Things To Consider When You Are In The Food Business And You Would Like To Expand Your Line Of Products
Vince had made up his mind he was going to increase his selection of frozen foods to include the areas of the western United States and the southwestern section of the country. As he considered his storage needs he decided that the smartest move he could make was to utilize the services of a large Texas Contract Warehouse with temperature controls to guarantee his products would reach their destinations while maintaining their high quality freshness. It took him a little longer to locate and make similar business arrangements with a California Contract Warehouse but it was worth the extra effort it took. He found that his business increased dramatically in no time at all and the extra services offered to him saved him time and money. Heparticularly discovered the inventory control features to be of value to him because he could use online tracking to keep “real time” tabs on his products. The transportation services were useful to him as well and made certain that his clients would receive prompt deliveries. All in all, he felt that he had made a good move that would make his business more profitable and customer oriented. This was the final part of a concerted effort he had made to improve his business over the course of a year. The first steps consisted of:
• Research and Testing: In order to expand the line of frozen products offered, the decision was made to offer a new line of dinners that appealed to a slightly more sophisticated palate. Sparing no expense, several chefs were contracted with who would concentrate their efforts on developing these meals and then working on drawing out flavors that would guarantee they would freeze well while maintaining their distinctiveness. It was a gamble but it worked like a charm and from this experiment twelve new dinners comprised the new line of frozen dinners, each delicious in a unique way.
• Advertising: After that it was necessary to promote and advertise these newly created meals. A full page color ad in six well-known periodicals and one in the Sunday coupon section (along with a coupon) introduced these new dinners. The photographer used to shoot the pictures of each new dinner was well known for staging food and bringing out the beauty of a finely presented dinner with table settings to enhance it.
• Marketing: Gourmet grocery stores were contacted in selected areas around the country and were asked to stage a debut day for the new line by offering free samples to all of their customers. This created a buzz about the products and in addition caused some of the grocers who had never stocked these dinners to start ordering them based on their customer rating approval. Anytime a food product can be offered personally to a group of people and receives a positive feedback it is worth untold amounts of money. People like to see for themselves whether or not they will care enough about a product to purchase it. If they are given the chance to sample it prior to just hoping they will like it once they get it home, they will not only appreciate it but will be inclined to purchase more than one because they know they already are fond of it.
