When it comes to why you should consider working with a food broker, Florida food service businesses know (and so do our other clients around the country) that utilizing the services of a food brokerage can not only reduce the costs of your inventory exposure and storage but recoup income on products that are not moving as quickly as expected.
To help explain the value and need for food broker services, we’ve put together a quick guide to how it works, including what food brokers do and how they benefit your business.
What Are Food Product Brokers?
Food product brokers act as the middle person between food vendors, manufacturers, suppliers, and other companies or businesses who have either a. Accumulated a bunch of inventory that is not moving, or, b. Have food product/inventory approaching a “best use by” or “expired” date. In either instance, the “owner” of that inventory (whether it is a retail store, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, etc.) must act quickly to turn that inventory – that’s where a food product broker can be of assistance. A food broker should, or rather must, have extensive relationships with a host of buyers. Experience and “time in the ‘industry'” is usually a great indicator of the value or potential value of the food broker you (should) choose to work with.
What Services Do Food Brokers Provide?
It’s helpful to think of food brokers not as salespeople but as intermediate negotiators. They can help maximize sales in various ways, securing solutions for everything from repackaging losses to selling national closeout foods. Specifically, food brokerage services include assisting in the sale of inventory/products due to the following:
- Discontinued products
- Packaging updates
- Expired products
- Food liquidations and closeouts
- Overproductions
The food broker’s role is to create new channels for food commerce so that businesses can continue to meet quotas and sales goals. The types of companies that (can) take advantage of these services include restaurants, grocery stores, pet food producers, commercial food suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and many more.
Food Brokerage in “Covid Times”
In “Covid Times,” the Food Service sector took a massive hit to their entire business model. Supply chains were disrupted, and end-user venues, such as movie theatres, bowling alleys, cruise ships, convention centers, and sports ventures, among other “mass consumer venues,” no longer needed the food they purchased. Food brokers, such as Marvell Foods, became an invaluable ally in helping this wide assortment of food industry players alleviate this complete change in the food services sector model.
What to Look For in a Food Broker
Hopefully, this post provided you with insights about what to look for in a food brokerage company. As one of the top food brokers in the country, Marvell Foods is not only a multi-generational family-owned business but has more than thirty years of experience in virtually every single aspect of the food industry. For clients, this translates to an unparalleled network of buyers’ relationships, not just coast to coast, but internationally. Maybe you need to move the product offshore? Marvell Foods does export. Perhaps you need to “bury” your product, so your brand/product does not get exposed to a commercial audience? Marvell Foods does work with prisons. Marvell Foods offers unique solutions to an incredible array of food problems your company might face.
Grow Your Business with Food Broker Services from Marvell Foods
Regardless of the product you have, irrespective of how much product you have – from one truckload to 100 truckloads, Marvell Foods can be a critical ally in helping you sell your product(s) into traditional and non-traditional venues.