Restaurants and retailers are building new, direct relationships with farmers and food producers.

Today, many restaurants showcase local, Canadian products.  While sourcing these  products is becoming more of a main stream industry with typical wholesale marketing, building direct marketing chains between food producers and restaurants or other retail markets is a real boon for both the agricultural industry and retailers.  Producers retain value on their product, while restauranteurs or retailers have the direct link, and the real story behind the product. All this helps meet increasing consumer demand for fresh, unique and local products.

In the spirit of building successful relationships between farmers and retailers, I’ve spoken with some people who have already built successful partnerships in the sector.

To launch this series, I talked to Donald Bowyer, Assistant Farmer in charge of marketing and logistics, at Ignatius Farm Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) in Guelph, Ontario, for his first hand perspective on building successful working relationships between the farm and their restaurant partners.

AP: How do you build a strong working relationship as a farm supplying restaurants?  How did you get started with this initiative?

DB: I can’t speak too much myself to how the restaurant end was started, but it is a natural extension of a CSA. Most CSAs either have  a farmers market they go to, or a restaurant to channel surpluses, as well as broaden the CSA membership pool. We build in a buffer into our planning so the CSA doesn’t get overly affected by poor crop years so always need a place to sell this extra produce. Restaurants are easier in some ways because they take less time than being in a market stand for a day at a time.

Communication is the key. It is hard to state how critical it is to meet with those who are ordering, as well as those working with the food to get a sense of their capabilities. Each time an order goes out, ask how things are going.  Same at drop off or pickup points- those are great opportunities to check in. I find it rather fun to get to peek into the kitchens and store rooms in restaurants I will often eat at, to see the inner workings.

AP: Do you have recommendations for restaurant owners who are interested in buying direct, perhaps a short list of “dos and don’ts” that make a farm-restaurant relationship smooth?

DB: Do talk to the farmer. Are they set up to clean, and package how you normally expect  your produce. Be very clear about what your own storage, cleaning and processing capacity when talking to the farmer, because not every farm will be a match. Often the farmer has a lot of produce coming in a small window, and you may not be able to take everything right when its ready. It’s good to have the farmer visit your place, see the storage and kitchens so they can get an understanding of your limitations and strengths to streamline ordering processes. If you are not really set up to do a final wash of potatoes, it may be better to order from a farmer who can do that final wash for you.

Be prepared to spend more time communicating if you are dealing with multiple small farm enterprises. They are often not set up to have someone to manage wholesale orders and so will take a bit more work than a dedicated salesperson might.

Farmers need some predictability. It has been very helpful for us to negotiate a base amount of produce the restaurant will buy. This makes crop planning much easier for the farmer, and makes the week to week ordering simpler when you have set amounts of produce coming in per week, with the flexibility on both sides to change amounts as needed.

Try to find time to do some evaluation in the down-season  to tune what had happened over the growing season. Usually the growing seasons are a bit too hectic for more involved conversations

AP: Can you tell me a success story, how your direct relationship with restaurants has enhanced the success of your farm operation?

DB: I would say our work with Bob’s restaurants (author’s note – Bob Desautels – The Neighbourhood Group) have been  a great success. They are very flexible about working with what we have in season, as well as always willing to try out some of our more obscure vegetables. As well they help us out by signing wholesale agreements, allowing us to crop plan for them, and for them to have a steady supply of vegetables without having to negotiate each week with each supplier. Predictability is a huge aid for everyone in weekly planning. We are also exploring some more fun possibilities like perhaps harvesting some ‘weeds’ for a true local flair in food.

Are you a farmer with a direct marketing relationship with a restaurant or retailer?  If so, tell us about your success stories. You can leave a comment below or click here to send  us an email.

Photo © Ignatius Farm CSA