avoid oversupply.
- Use a receipt book that produces duplicate copies, and always get
someone to sign it when you make a delivery.
- For restaurant sales, most farmers aim for a price somewhere between
retail and wholesale, about 20% less than retail. Chefs may expect
a discount for higher volumes or contracts. Know ahead of time what
price you want, because most likely the chef will expect you to name
your price. Chefs are willing to pay more for high quality specialty
vegetables, especially when local supply is low.
- Payment schedule is something you work out with the chef. Most chefs
prefer not to pay on delivery. Keep in mind that if you get paid on
delivery, it can double the time you spend at the restaurant - time
that could be spent on the farm or developing relationships with other
buyers.
This page last updated January
16, 2006.
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