I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want…

Michele Young, director of Foodservice Support Ltd (www.foodservicesupport.co.uk), considers aspects of the all-important product pitch and development process in the food to go arena.

LISTEN

I’ll make my apologies now for anyone who ends up with that Spice Girls song in their heads after reading this! However, listening to your customers and their needs is certainly the biggest strength any supplier partner can demonstrate in a business relationship.

Having been on the receiving end of many of those supplier pitches, however, I’d say that when a new product, equipment item, or service is first being presented, there’s very rarely a quick win in the initial introductory meeting, simply because the buyer or customer needs to have more information to assess the business case.

Business owners and operators are of course always looking for that latest outstanding innovation that will drive sales upwards, or the new support solution that will result in a more efficient operation, but this is often overlooked when the sales pitch is in full swing. So it is really important to demonstrate that you understand the business you are talking to and ensure that there is a compelling reason for the business to sign up for a new product, piece of equipment or service.

THE FOUR KEY PILLARS TO ADDRESS

Relevance – is it relevant for the business you are pitching to? What gap will it fulfil? How does it complement today’s marketplace trends over and above what the business is currently doing? Ease – is it easy to execute or use? Will it add any operational complexity? Does it need new equipment, and would the business appear to have space for your new equipment if required and the extra capacity to use it? Different – how is it distinctive and how will it differentiate from the operator’s current competition and help to standout in a busy marketplace? And can you assure any exclusivity to the operator? Profitable – will it deliver incremental sales and profit for the business concerned? What’s the projected return on investment?

CONVENIENCE CULTURE

In the UK, which is the leading market in Europe for the ‘grab & go’ culture (thanks to our famed lunchtime reliance on sandwiches), eating patterns have been changing over time with increased snacking prevalent throughout the day and traditional meal occasions fragmented into more frequent and smaller snacking occasions.

Flashback 10 years or so and the selection of food to go products was predominately dominated by confectionary, sweets, treats and snacks such as crisps, cheese or meat snacks – all the products not necessarily associated with a healthy diet. Today, we observe new propositions within the food to go category thanks to key players like Leon, Pret, Crussh and Pure (to name a few), who taught us that fast does not need to mean unhealthy, and that fast and fresh can run in parallel.

We’re also seeing the divide between foodservice and retail convenience stores blur as chains like M&S, Waitrose and Morrisons all fight for market share in the food to go sector.

Relevance

“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers” – Seth Godin.

Firstly it’s important to understand the target audience of the operating business as well as what trends could be affecting the operator’s daily trade pattern. What has happened to the pre-covid target consumer – are they displaced? Working from home or back at the office?

Price positioning will also be key in understanding how your potential customer pitches their business within the food to go sector to determine if the price proposition you recommend is achievable?

Health and wellness is an obvious trend right now with consumers being more conscious of what they eat. This means that many players are looking to offer healthier or vegan or plant-based options within their product range, although the requirement will vary dependent on the specific audience the operator caters for.

With increased interest in ingredients and nutrition it is important that food to go future developments meet this customer need and is in line with government guidelines relating to salt, sugars, fats, etc. but even more so that they can be marketed as beneficial to health and wellness.

Post pandemic concerns around safety and hygiene are more prevalent so individually wrapped, single serve products are likely to see a surge in the grab & go sector. However, sustainability has a place on everyone’s agenda, minimising food and packaging waste is also a key priority. Now more than ever, people are looking for long-term sustainable solutions – whether ingredients or packaging, so operators are looking to tick the credentials box when it comes to the ingredients or materials being used.

Did the business partner you’re addressing pivot during the lockdowns? Would your proposed product solution work for take-out or food delivery? There are certainly advantages right now if what you are offering provides an additional sales channel opportunity.

Ease of execution

There are very few players across hospitality right now who are not experiencing challenges on recruitment or supply chain. Everyone is juggling a fi ne balancing act in terms of staff availability, delivering great customer service and ensuring product availability.

Equipment, solutions that reduce preparation times, maintain product quality, require minimum labour or resource and increase effi ciencies will be most certainly be favoured. Equipment that needs an extended 30 minute clean down cycle or regular daily maintenance will just put pressure on the already weary workforce. Now is the time to reduce complexity overall.

For the customer experience to be optimised, ease of handling or eating on the go must also be a priority. Portable food to go solutions that are functional and practical will cut through.

Point of diff erence

Competition is healthy, but at the same time, no-one wants to be seen as a ‘me too’. Pret were always the leaders in innovation – when they initially launched porridge it was a real point of diff erence in the breakfast market. Before you knew it, every single operator in town had porridge on the menu.

Many operators will want to be assured that they can have something unique to help them stand-out from the crowd. It’s important to be able to articulate what is unique or diff erent about your product or service, versus the closest competitor so that there is a compelling reason to choose it against any other.

Sometimes that may mean off ering some additional marketing support through your own social or advertising channels. It’s useful to sometimes have a marketing support toolkit available to help launch your product into any new business.

Profi table solutions

Independents as well as multi-nationals are in business to make money, but profi t comes as a result of being good and from gaining repeat business, so it’s equally important for the supplier partner to provide some additional after-sales service to ensure that products, equipment or support systems perform as they are supposed to.

Profi t margin calculators are a great way to demonstrate the long-term potential but in the short-term it is important that supplier partners off er after-sales support and / or training where necessary.

I always remember working with the Handmade Cake Company, who off ered tips and tricks via their “useful stuff ” guide on their web site, so you could ensure that your cakes maintained strong visual appeal. This is the kind of added value support that builds long-term supplier/customer relationships.

Coming forward with effi cient, functional, practical and bangon trend solutions to address new customer needs will certainly be welcomed by all operators.

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