It’s almost the new year, and a lot of us are glad 2020 is almost out of the way. With a new year comes a new market, and new products on sale. The food market is changing and growing as consumers change their buying habits.

With people sticking to an affordable, vegan, organic, and non-meat products in the new year, it’s a good year to potentially release a new product on the market. Here’s a look at the top food product trends for 2021.

Vegan Chocolate

Chocolate is not only a great dessert, it can also be a healthy snack if the ingredients are organic and well-sourced. Chocolate with vegan ingredients (meaning non-dairy based chocolate products) are on the rise and are expected to be trending in the year to come.

Coco Chocolatier points out that dark chocolate actually touts some health benefits:

“Research shows that dark chocolate contains a number of natural compounds that carry a variety of health benefits. This is particularly true in the case of vegan chocolate, as it is directly obtained from cacao – often referred to as a ‘superfood’. Recent studies suggest that the positive effects of cacao on the human body can be attributed to the high amount of healthy nutrients it contains – particularly flavonoids, as they have great antioxidant effects.”

Plant-based Proteins

With more consumers looking for meat alternatives, plant-based proteins are seeing bigger sales every year. Expect to see food products like tempeh, tofu, imitation beef, and other vegan-friendly proteins.

Plant-based foods are shaping the food industry, and at The Greater Goods, we can help you with your plant-based products. We specialize in foods like nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate, and making sure ingredients are sourced and your product is certified.

Food trends forecaster Elizabeth Moskow predicts that consumers will find a balance between eating meat and plant-based proteins:

“‘A trend in and of itself is that going forward in the next couple of years people are going to start coming to their senses and realize the answer is in the middle,’ Ms. Moskow said. ‘None of the products on either end is sustainable or something you can eat every day. Companies developing products that are once-in-a-while foods doesn’t make sense.’”

Mocktails

It’s always the right time for a fun, custom mocktail. This is an all-ages friendly food product that can be sold at any beverage retailer. Mocktails are on the rise as people want the fun cocktail experience at home, and a mocktail mix can have alcohol added into it. There’s also the opportunity for a more shelf-stable beverage option like powdered mocktail mix.  

Food expert Liz Moskow predicts non-alcoholic beverages like mocktails will be on trend in the near future:

“Clean living feels great, sometimes, but for the average American adult, imbibing with an alcoholic beverage often equates to being social and therefore isn’t going away anytime soon. Rather than choosing to regularly enjoy a boozy milkshake, or a Japanese whisky highball, or abstaining altogether, beverage that employ a light and refreshing approach with lower ABV options will better appease the base.”

How to Browse for the Upcoming Trends

If you’re trying to find out what new and upcoming food products will be trending in the year to come, check out Google Trends for this. Using their user search data, Google has compiled everything that’s trending, and all you have to do is search for specifics.

Searching for trends can take a bit of sleuthing skills, but focus on what you know you’d like to sell. For example, searching for “premium chocolate products” might turn out a more specific result. Or, just looking up “trending food products” can work if you’re just doing a general search.

At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

It might sound like a small detail, but the packaging you choose for the food and beverage products you sell can make all the difference in your product sales. The right packaging will keep your food safe while also appealing to a wide variety of customers. There’s a lot that must go into package selection. Good packaging is strong, visually appealing, functional and conforms to your company’s brand identity. Doing research and working with a food packaging consultant can help you through this process. Here’s what you need to know.

Know the Product Packaging Requirements

First and foremost, your product packaging must provide proper protection to ensure that your food or beverage product will remain fresh and safe for consumption. Product packaging requirements can be complex. Government regulations play a role in packaging requirements. Labelling requirements are government regulated as well. Following these requirements are so important that many small business owners benefit from working with a food packaging consultant on this issue.

Do Your Homework

Do research before choosing packaging for your food product. Know what your competition is doing. Read trade publications and find websites that discuss the issue of food packaging. Attend trade shows and join associations for small businesses that sell food products. Become an expert on this subject, and align yourself with an expert who can bring you up to speed on industry trends and recent innovations that could benefit your particular type of product. Get samples of packaging materials and try them for yourself. Know what works for your particular food items, and what doesn’t.

It’s very important to know what your competition is doing, so stay up to date on all their product releases. Follow their social media accounts and websites, watch for changes in the way they package their materials, and use your competition to get good ideas. You can learn what to do and what not to do just by watching others in your business.

