Towns and cities in the UK play host to thousands of restaurants, cafes and takeaways. Seafood is a longstanding favourite on their menus, from the finest hotel to the popular corner fish and chip shop. (Did you know that 80% of us Brits drop into our local fish and chip shop at least once a year?).
On a linen tablecloth or from a paper wrapper, it’s an enormous potential market. Let’s look at how can you stand out from the crowd as a wholesale seafood supplier in the UK or Ireland.
What Venues Look For In Preferred Seafood Wholesalers
Most Chefs and venues will assess four things when reviewing their existing suppliers or considering new ones.
Quality, Variety and Freshness
Restaurants will prioritise seafood wholesalers who can consistently provide high-quality, fresh products. That means having processes in place to ensure that seafood maintains its freshness from ocean to plate. And they will look for a supplier that can provide a wide variety that caters to all of their menu options.
Consistency in Wholesale Supply
Reliable supply is crucial for restaurants, as any disruption can impact menu offerings and customer satisfaction. Restaurants seek suppliers with a reputation for dependable delivery, consistent product availability, and back-up plans and good communication when there are delays or substitutions.
Seafood Price and Value
Competitive pricing is important, but your fillet of salmon is pretty much like the other supplier’s. So restaurants also consider the overall value offered by the supplier. This includes not just the cost of the seafood, but also delivery charges, payment terms, your ability to offer food prepping before delivery, and the quality of your customer service.
Supplier Reputation and Experience
The reputation and experience of a seafood supplier are critical in winning business. It helps build the trust that leads to long term relationships. Chefs talk to each other all the time. They prefer suppliers with a solid history in the industry. They look for positive reviews from clients, and (often) a commitment to sustainable and ethical sourcing.
Other Ways Chefs Can Evaluate Seafood Wholesalers
As well as comparing on quality, price, service and reputation, high end establishments and bar or restaurant groups may have specific requirements. Some may mandate use of a formal guide for assessing seafood suppliers, which may cover audits, certifications, and rules around negotiating contracts.
Quality Assurance And Supporting Documentation
When chefs are working with new seafood wholesalers, they’ll often want to see food standards and safety certifications. Particularly for large chains, wholesalers can expect to provide more information before being accredited as a supplier.
Packaging And Sustainability For Seafood Wholesalers
Suppliers may also be required to provide technical information on packaging materials, recyclability, or returnable containers. This trend is, at least in part, driven by consumer expectations of the restaurants they frequent.
Good Order Management
Many of the best seafood suppliers offer online ordering, which speeds up order processing, improves accuracy and can allow them to keep chefs updated on the status of orders. Chefs can track where an order is, get immediate notification of substitutions and see proof of delivery from anywhere at any time.
Ready to Streamline Your Seafood Order Management?
In such a competitive market, cafes, takeaways and restaurants should assess seafood suppliers against the criteria shown above. And, to succeed, suppliers should ensure they have systems in place to meet the service levels expected by their customers.
Do you operate a food outlet or restaurant? If you are already using one of the best wholesale seafood suppliers, ask whether they use an ordering system like Fresho to deliver you great service.
If you are a wholesale seafood supplier, remember that Fresho provides hundreds of 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.
