The Crucial Role of a Catering Food Supplier

There is an ongoing demand of food materials for the foodservice operators like a restaurant, a grocery store, school, and hospital cafeteria and for those, the end users rely on an uninterrupted wholesale supply of food and related materials from the suppliers or distributors.

Buying these materials directly from the manufacturers will be a tedious job because for that the café owners or any end users will have to reach the individual manufactures for different products.

Similarly, the manufacturers will feel burdened if they have to sell their goods directly to individual foodservice operators which are their end users.

The Catering Food Supplier

The catering food suppliers play an important role as an intermediary. Suppliers and distributors act as a connecting link or mediators between the manufacturers and their customers (i.e. restaurant’s chef, grocery store, school cafeteria, etc.)

For example, if any restaurant or cafe in London will need a wholesale supply of different material to conduct their day-to-day functioning smoothly, they will reach out to any catering supplies London that can readily provide the stock of required materials.

 The restaurant or cafe owners will not search for individual manufacturers for different materials because it will be a very time-consuming process.

 With the involvement of a catering food supplier, the process of buying and selling different kinds of stuff becomes easier for both, the manufacturers and their end users like the café or restaurant owners.

 Let’s discuss and have a closer look at the significance of the role that wholesale cafe food suppliers play

Importance of the Role of a Catering Food Supplier and Food Packaging Suppliers

• Food storage and distribution is not a simple process. The wholesale food suppliers play a major role by providing food and related items that are used to consume food like- cups, plates, napkins, etc.
• But food distribution is much more than supplying food from manufacturer to their customers. In fact, they benefit growers, factories, and producers by marketing and selling their products.
• Another advantage offered to the manufacturers is now they don’t need to invest heavily in logistics. They just have to sell their goods to the suppliers/ distributors.
• If the manufactures were to supply to every individual end user then they will have to invest heavily in the logistics. That will prove to be an added expense and burden for the manufacturers.
• Stocking the materials for long can be done in the warehouses and that’s not possible for every manufacturer. They prefer to sell their goods to the suppliers/distributors. Many big distributors own warehouses and can stock up goods for long.
• Some smaller but more specialized distributors/ suppliers may forego warehousing and supply fresh materials via refrigerated sprinters, directly from the manufacturer or producer to the end user.
• These distributors based on the type of service they provide can be broadly classified into 4 groups- Broadline Distributor, Speciality Distributor, Redistributor, Cash & Carry.
• The Broadline distributor is a one-stop-shop and serves to a vast array of clients. They usually don’t specialize in any speciality product but are capable of offering thousands of products.
• Based on the size they offer advantages to the client like huge discounts on products. But a drawback with them is that their smaller clients don’t have much say in influencing the nature of the products the distributors carry.
• Next comes the speciality distributors and as their name suggests they specialize in distribution of one specific product or service. Speciality distributors appeal more to the middle eastern region chefs as the specific list of ingredients might not be available from the broadline distributor.
• Redistributors purchase from the manufacturers but instead of selling the products to the end user they sell these products to the smaller scale distributors in LTL (less than truckload) shipments. This works for distributors who lack a larger client base.
• Cash and carry are unique kind of distributor as they don’t transport products to the clients. Here, the clients visit the cash and carry warehouse to buy products in wholesale.
• Hence the food distribution system is quite diverse and is essential to maintain the uninterrupted flow of products from the manufacturer to the clients. In fact, it’s meant to ease the process.

Conclusion

The food suppliers help both the manufactures and their end buyers by acting as an efficient intermediary because these suppliers take care of logistics, transportation and product marketing with great expertise and ease.

If you’re a retailer, restaurant and café owner located nearby then you can easily rely upon drinks suppliers London for the wholesale stock requirements of drinks and get it on the best possible rates.

It’s also better to buy from the suppliers as the stock you get is available on a wholesale rate and you can focus on your competencies.