Make Your Budget

Packaging costs money, and that affects how much you charge for your products. Make a budget that includes product pricing, business overhead, profit goals and other financial variables to determine how much you can afford to spend on your product packaging. Remember that your food packaging consultant can help you find the best deal on product packaging. Switching vendors, buying in larger quantities and shopping around can help you get the packaging needed for a price you can afford.

If you’re on a tight budget, use stock packaging rather than customized packaging. Hire a professional graphic designer to design a label that speaks to your brand identity and makes your food packaging look as appealing as possible.

Hire a Professional Food Packaging Consultant

Whether you’re new to the food industry or an experienced veteran who just needs better packaging for your product, hiring a professional food packaging consultant can help. To get started today, contact The Greater Goods for a free consultation.

As a food business, making the best possible product is of the utmost importance to you. From sourcing the right ingredients to finding the right manufacturer, there are many key stages to launching a food product.

The big step of getting your product to market could not happen without a food distributor. With a distributor working with your business on transportation, wholesale, and retail opportunities, you can rest assured that a distributor will get your product to the market. If you haven’t worked with a food distributor before, here are some tips on how to have a good working relationship.

Be Transparent on Cost

Whatever your food product may be, you should have the cost figured out before you take it to a distributor. Once you meet with them, they will ask for details about your product, like its shelf life, ingredients, whether it’s organic, among other things. They will also ask for the cost and factor in the price you’ll need to pay the distributor for their services.

Melissa Sonntag at Repsly explains that for your food product process to function with a distributor, the product’s price will likely rise:

“Going through a distributor may require you to raise the price of your product or change the way it is produced, so you will need to assess whether or not this would be a good move for your company. If your product now sells for $10 each, but distribution costs would force you to raise it to $17, it is crucial to understand how this will impact your sales and whether your customers will remain loyal following these changes.”

Make Your Intentions Clear

There are actually many types of distributors, so it’s important to make sure you’re working with the right one. An example is a broadline distributor, who carries thousands of shelf-stable food products and transports them to large markets. There are also specialty distributors who only service a smaller food category and provide to a certain niche.

Consider the reach you want your product to have. Starting off small is a great sustainable route to take, as you can assess production needs. Find someone like a cash and carry distributor, who will pick up and purchase your products directly to the business or market it’s selling to.

M Source Ideas further expands on the topic of a specialty distributor:

“Specialty distributors focus on a certain type of smaller category than a broadline distributor. For example, a fresh seafood distributor will have the supply chain and food safety skills and infrastructure to provide fresh seafood to seafood restaurants.  They will have products that a broadline distributor would not be able to provide. Or a specialty distributor might work exclusively with Middle Eastern restaurants, for example, across a specific region.  They would carry the specialized, niche ingredients that chefs at these restaurants would not be able to purchase from a broadline distributor.”

Work Out Transportation and Warehousing

Another aspect of your food product distribution is how it will be transported and where it can be stored. Most distributors will have their own warehouse and transportation services, but they’ll need to know the shelf life of your product.

Winnesota Transportation explains the warehousing function further:

“Many large distributors operate their own warehouses. Some smaller, more specialized distributors may forego warehousing altogether, transporting fresh products in refrigerated sprinters directly from the producer to the food service operator. It’s also common for small, local distributors to procure LTL shipments from larger distributors, using methods like cross-docking to deliver smaller shipments of products to food service operators.”

These are just a few of the many things a food distributor can offer your business. If you need help on working with distributors, our expert food industry consultants and food brokers can help you. At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

Whether it’s trail mix, walnuts, raw almonds, or roasted chestnuts, there are thousands of nut products out there on the market. If you’ve got a product that you’re sure is going to be killer in the retail space, there’s nothing better than acquiring that wholesale distribution deal.

Getting to a wholesale deal is a whole endeavour on its own, however, and if you’re a small business, it becomes even trickier. Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to sell your nut product wholesale.

Focus on Ingredients

It may be obvious, but focusing on ingredients should be the most vital step in creating, producing, and selling your food product. If you’ve sourced your ingredients to ensure your product is certified organic, it’s important that you tout that characteristic when you can.

The food market is competitive and more than ever, there’s a high demand for organic and GMO-free products. The nut product you have to offer, whether it’s a type of trail mix or raw batch, needs to stand out from the competition in its own unique way.

