Pricing and Costs of Salad Dressing

Setting a budget for your establishment's salad dressing

Salad dressing is a staple in any restaurant, employee cafeteria or school kitchen. There are more uses for it than just putting it over lettuce, making it even more of a hot commodity. Salad dressing can add extra flavor to meats, casseroles and pasta dishes and is a relatively affordable addition.

When buying in bulk, cases of certain salad dressing brands run around $55 for a case of four 1-gallon containers. A case of twelve 8-ounce bottles costs around $25. Whether you are purchasing in large containers or small, it is important to have extra on hand to make sure your kitchen is always stocked. Consider the following when evaluating the pricing and costs of salad dressing:

1. Buying in bulk will save you money in the long run and prevent you from having to submit several orders.

2. Providing salad dressing from a gourmet salad dressing manufacturer may cost more upfront but may gain you more business.

3. Carrying a variety of salad dressing choices from salad dressing companies will satisfy your customers and your bottom line.

 

Buy salad dressing in bulk

Like anything, buying in large quantities saves you money in the long run. For example, you may pay around $15 per gallon of Greek salad dressing, but if you order in bulk you can end up paying closer to $13 per gallon. At many salad dressing distributors, you are required to purchase a case minimum per order. Plan ahead before each order and take into consideration the expiration date before ordering more than you may need at a time.
Try: At FoodServiceDirect.com, you can select from numerous quantities that will best suit your business. Big box stores like Costco offer discounts to restaurants that buy in large quantities. At stores like this you can purchase as much or as little as you would like without having to go through the salad dressing manufacturer. The trick there, though, is you have to pick it up yourself.

Purchase gourmet salad dressing from salad dressing manufacturers to stand out

If you have a particularly booming salad bar or speciality salads, consider stocking gourmet salad dressings in your pantry. Although they are up to $3 or $4 more per 11-ounce container, you are likely to see the return profit. Having specialty dressings may be what sets you apart from the restaurant down the street. No need to have all gourmet dressings; perhaps just add a few to the everyday dressings you stock regularly. Something to remember, though, is that although you can often buy gourmet dressings by the case, they aren't likely to be sold in the larger container sizes.
Try: Common brands like Wish-Bone are coming out with their own lines of gourmet dressings. Businesses like Wild Thymes only carries its product in 11-ounce bottles.

Offer many salad dressing varieties to your customers

The more traditional salad dressings like ranch and Italian salad dressings run on the less expensive side of the scale. Salad dressings like thousand island and blue cheese cost about $4 more per gallon container. These types of dressings have more ingredients, which contribute to the higher cost. Consider not only mixing up the types of salad dressings you offer but also ordering more than one salad dressing brand to help save you some money. Alternating between less expensive brands and less expensive dressings can even out to a nice budget.
Try: Hidden Valley is one salad dressing manufacturer to consider. Or you could order through a salad dressing distributor like Gordon Food Service.

 

• Consider using salad dressing for dips and condiments as well as on salads and in dishes.

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