Safe to say it’s taken me many long hours on my feet in kitchens and every mistake in between to feel like I somewhat know a thing or two about restaurant wholesaling. And although I choose to no longer pursue farmers markets (see my previous post), I still learned a lot about that side of marketing that’s also worth sharing.
As I’ve talked about at length, a hefty lever for leaving farmers markets was to ultimately take care of myself so I could then take care of the business. But if we put my well-being aside for a minute, I also noticed SO many differences between restaurants and farmers markets in a way that was almost conflicting. Yes, I’m going to get into each of them below.
Crop Variety
The two most evident disparities were preference for (i) crop variety and (ii) size. When it comes to variety, the restaurant industry is always pushing the envelope, seeking the most unique ingredients that look or taste divergent from the norm. Chefs are constantly trying to differentiate themselves from the restaurant down the street or across the world, and ingredients are a sure way through. So what does that mean for you as a farmer? If you get it right, your brand can come with a level of exclusivity that is of great value to a restaurant.
These uncommon herbs and vegetables Chefs seek are often irrelevant to the household customer who is shopping for their family’s weekly groceries. Meaning? The demand and interest for these products in markets and restaurants are completely opposite. Rare ingredients are either (a) praised by Chefs and greatly sought after or (b) overlooked and require a lot of education to market shoppers. The two can’t coexist coming from a single small farm.
Chef Preferences
Marketing to Chefs is an entirely different beast than selling at markets. And I don’t mean to intimidate you, but you’ve got to be on point. In the future, I’ll share all about how to market your farm business & produce to Chefs, but for now, just a quick snapshot of what they’re interested in.
In my experience, the Chefs I work with aren’t looking for...
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