Foodservice/Catering

Customer service and supplier requirements in the Irish foodservice sector: opportunities for small food manufacturers

The foodservice sector offers significant opportunities for some small-scale food manufacturers. This research provides information to help them exploit this opportunity through a survey of 100 food buyers in the hotel sub-sector.

Foodservice is a diverse sector. In the hotel sub-sector, the main individual responsible for supplier selection and routine buying is the head chef. Depending on ownership status, others, including owners, managers and accountants/cost controllers, may influence the selection of suppliers.

To the hotel sector, the most important dimensions of customer service are condition of goods on arrival and product quality. However, importance varies by product type with frequency of delivery being of particular importance for short shelf-life products but of lesser significance for long shelf-life products. Small food manufacturers satisfy hotel buyers’ requirements very well in some areas, for example in product quality and delivery of correct quantities; however there is considerable scope for improvement in other areas, including price and range/assortment of products.

The main route to market in the hotel sector is wholesale delivery for the majority of food products purchased. An exception is dry goods for which cash & carry is more important. The retailer is important in meat supplies.

Food buyers in the hotel sector predicted best opportunities in the fruit and vegetables, seafood and meat categories. However, variation in predicted opportunities exists by hotel grade.

Small food manufacturers targeting the foodservice sector should become familiar with the different requirements within sub-sectors, such as the hotel sub-sector. They should identify the individuals responsible for purchasing decisions and recognise that these vary by ownership structure. When developing their customer service strategy, they need to consider the nature of their product as well as customer requirements. They also need to consider how they will get their product to the customer. If they use a wholesaler, they must consider its quality and its ability to effectively represent the manufacturer’s products. Finally, when developing new products and assessing market potential, they need to consider that, while significant opportunities exist within the hotel market, these vary by grade (See more..).

This project was supported under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programme and was completed in 2003.