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/139333
cheese focus What big lessons have you learned about managing inventory over the years? Stacey Adams: You want to provide so much variety for people and you fall in love with everything. But it's better to focus on a core number of cheeses that satisfy a lot of people. We hold tasting events every Saturday that allow us to satisfy our passion for cheese. We create a theme and introduce four new cheeses. The tastings are free, and often we have a producer there. If the cheeses are a hit, they're going to find a home in the case. Fine European Food Specialties Combining a tradition of quality, exciting new products and classic favorites… Amy Ruis: It used to be hard to say how funky was too funky because we didn't know our product well enough. Now I have somebody focused on getting inventory turned. We know when we need to take a little discount on something and make it go. And we've worked to educate customers that a cheese that smells isn't bad; it's probably really good. Rob Lawler: If you're just opening, you don't know what you're going to sell, what people are willing to pay or what your neighborhood will support. We don't get anything we're not excited about. We just got a shipment with a whole wheel of Comte, some spring goat cheeses from France and a pecorino packed in olive branches, and all the employees were bouncing up and down. It was like Christmas morning. Having that sort of excitement about what you're selling makes it easier for customers to get excited. Unless you're exposing people to something cool and exciting, you're going to have a hard time. Connie Rizzo: One of the hardest things for me to learn was, if you're out of something, there's always something else that you can talk a customer into. I have to bank on that. If we run out, it's fine. Mestemacher All-Natural, Whole Grain Breads and Muesli Hans Freitag Cookie and Wafer Assortments Niederegger Marzipan and Nougat Favorit All-Natural Swiss Preserves Brandt Micro Minis and Zwieback Swiss Delice Cookies Favorit Iced Tea … and so much more # Stop by Booth 636 at the Fancy Food Show, June 30-July 2. CARL BRANDT, INC. 140 Sherman Street, Fairfield, CT 06824 Ph (203) 256-8133 • Fax (203) 256-8135 • mailbox@carlbrandt.com • www.carlbrandt.com Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 636 62 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com Kent Torrey: You have to make sure staff is trained to maintain the product: wrapping properly at the end of night; learning how to sample without creating big gouges in the face of the cheese; and making sure staff doesn't just grab their five favorites and always sample those. We have a "grab box" of little pieces for customers and a sign that says, "Try something different!" "Unless you're exposing people to something cool and exciting, you're going to have a hard time."—Rob Lawler