If you have a specialty product, Melissa Sontag at Repsly recommends finding a specialty distributor for wholesale:

“If you sell a specialty food item that requires unique handling or is only meant to be sold in certain locations, a specialty food distributor may be right for you. Specialty distributors have experience dealing with products similar to yours, and thus will ease your mind of any worries you may have about your product not being taken care of properly.”

Look into B2B Marketplaces

To get your product to sell wholesale, you need distribution businesses that you can reach out to. You may be able to offer your product at wholesale rates, but an external business is often the best way to go, since they handle distribution to a wide market.

To look for these businesses, check out B2B marketplaces online or in person. There are plenty of opportunities across the country or right in your area, from networking to annual conventions and trade shows. Grow your professional network to see who may be interested in your product.

The Balance Small Business highlights the importance of building your professional network:

“More experienced small business owners in your industry or niche are often the best source of information about wholesalers. However, other retailers likely will not be eager to share supplier information with competitors. Invest time in networking to build the trust and connections that will help you find the best possible wholesale suppliers for your small business.”

Contact a Food Consultant

You may have used a food consultancy for their services before, perhaps on the pre-production side of things or finding the right ingredient supplier. However, a food consultant can also help you secure a wholesale deal in more ways than one. The first being that consultants have plenty of industry connections and can get you in touch with one that will suit your product’s needs.

With this industry knowledge, a food consultant can help oversee the wholesale process from beginning to end. They can make sure the deal runs smoothly and you’re satisfied with the negotiations and costs. In the end, your product’s performance may end up on big-box retail shelves.

Check out our client case study with Luisella, and how we helped this business source the best ingredients and connected them with an international broker.

At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

Getting to a wholesale deal is a whole endeavour on its own, however, and if you’re a small business, it becomes even trickier. Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to sell your nut product wholesale.

Small businesses are what keeps our economy running, now so more than ever. If you’re a food business running independently, it is a daily hustle to stay running. But the payoff is always worth it when you see your products make it to store shelves.

While it can be hard to run a food business independently, it is possible to do on your own or with a small team. Here, we share our tips on running your independent food business and how to thrive in an ever-growing market.

Budget Your Costs

Running any small business can be expensive, and there plenty of hidden costs attached to running a food business. If you’re developing a new product, there are plenty of different ingredient sources, manufacturers, consultants, and other members in your team that require compensation. This is before adding in other costs, like taxes, business operations, and others.

It’s best to start at your budget. Assess the expenses you have now, and what you’re hoping to make. Figure out how your revenue will be distributed to make sure everyone is compensated fairly. Planning with a budget is key to avoiding any unexpected costs.

Financial planner Doug Keller said to Business News Daily that overestimating your expenses is a good way to make an effective, safe budget:

“‘So much of business is planning and reacting to the unexpected,’ said Keller. ‘For small business owners, failing to anticipate an expense or its magnitude could prove disastrous and cripple the organization before it has had time to grow. To counteract that, it is important that business owners overestimate expenses and shield themselves. Doing so is a survival tactic that will allow owners to hedge against risk or failure.’”

Pace Yourself

If you’re just starting up your food business, you may be full of ideas and raring to get them all started. But going at full-blast can end up burning you out quickly. When you’re planning new food products, it’s best to pace yourself.

The production process of a new food product may take longer than you think, especially if your small team is overseeing every aspect of production. It is possible to produce all of the ideas you’ve got cooked up, but it will take time. Pace yourself and make a business plan, including as many details as possible, even after the product launches.

Dayna Winter from Shopify says to start small when beginning your food business:

“Look into easy first-time food-businesses that require a low investment, minimal equipment, and fewer shipping challenges and legal restrictions. Thirteen-year-old Charlie Cabdish makes and sells candied pecans from his family’s home. It’s a business he can still run from a domestic kitchen—between school work and basketball practice—nearly three years after launch.”

Find the Right Team

If sales are rising and your consumer demand is growing, it may be time to grow your team. Assess your business growth and what kind of positions will need to be brought on. This could mean hiring more administrative roles, customer service, sales, or other positions.

If your business needs help with certification, finding a manufacturer or distributor, sourcing ingredients, or developing a more effective business plan, this is where consultancy can come into play. Bringing an outside consultant can mean a lot for your business and give it the boost that it needs.

