|
Peanut butter
and jelly, cookies and milk, a hot cup of coffee and
the morning newspaper - some things just go
together.
How about vending and mobile catering? Can these two
food service options co-exist and even help each
other? Do they go together?
My answer is a resounding YES. In today’s
challenging economy, vending operators and mobile
caterers need to work together like never before to
create efficiencies as well as opportunities for our
companies and our customers.
Let’s consider just a few ways a vending company and
a mobile caterer can benefit each other.
1. Fresh Food – many mobile caterers operate
their own commissaries. Vending companies large and
small can always use new fresh food sources. Many
mobile caterers are already providing fresh food for
vending operators. Based on volume, daily
deliveries, private labeling, and even special
orders can be accommodated.
2. Full Service Sales – Every vending company
and every mobile caterer should have a partner to
work with in regards to the sales process. How many
times have you made a sales call as a vending
operator only to find out that the customer is also
unhappy with their lunch truck? If you have a
working relationship with a mobile caterer, you can
use that as part of your sales presentation. Same
thing is true for the mobile caterer. Many large
companies choose to use both mobile catering and
vending as food service options for their employees.
Instead of fighting this fact, embrace it, find a
reliable partner, and use it as a competitive
advantage.
3. Downsizing – many vending operators are
facing employee reductions that are directly
affecting bottom-line profitability. One of the most
difficult requests to the customer is for the
removal of a fresh food machine. However, by
introducing a lunch truck to the account, the
removal of a food machine will seem much less
painful. Sure, some other sales may be lost the
catering truck. But, the cost of maintaining
refrigerated food machines combined with the
decrease in waste and service frequency makes using
a mobile catering partner a smart decision. And,
what about those customers who close their employee
cafeteria? One caterer has worked closely with a
foodservice operator in Michigan and has had
outstanding success in bringing in catering trucks
(at no charge to the customer) to replace costly,
subsidized cafeterias.
Purchasing, networking, special event catering -
even more reasons for vending operators and mobile
caterers to work together to not only survive, but
to thrive in 2009 and beyond. CCFMA, the national
association for mobile caterers and food
manufacturers, will be partnering with NAMA for the
2009 Trade Show in Chicago. Stop by our booth and we
will help connect you with a mobile caterer or
vending operator in your area.
Previous Articles
|
