Food and Beverage Consultants

Radiant Systems Inc

Guide to Food and Beverage Consultants

Maximize profits and achieve marketing success with restaurant consulting firms
By Jeff Landry

Food and beverage consulting is a widely used and diverse service vital to the success of many in the restaurant industry. People without a strong base knowledge of the industry open new restaurants every day. Opening, or even operating, a restaurant presents an infinite series of challenges that can overwhelm an owner or manager if not handled properly.

Food consulting companies specialize in meeting these daily challenges head-on by understanding trends, establishing proper systems and procedures and marketing your concept to the ideal target audience. Here are the 3 most valuable services a food service consultant can offer:

1. Food consulting firms can establish proper inventory and purchasing systems from the get-go to start you out on the right foot.

2. Food and beverage consultants can market your restaurant while you handle day-to-day operations.

3. A beverage consultant can completely reinvent your food, liquor and wine image to keep up with ever-changing trends.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Design your menu and concept with food consultants Food consulting is essential for new or soon-to-be restaurant owners with little or no experience in opening a new restaurant. From the initial concept and planning to final implementation, food and beverage consulting services provide step-by-step details and instructions on how to proceed. They can design your menu, keep you up-to-date on the latest trends and establish a purchasing and product inventory system that will help you manage profit and loss smoothly.

I recommend:  Restaurant Solutions has a team of expert food and beverage consultants to help you with short and long term goals for your food business. National Food Service Advisers is a network of food consultants that can assist you with opening and running a profitable restaurant. Chef LaLa will evaluate your existing menu and develop a strategy for you to increase your profits.

Enhance your marketing initiatives with restaurant consulting firms Not everybody is a marketing whiz. It takes specialized training and experience to be able to understand and capitalize on a target market. Working with a food and beverage consultant to promote your restaurant is wise in two ways: first, you hire a professional food and beverage consulting firm to do what they do best; second, you are left with the necessary time to handle the day-to-day operations of your establishment.

I recommend:  Qualified Solutions Consulting explains that a successful restaurant promotion doesn't need to be groundbreaking or innovative, but instead has to convey a specific message to the right target group. Many restaurant consulting firms, like RestaurantPR, believe that including featured recipes in your marketing material will go a long way in branding your establishment.

Maximize profits using food and beverage consultants Perhaps the most important thing food consulting firms bring to the table are ways to make more money. By streamlining existing systems, or implementing new, innovative tracking tools, your food and beverage consultant can help you optimize your profit by cutting down on loss. Whether it be a more streamlined inventory roster, introducing spill sheets to your kitchen, or advising the set-up of security cameras, most food industry consulting firms can help you keep profits from slipping through the cracks.

I recommend:  Synergy Consulting Group offers an excellent tutorial on utilizing proper purchasing practices to control food cost, allowing you to get the most for your product. The Restaurant Group, Inc. offers an online tool that calculates your Prime cost and rates your efficiency standing. They also offer tips on the ten most frequent mistakes restaurant owners make.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Hiring a food and beverage consultant to train your existing staff is very effective. Having a fresh new face on board offers your team a break from the norm and often proves to be more useful. Employees have a harder time tuning out a voice they've never heard before.