At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

When you sell food products, the packaging it comes in is among the most effective ways to boost sales. While taste is an important element of successful food sales, the packaging you use can have a big impact on whether or not you attract customers in the first place. Food packaging should entice customers, so it’s essential to make the packaging design an essential part of the production process. In order to come up with the right design while also keeping costs down, you should consider working with a food industry consultant. These consultants can provide you with valuable insight on food packaging.

Focusing on Function

Food packaging isn’t just about communicating your brand identity. The packaging you use should also provide safety and preserve freshness so that the quality of your products isn’t affected. Customers are more likely to continue buying your products when they know that they won’t have to worry about getting food that has deteriorated due to low-quality packaging. Keep in mind that food packaging also needs to have certain information on it, such as a nutritional fact panel and a list of ingredients. A food industry consultant can help you determine where this information goes, so that customers can easily read it. Consultants can also help you with other functional design elements, such as using eco-friendly packaging materials and design processes.

Considering Cost

One of the biggest parts of food packaging design is determining costs. While it’s important to stay within your budget, you shouldn’t compromise on certain elements that can make your packaging successful. Food industry consultants can help you choose packaging materials that provide safety, eco-friendly features, and aesthetic appeal. Working with a consultant can also help you keep costs within your budget throughout the design and manufacturing processes. For example, a consultant might help you find ways to reduce costs during the manufacturing process while ensuring that you spend enough on the design and development process.

Contact Us for Food Industry Consultant Services

If you’re looking for a food industry consultant to help you reduce packaging costs, please contact The Greater Goods for a free consultation. We can help you create successful food packaging that boosts product sales.

If you’ve got a new food product, you know the process of just getting it developed was a lifetime of work. From sourcing ingredients, to finding a manufacturer, to packaging and delivery, it can be a process that possibly takes years.

If you’ve got your product all figured out, the last step might be one of the toughest ones yet: finding a distributor to take your product to market. Sure, you may have been distributing your product on your own to local shops and online. But to reach a greater consumer base, the best way to do this is through a distributor. Here are some tips on how to find a distributor that will work with you.

M Source Ideas explains what a food distributor can do for your food product:

“Distributors supply both aspects of the food industry; both the consumed at home side – the retailers (grocery stores, convenience stores) as well as the away from home side (restaurants, schools, hospitals). The distributor purchases, stores, sells, and delivers those products, providing food service operators with access to items from a wide variety of manufacturers. Food service distributors procure pallets and bulk inventory quantities that are broken down to case and sometimes unit quantities for the food service operator.”

Set Up Regular Meetings

To find the right distributor for you, it’s important you build on your professional relationship. A distributor is handling multiple sellers at a time, and your food product might fall by the wayside just because they’ve got a lot on their plate.

If you have had that initial meeting with the distributor, set up another one. Try to keep in touch with them at least every few weeks so you are fresh in their minds. You should also be coordinating with your food manufacturer to make sure tasks are being handled.

Here are some important notes to bring up with a food distributor, as highlighted by YFS Magazine:

“The first step to forming a fruitful union with a food distributor is to learn which company best aligns with your brand’s mission and vision. Things like freshness, quality ingredients, and the masterful production of your most prized recipes top most people’s lists. Ask your potential distributor about the types of products they currently carry. Some food distributors produce and transport mixed inventory (i.e. conventionally grown and certified organic). Others are strictly organic providers.”

Use a Food Broker

When working with large-scale food distributors, it may not be enough to negotiate on your own. Sometimes, getting a foot in the door just takes a bit of outside help. This is where a food broker can come in.

Where a food consultant can help you develop your food product, a food broker can also help to set up connections with a food distributor. If you’ve been trying to get that initial meeting or are looking for an idea on who to contact, this is where a food broker can come in.

Just what is the difference between a food broker and a food distributor? We cover this more extensively here:

“The differences between a food distributor and a food broker can be difficult to see at first. Both help food manufacturers get their product out to retailers and help them manage many of the tasks associated with the relationship between retailers and the manufacturers. However, the food distributor personally buys the product. They will purchase a certain amount of a given product at wholesale prices and then sell it themselves to retailers to make their profit. Since they purchase the product themselves directly, they handle more of the responsibilities involved with managing orders and inventory from the retailer.”

At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

Launching a new food product is a challenge because the food market is so competitive. A successful launch requires you to get your product out ahead of your competitors in a way that people notice and appreciate. It often takes long hours and the right team, including a food business consultant, to get a launch off the ground. You can also use these tips and information to assist with your launch.

