Local Food for Food Service - Plunkett Franchise Models
The Foodservice sector is made up of catering businesses and other organisations that prepare and serve food. The sector is generally divided into two categories – the so-called “Profit” sector, i.e. restaurants, pubs and hotels, where food is sold to make a profit, and the “Cost” sector, i.e. staff catering in businesses and public procurement for hospitals, welfare, prisons, where food is provided as a cost to the organisation. The “Profit” sector provides meals in response to customer demand, whilst those provided within the “Cost” sector are through necessity. Within these two categories different types of organisation operate –companies who run different types of food service outlets, distributors who supply foodstuffs (usually under contract), and wholesalers who may supply the distributors, or supply direct to operators or to cash and carry outlets.
As the industry structure is complex, finding the right route to market is crucial for a local food co-operative. The “cost” sector has traditionally been very difficult for small organisations to access, although this is changing, particularly in local authority supply. However this model focuses on supply to high end profit sector outlets, where a local food co-operative can differentiate its offering more successfully. There is an opportunity for co-operatives to create viable distribution networks between local producers and local food service businesses, giving producers access to new and profitable markets for primary and secondary food products. The food products are produced within a designated geographic area (which could be a national park, or named region or area) and are branded and marketed as local. The skills needed to market these products, and the resources required to operate the distribution network can be funded collectively by the co-operative.
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