In this article we look at how you can become one of the best wholesale chicken suppliers in your part of the UK or Ireland. With over 20,000 food service venues in London alone, the potential market is huge. But how can you, as a wholesale supplier, stand out to restaurants? Aside from price and quality, what other considerations should chefs take into account? Finally, we explore how poultry suppliers can streamline their wholesale orders to boost growth in challenging economic conditions.
Why Choosing the Right Chicken Wholesale Supplier Matters
For many restaurants, chicken remains as one of the most popular dishes on the menu. Whether it’s serving roast chicken or BBQ wings, chefs need a reliable poultry supplier. If restaurants promote free range or organic products on their menu, suppliers play a key role in ensuring that the chicken they serve is in line with those standards. This means that suppliers need to know what meat they are selling and label it clearly so chefs know they’ve received the correct order.
Factors to Consider When Selecting a Poultry Supplier
While price and product quality will always remain as the key factors in any purchasing decision, there are other factors to consider too. One of these is the reliability that you can offer as the poultry supplier. Are you always delivering your orders correctly and on time? If not, kitchens can struggle to do the prep they need before service commences or may have to make the dish unavailable.
Many suppliers are now moving towards online ordering to keep chefs updated on their orders. Chefs can track where their order is and see proof of delivery even if they’re not in the kitchen to receive it personally.
How to Evaluate Chicken Suppliers for Restaurants
Wholesalers should be aware that some venues may use a written guide for assessing chicken suppliers, including tips on conducting audits, checking certifications, and negotiating contracts.
When chefs are working with a new supplier, they’ll often want to see food standards and safety certifications. Particularly for larger regional or national venue chains, wholesalers can expect to provide more information before being accredited as a supplier.
Occasionally, suppliers may need to provide technical or sustainability information on their packaging, such as vacuum pack pouches or carton recycling options.
Benefits of Becoming A Reliable Chicken Supplier
The food industry is built on long-standing relationships between chefs and suppliers. Poultry suppliers and chefs will ideally be working together for many years. When this happens, the relationship develops to a point where the supplier understands the chef’s needs. This might be in the form of a reminder to a chef if the regular weekly order is forgotten, or to substitute the right replacement if a product is out of stock. Ultimately, this allows the chef to focus on cooking great food which will delight customers.
Ready to streamline your chicken orders?
In summary, there are many excellent poultry suppliers. However, suppliers need systems in place to meet the needs of their wholesale customers. This may be providing food safety certifications, product sourcing information, or simply providing a reliable service every time.
Do you operate a food outlet or restaurant? If you are already using one of the best wholesale chicken suppliers, ask whether they use an ordering system like Fresho to deliver you great service.
If you are a poultry supplier, keep in mind that Fresho provides hundreds of meat and poultry suppliers like you with order-to-invoicing software that can help your business thrive. If you’d like to find out how Fresho can help your business run more efficiently and increase sales, sign up for a 14 day free trial today.