1. Do your research.

Before you start the long and expensive process of a product launch or even product development, you need to do some review of your customer base.

• Do they even want the product that you are developing?
• Is the product new and unique enough from your competitors?

You should also check your local food distribution and production laws to ensure you are in compliance before you develop a plan for the launch.

2. Create eye-catching packaging that works.

Some packaging looks great but really is not very practical. When designing your packaging, you need to consider both of these aspects. Will it stand out from the crowd on a shelf? Will it fit well on a pallet during the distribution process?

3. Create a catchy sales pitch and marketing scheme.

Your marketing tactics should focus on what will motivate a buyer to purchase your product. What need are you addressing? What problem are you trying to solve? Focusing on how you can add value to a customer’s life can be very effective.

Be sure that you tie your overall pitch to your packaging and other marketing channels, including your website. A food business consultant can help you ensure that all of these pieces work well together.

4. Be realistic about the product costs.

Determining how much it will cost to start up a new product can be very difficult simply because you may not have the experience you need to make an educated guess. A food business consultant can help you determine what kind of pricing is realistic. They may also be able to help you with economical sourcing options that you had not considered before.

Sitting down to list all of the potential costs and then individually assigning those a dollar amount can be helpful.

• Supplies to create the food product
• Packaging
• Labor costs
• Overhead and facilities
• Insurance
• Marketing

If you do not have to change your existing facilities, for example, you may be much more focused on the cost of goods sold rather than equipment changes.

5. Ensure you have an effective distribution plan.

Unfortunately, many food entrepreneurs overlook creating effective distribution methods for their new products. However, a new product launch depends a great deal on how your product is distributed. Developing methods of distribution at the outset can set you up for success.

6. Engage a food business consultant.

A food business consultant is an integral part of your team as you go through product development, create distribution channels, and market your new product. This type of consultant can ensure that you are making realistic estimations, good supplier choices, and they can even help you with marketing options.

At The Greater Goods, we help food businesses launch their products in a way that lines up with their overall goals and values. Learn more about our services by requesting a free consultation with our food business consultants.

After going through all the processes of food production, you are finally ready to release your food product to market. The problem is finding the right method of selling to customers. There are many routes to go, from selling independently, to wholesale, to using a food distributor.

If you’re struggling figuring out where to start, it’s important to treat the sale of your product as part of the production process. To do this, you have to figure out what will make your food product sell, where and who you’re selling it to. Here are some tips to keep in mind when selling your product in the food market.

Know Your Clientele

Being familiar with your clientele base is true for any sale, no matter the industry. If you’ve sold food products before, either in person or online, look back on your best-selling – and worst selling – products. What were the reasons behind the product’s sales performance?

A lot of the time, food products can be targeted to specific customers and clientele. If your food product features any specific health benefits or ingredients, that is a sales characteristic that can apply to a specific demographic.

Michael Adams at The Balance Small Business also says to follow up with buyers after they’ve purchased:

“After a couple days, follow up with an email or phone call. Once you get on the shelf, follow up some more. Call the buyer to see how things are going. Spend some time developing ideas for store promotions to pitch during your follow-up calls and meetings.”

Create an Interesting Product Design

Design has almost everything to do with what we buy, and the same is true for food packaging. Your product design should be visually appealing and get your message across. Highlight certain ingredients, like if your product is gluten-free, certified organic, or other certifications it may have. Consumers want to know what’s going into their food, so make an interesting design that has clear labelling.

Melinda Gaines at Chron explains more on developing interesting packaging:

“Develop attractive, functional packaging for your products that meet all U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling guidelines for the type of food product you make – without this, no store will be able to put your food on its shelves. You can purchase wholesale food containers from online retailers or restaurant supply stores and have labels printed by a local graphics shop or do it yourself if you have the proper equipment.”

Make Direct Sales to Retailers

If you’re a small business and having trouble accessing a distributor, there are still plenty of options for you to get your product to market. One example is by making direct product sales straight to retailers. You can approach local businesses, shops, and retailers and offer your products with a wholesale price. This may take some work since you’ll be managing the delivery yourself, but some retailers will actually pick up your shipment from your manufacturing centre. Making a direct sale can often be cost-effective, too.

The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture Marketing says if you’re just starting out, try selling to a small retailer:

“Many small companies start by talking to independent specialty food stores or local store managers of a food chain and selling directly to the store. This approach allows familiarization of working with a retailer and getting product into local stores.”

