How To Start Selling Fried Foods

Have you considered introducing a fried food offer?

You have likely heard of the benefits of selling fried foods. But when you consider building or expanding your own hot food offer, it may feel like a giant leap to get there.

At Meris, we specialise in cooking outside of the kitchen. The majority of our customers are not from the foodservice industry and don’t have traditional kitchens. Foodservice is not their bread and butter or at the core of what they do. However, it’s a highly profitable revenue stream for their business.

This includes supermarkets, petrol stations, convenience stores, bars, leisure venues and gaming rooms. Without a Chef or skilled kitchen staff, we work with these businesses to help them create highly profitable and sustainable fried food offers.

How To Start Selling Fried Foods

Meris Partner and Sales Director Andrew Brick gives his top 5 tips on how to get started:

1. Decide on a menu before you purchase equipment.
   Often businesses will purchase more equipment than they need, or it is not fit for purpose. Creating your menu first ensures you are set up for success and don’t overspend.
2. Start with a small number of menu items and do them well.
   Perfect your product quality and consistency before expanding your menu. Consumers are naturally drawn to high quality products, they know are always readily available. As opposed to an ever-changing menu with average tasting options.
3. Offer the food your customers want to buy.
   It can be tempting to design a menu around what you like to eat. But the easiest way to see a return is to offer what your customers want to buy.
4. Don’t fear waste.
   If you’re hesitant to display the product and fear putting too much out, you will never grow your sales. A filled, well-presented display sells more product than a half filled cabinet.  Waste is inevitable and is not to be feared. You need waste to make sales. You just need the tools to manage it.
5. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
   You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be successful. This comes back to selling what your customers want to buy. When you are just starting out, stick to the basics and do them well. There is always time to experiment further on in your journey.

How Meris Can Assist You With Your Fried Food Offer

Creating a successful food offer takes more than quality equipment.

For anyone looking to start or expand their food offer, we recommend giving us a call or booking in a complimentary consultation.

To help you create a successful food offer, we consider:

• Your business goals – what do you want to achieve? What does a successful food offer look to you?
• Your target customers – are your customers tradies, out-of-towners, busy professionals or families? What foods do they want to eat? How can you attract more of the customers you want through the right menu options.
• Your layout – The layout of your premises will affect how you prepare and display food. We assist with working out the most ergonomic and efficient layout. Guided by our in-house Chef who has the experience of cooking day in and out.
• Your team – what skills do your staff have? How can we support them with training and process development to ensure a new food offer is embraced and keeps productivity high.
• Supplier availability – We work closely with food suppliers and can assist you with developing a menu based around what is readily available in your local area. This ensures consistency of supply.

From here, our team will put together a proposal and quotation that suits your unique business operation, clientele and budget.

This can also include recommended equipment, menus, packaging and merchandising options, staff training and process development.

Ready To Get Started?

We are here to help. Whether it’s an informal chat about your current offering or if you would like to book a complimentary consultation, get in touch today by contacting 1800 265 771 or via our contact form.