Restaurant Supplies
Most takeaway restaurants require large quantities of paper cups, plastic lids, bags, wrappers, boxes etc. The main benefit of this kind of business is that it is ongoing; as long as the restaurant is in business it will require these supplies. Many outlets do not buy in large quantities and are happy to use unbranded packaging but most chains and larger stores order bespoke packaging. This is relatively easy to obtain and the best part is that it will not cost you anything before you get the order.
This is definitely a business where you should source overseas and where cost will be the deciding factor in whether you secure sales. The key will be attracting businesses to buy from you in sufficient quantities that you will gain economies of scale such as cheaper shipping costs, and volume discounts from manufacturers.
You will need somewhere to store the supplies, such as a warehouse which will of course add to your costs, but allows you to deliver smaller quantities to your buyers whilst still reaping the benefits of larger orders.
One way to leverage the bulk samples might be to sign a contract for a fixed number of items in advance of them being required, or for a fixed amount of time, say a 12 month period. This allows you to order and store stock safe in the knowledge that it is already sold, whilst the restauranteur gets to benefit from bulk order pricing.
To maximise the value of your orders we would suggest that you use as many of the following as are practical to distribute your product: -
Yellow Pages/Local Paper
Trade Magazines
Website
Ebay
Direct Response
Trade Shows
The ideal start is to have people come to you with enquiries. This will happen when people are starting up, and/or when they are ready to replace existing suppliers. In order for them to find you they will need to be able to find you. Make sure that you are in your local Yellow Pages, and any nearby areas that you could easily serve. Also take out a standing advert in your local newspaper ideally in the restaurants section as it is most likely to be read by restauranteurs.
Trade magazines will give you a very targeted group of people in as much as they will be read by restauranteurs and would be restauranteurs. Make sure that your advert is eye catching and focuses on the main benefit of your service, whether that be prompt deliveries, lower prices, or something else.
With all this advertising you will want to make sure that customers can contact you. This will mean a telephone number, email address and website at a minimum. If you can afford to buy a catchy domain name and use the email address that comes with it, such as brad@ideas2earn.com then this will look more professional than a Yahoo or Gmail address and you can always forward the email to your usual account. By using appropriate SEO techniques and listing your site in online directories you will bring in more targeted traffic.
Believe it or not you can find paper cups, clear plastic lids and other supplies on Ebay. If someone else is selling them there then you can too. Open up an Ebay store and advertise each of your product lines separately.
Direct response is the more usual way of driving sales in this business. You will need to track down the owners of restaurants in your area and either write to them, or telephone to try and get an appointment. If you decide to go after one of the bigger chains then some samples may be a worthwhile investment at this stage. Don’t simply drop flyers door to door as the chances are the decision makers will never see them, try to ask in the store for the contact details of the owners/buyers/head office until you find the appropriate contact person.
Trade shows give you a great opportunity to show off your samples, as well as understanding what your competition are doing. Getting a stand is not always easy, or cheap but it puts you in front of your buyers and may help you to think of new product lines.
You will need to do some research to work out what items you want to supply, and where best to source each of them. Taking the example of clear plastic lids www.alibaba.com has 51 results.
Try to find suppliers who are more flexible as well as cheap and build a shortlist that you can contact when you are ready to order. Understand ordering times, how they usually do shipping, deal with customs etc.
Make sure you know what your delivery times are, and leave a margin for error. Under promise and over deliver.
You can start looking for buyers before you ever place an order. The deposit from your customers can cover the deposit for the manufacturer if you are distributing branded packaging. Based on your order you should be able to find bank finance for the balance of the order price which you will need to pay before you deliver to your customers.
Initially you can run this business part time, delivering in the evenings and at weekends, when restaurants will be staffed can work in your favour.
If you have a barn or similar outbuilding that you can use for storage then this idea should become a no-brainer.