At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

During the age of Covid-19, giving back to your community is as important as ever. As both businesses and consumers, the impact you can make on local business is immense. By just donating some of your time or money, a local business can get through the rough economy and come out of this still standing.

If you’re a food business, the need to give back might be as important as ever. Here are some tips on donation or volunteer options available to you as a food business.

Donate to Charities

If there is a particular charitable organization that speaks to your heart, see if you have the funds to donate to it. If you’re struggling as a business as well, a great way to still donate to the charity you want is by donating a portion of the proceeds. It’s not always important to donate a large sum of money immediately to a charity. To make it a more sustainable practice that you can continue even after the pandemic is over, donate a reasonable amount every month.

The best way to do this for yourself and consumers of your food products is by taking a portion of the proceeds and donating it to a charity. Most consumers actually want to know that their money is going somewhere, so indicate it on your social media or your packaging.

Host a Food Drive

If you’re someone who loves to organize events, hosting a food drive is a great way to give back to your community during these unpredictable times. Partner with a local charity or another local business and host a food drive in your area. More than ever, people are volunteering their time to help out, and you’ll be surprised at how many volunteers and donations you receive.

As a food business, it can also be a good way to boost your community presence so more people will know about who you are and what you can offer.

AARP has a great tip sheet on how to organize your own food drive. Here, they suggest reaching out to your local food bank to determine what they need:

“Consider both the obvious (food bank and homeless shelter) and the less obvious (faith-based organizations, senior citizen centers, schools). If you want suggestions on food organizations in need, start by contacting your local food bank…Food banks and pantries are all different, so before you start planning, be sure to reach out to learn the best way to meet their needs. Food banks are warehouses that collect large quantities of food to distribute to local food pantries, soup kitchens, etc. The food bank itself may be interested in benefiting from your drive. Or, they may suggest a local food organization in your neighborhood.”

Source Food Locally

Sourcing food locally is one of the most effective ways to give back to your community. Ensuring that the ingredients you’re putting in your food product are local is important not just to the environment, but to the people in your community. This way, you’re putting investment back into local business and supporting yourself and others.

Annie Mueller at Organic Authority suggests that one of the best ways to find organic foods locally is by going to your local farmer’s market to establish that first connection:

“Those vendors who are at the farmer’s market are often small farmers with additional products to sell all year long. They may raise livestock and sell meat or dairy in addition to the fresh produce you pick up during the summer. Get their names and contact information from the manager of the farmer’s market and get on the phone. You’ll often get better prices, too, by ordering ahead of time or ordering for a group (get your friends in on this). You’re supporting local farmers, getting local food, and getting better prices.”

If you’re looking for help on where to find the right ingredients, we at The Greater Goods can help. Reach out to us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

If you’re a small business and you’ve sold a food product on the market before, you’ve probably wondered how you can sell your product wholesale. 

Wholesale lets you sell your products in bulk to a retailer, who can then sell it directly to customers. Often, wholesale allows your product to become available to more than just your target consumers and be distributed to a larger market, even internationally. 

Chocolate products can be sold wholesale to retailers. It just takes a keen eye and your finger on the pulse of the food industry to determine how to effectively turn your product into a wholesale product. Here are some tips on how to get started. 

Sell Your Product Online

If you’ve tried approaching local retailers in your area on wholesale but they have declined, consider selling your product online. You can set up your own website and offer wholesale, but this requires a lot of networking to get your product out there. 

If you want more people seeing your chocolate product, reach out to online chocolate product retailers. Find their contacts through their website or on social media platforms like LinkedIn, and ask them what their wholesale market is like. They may want your product for their website and this way, you’ll be able to reach a huge audience. 

Entrepreneur Magazine highlights the growth of wholesale distribution in America: 

“Upon opening the doors of your wholesale distribution business, you will certainly find yourself in good company. To date, there are approximately 300,000 distributors in the United States, representing $3.2 trillion in annual revenues. Wholesale distribution contributes 7 percent to the value of the nation’s private industry GDP, and most distribution channels are still highly fragmented and comprise many small, privately held companies.”

Create a Steady Production Schedule

Acquiring a wholesale deal is one thing, but keeping up with product demands is another. So, when you’ve made the sale and have retailers to send your chocolate food products to, plan out when and how you’ll be getting this all done. 

