Food and Beverage Consultants Key Terms

Get your fill of terms used by food and beverage consultants

As varied as the food and beverage industry can be, so are the terms that go with it. If you are a consultant or are working with one, you need to know the ins and outs of the food and beverage industry. Without this knowledge, you many overlook vital areas that will directly impact business success. The following terms apply no matter what specific food or beverage company or consultant you are working with.

 

Marketing research

Marketing research involves learning about the entire marketing process of a company. It includes current trends, new products, ways to reach the consumer and company processes. It can also involve research for an industry, such as the food and beverage. Consultants have to be aware of how to best market a company's product or service.
Try: PTM Consulting has an annual trend report as well as articles, case studies and current trends for the food and beverage industry posted on their website. See examples of food and beverage market research reports at MarketResearch.com.

Purchasing system

A purchasing system, practiced by the procurement organization or purchasing organization, is the method a company uses to make decisions about purchasing as well as the actual purchase of food and beverages. It also consists of how inventory is tracked and how warehousing and storage is addressed. Consultants need to look at how a company acquires and tracks their products to ensure that they are using the most effective and economically efficient system.
Try: The Reed Business Information website hosts up-to-date trends and discussions revolved around purchasing. There is also a general overview of what someone dealing with food and beverage purchasing needs to consider.

Quality assurance

Quality assurance is composed of specific steps used to determine whether or not goods and services meet customer expectations. The steps are planning, doing, checking and acting. Consultants ensure that a business is providing the best quality service and products to the consumers so that there is a positive reputation and the maximum amount of profit for the company.
Try: For a great overview of quality assurance including background on regulations, software to manage quality assurance as well as information on inspections look to the MetricStream website.

Shelf life

For a consultant, it is important to know the laws around shelf life, as they will be responsible for ensuring that those laws are followed. The law requires packaged food to have dates to help the consumer determine when the product must be used by. This is shelf life. Products must be labeled with either, display until, use by date, or best before dates.
Try: Store-It Foods has an extensive list of the shelf-life for common products. As a consultant for the food and beverage industry, it is vital to know shelf-life for common products.

Prime cost

Consultants always need to be focused on the prime cost. This is the combined cost of the labor, the cost of materials and the cost of production.
Try: White Hutchinson Leisure and Learning provide a helpful overview of prime cost, including how to determine it, how prime costs relate to menu prices and suggestions of how to approach tracking prime costs. For a sample of a prime cost projection worksheet, visit Resterauntowner.com.

Work ergonomics

Work ergonomics is ensuring that employee performed tasks are able to be done comfortably and efficiently. Consultants study a company's work ergonomics to ensure that employees can perform their tasks easily and without injury.
Try: University of Colorado has some useful information about work ergonomics.

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