Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/102355
CHEESE FOCUS "We price a lot of cheese at keystone [twice the wholesale price], but we don't factor shipping into that, which takes our margin down. Sometimes we want to carry a cheese, but if we were to charge keystone, it would be ridiculously expensive. So we take a lower margin. Or if we don't have any delivery cost, we might not take full markup." —Rich Rogers, Scardello Artisan Cheese Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 364 They cover the sampling and the losses, like that little fresh goat cheese that no longer meets your standards. RR: Our big lessons have been about selection, not pricing. I initially had a more expensive wine selection and it just didn't move the way I thought it would. I had picked things that weren't right for this location. We've settled on a lower price point on wine but haven't had to do that with cheese. We've been able to bring in unusual and strange things and find them good homes and not be too concerned about where the price lands. KS: The real challenge we have is making sure to update our technology. When a price changes, we remember to change the sign but forget to load that into our register. So we're selling it at $32 when it should be $34. What do you wish cheesemakers understood better about retail pricing? PL: Sometimes they don't understand that if they want to sell me a cheese for $12 a pound wholesale, they can't go to the farmers market and retail it for $15 a pound because I look like a thief. (continued on p. 116) Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 530 44 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com