For example, if you have three different retailers you’re delivering products to by the end of the month, plan out how long each step of the production process will take. The more detailed your schedule is, the better you’ll be able to plan for any setbacks or delays.  

Michael Adams at The Balance Small Business notes that your delivery schedule should be consolidated as well: 

“Doing deliveries every day throws off your schedule. That’s why you should consolidate your deliveries on certain days of the week. Maybe one county is Mondays and the next county over gets deliveries on Fridays. That leaves the middle of the week for producing product, doing office admin work, and calling on new retailers. Why don’t you consider drawing a route out that helps you get all your deliveries done faster?”

Create a Wide Network of Distributors

If you have multiple retailers to send products to, it may be hard to keep up with demand. Creating a wide network of distributors makes sure that no one is stretched too thin. 

If you’re sending your chocolate product out to a national or international destination, consider what distributors it’ll have to go through to get to the retailer. Whatever company or delivery service it’s going through, make connections with those distributors. Create good working relationships with the distributors that you use and check in when you can to make sure everyone’s on the same page. 

The Houston Chronicle says that determining your target market is also key in building your business profile: 

“Profile the target market for your food products. Doing so will help you figure out exactly who is most likely to buy your products and which retailers are best to work with. For instance, if you produce gourmet seasoning salts, your target consumer would be someone who is into fine dining and has the disposable income to splurge on luxury ingredients. Therefore, you should try to get accounts with high-end retailers, as opposed to discount grocery chains.”

At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

If you’re creating a new food product with nuts as a main ingredient, it’s important that you’re getting the right nuts that’ll work with your product. This food has a huge flavor profile and needs several things to be considered, like where it’s grown, textures, flavours and what kind of tree nut it comes from. 

Finding the right supplier can be tricky, especially for foods that have tons of suppliers, like almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, and cashews. Here are some easy tips to follow to find the right nut supplier for your food product.  

Reach Out to Local Companies

You may not know it yet, but there could be suppliers of nuts in your surrounding area. This is where networking can really come in handy. Reaching out to food companies that you know and asking them who their suppliers are is a great start. They may be able to connect you with where to look for bulk nut suppliers in your area. 

If you know of some food suppliers already, reach out to them to ask what their prices are and what types of nuts they offer. Bulk buying can offer big discounts, plus, you’ll be able to support another business in your local community. Here’s what Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says about why Canadian-sourced food is great: 

“Canada’s agriculture and food industry is complemented by a robust research infrastructure, bringing innovation to all areas of production. Canada boasts leading technology, cutting-edge innovation, and some of the world’s most advanced production, processing, storage, and packaging techniques.”

Find Suppliers at Tradeshows or Online

If you don’t know any bulk nut suppliers in your city or county, you may be able to network with some in your country or on an international scale. Going to food tradeshows is a big part of this. 

At tradeshows, people from every aspect of the food industry meet and establish business connections. You may be able to find the right supplier for you if you visit their booths, connect during one-on-one sessions, or ask other industry experts who you should look for. 

As well, you can find a bulk nut supplier in a similar way online. Use LinkedIn or your local social networking sites to connect with industry professionals and chat casually online. 

Gregory Go at The Balance Small Business provides these tips on networking with suppliers online: 

“Invest time in networking to build the trust and connections that will help you find the best possible wholesale suppliers for your small business. Participate in online forums which can be a great source of free information and help from other people with experience in your market or industry. You can also build your LinkedIn profile, subscribe to industry newsletters, and join your local Chamber of Commerce or small business networking groups to build your professional connections.”

Seek the advice of a Food Consultant

It might be harder than it seems to develop the right business connections when it comes down to finding a nut product. This is where a food consultant or food broker can come in handy. 

A food consultant often has decades of experience in the industry and can connect you to the right supplier based on your needs. If you’re looking for a certain taste or wanting to source your ingredients locally, a food consultant takes that into account. 

Here is our company promise to you: 

With over 20 years of experience, we know how to help businesses like yours get the products that will help you succeed. We know it can be difficult to find quality products that meet your expectations and certification requirements. It gets even harder when you are trying to meet a certain price point and want to stock something unusual. No matter what your struggle is, we can help you find the bulk nuts wholesale suppliers you need.

 At The Greater Goods, we specialize in organic food like nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, cocoa, and chocolate. Reach out to our team for a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.