You may not be aware of this, but the food service industry is filled with many different players that businesses need to keep track of, as well as a host of different channels for transporting products from the warehouse, into the marketplace. There are plenty of strategies involved that can lead to failure or success in the current space, and if you add to that the rapid changing of pace alongside a regulatory environment, you end up with a big challenge for established and new manufacturers alike.
Here, we’re going to cut through some of the confusion, and help you to figure out exactly what you need to know to get started in the food service industry.
1. The World of Food Service is Very Complicated
When you think about the food service industry, the chances are that you think about restaurant and retail establishments which commonly sell food directly to consumers. These players are just the tip of the iceberg in a very complicated supply chain. In order for food to reach the end consumer and retailer, it actually moves through a pretty difficult path, full of specialised players, such as:
- Wholesale food service distributors: Wholesale food service distributors buy and sell products while handling the various logistics that come into play when it comes to getting food from a manufacturer, into a restaurant or retail stockroom.
- Food brokers: Food brokers can help you to determine where your product is going to go, and ensure that you have a better chance of getting onto the shelves in your local supermarkets and retailers.
- Export experts: These professionals ensure that you make sure you follow the rules in place for exporting food outside of Australia, and that you’re prepared to hit a new market thanks to things like international buying showcases.
- Account managers: These are professionals that bring all the aspects of running your food business together, and ensure that you’re prepared for success.
2. Safety and Regulations are Essential
It’s worth remembering that food safety is a huge concern in the food service industry. That means that regulation plays a significant role in how things get done. There are various regulatory bodies that are involved with managing the food service industry, including the FSA.
Working with the right people can help to ensure that you know which steps you need to take in preparing your food for transportation, particularly when you’re working with distributors and food brokers. Recently, technology has also made it much easier to dramatically improve food safety solutions with enhanced trace and track abilities that offer more data about how food is handled through the supply chain.
Best practices in the area of safety and regulation has enabled regulators to increase their standards regarding safety, and it’s important to make sure that you’re aware of what’s going on in your niche. One of the biggest issues of food safety regulation is maintenance within the cold chain, or making sure that products like meat and dairy are maintained at the right temperatures.
3. There’s Help for your Business
Finally, it’s important to know that as complicated as the food service industry is, there are experts out there that can help you to make the most of your business and improve your chance of growing within your marketplace.
A lot of people in the food service industry assume that they have to go it alone, and then struggle to find food service distributors, brokers, and account management experts who can help them to optimise their business processes. By getting involved with the right people from the start, you can reduce the amount of risk that you expose yourself to as a food service business, and potentially increase your chances of success.
The food service industry is increasingly relying on a complicated web of regulations, professional players, and technologies to help ensure that food reaches shelves and customers safely, and at the right level of quality. Today, it’s important to make sure that businesses are fully informed about the nature of the food service industry, and the help that they can get from organisations like dynamic retail solutions.
At Dynamic Retail, we can help you with everything from account management, to making sure that you interact with the right wholesale distributors for the food service industry. Wherever your business is going, we can help you to get there with as little risk, and hassle as possible.
Get started today by contacting Michael on 0408 338 446.
