Health Food Chains Education and Training

Finding appropriate training and education opportunities for health food chains operators
By Kim Finn Operators of chain health food stores or restaurants require typical food industry training. Beyond that, however, search out educational resources to better understand healthy foods and nutrition since that's the core business. Customers and patrons visit your business because of your healthy food focus, so you owe it to them to ensure those serving customers know what they're doing and understand what they're saying. Additionally, when you and your staff display expert knowledge and skills regarding healthy foods, your customers will tell others, increasing your business and improving your bottom line.

While managers of health food restaurants and natural food chain stores provide some training, nutrition and food training and education typically don't extend beyond basics. Surge past your competition by ensuring your staff takes advantage of opportunities for training and education:

1. Self education via websites with information beneficial to organic food chains and other healthy food chains.

2. Training programs benefiting chefs of healthy foods restaurant chains and those working at an organic health food store chain.

3. Events with learning opportunities for operators of major health food chains and smaller chains.

Pursue self education to help you in your health food chain store/restaurant

Today's consumers looking for healthy food choices will read about the latest trends and news to see if there's something new or better they should be eating. Get ready to answer their questions today by visiting websites that will help you and your staff stay current.
Try:  Organic food restaurant chain or organic food store operators should save the Organic Consumers Association website as a favorite. It contains the latest organic news, a section dealing with vitamins and supplements and other resources. Bookmark FoodProcessing.com, a website for the food and beverage industry, for quick access to healthy food and vitamin news and trends. The website publishes information useful to both health food store chains and health food chain restaurants.

Participate in structured education programs helpful to those in the health food chain industry

Health food chains education and training may or may not include everything you need to truly understand your menus or the products you sell. Look for opportunities to go beyond what the chain offers for training and education.
Try:  Learn more about one of the most popular foods found in health food restaurant chains and health food stores--olive oil. The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade offers a 12-minute training video and study guide focused on all aspects of olive oil. If you're interested in owning or working as a chef for an upscale healthy food chain restaurant, first consider attending the Chef's Training at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. The school's curriculum includes culinary techniques for many healthy foods, natural food selection, theoretical and practical approaches to diet and health and much more.

Take advantage of expos useful to health food chain operators

Look for trade shows and expos showcasing new products and trends in the organic, natural and healthy food industry. You'll learn lessons, techniques and new product information to help make your business even more successful.
Try:  Learn more about upcoming healthy food trade shows and events like SupplyExpo, All Things Organic and take advantage of training, webinars and Fancy Food trade shows with the Specialty Food website.

• Regardless of the health food chains education and training you provide your sales people, ensure that training includes what they can and cannot say to patrons. Customers often come into health food stores looking for advice, and studies have shown employees of health food stores selling herbal remedies and dietary supplements sometimes offer what amounts to phony medical advice like recommending cessation of doctor-prescribed treatments and medicines or incorrectly suggesting cures resulting from taking certain vitamins and minerals. If their product education only comes from printed materials directly from the manufacturer, look to see if credible scientific references back up the claims your sales people will recite to customers.