Advice or Ideas !

[Sarnie]

Hello everyone,I am starting my own business delivering sandwiches etc to offices and workplaces,I also have an idea to supply glass fronted display fridges to certain shops such as builders merchants,I am going to keep the stock rotated and stocked up. I have 2 wholesalers that have said they have no problem with me putting my fridges in and they are happy to take the money during the day etc.
I have asked another company and they said they would consider but what do they get out of it? Any ideas anyone,I have been thinking of paying them a basic weekly fee or a % of what i sell,Im not sure which route to go down,Your ideas would be much appreciated Thanks

 

[ARBELL]

They have the benefit of your fridge which is stocked full of sandwiches etc. I assume you are not charging them for the fridge?
Consider the same concept with office water; the water supplying firm charges a monthly feel to have the water cooler on site and for the water it supplies!

 

[Beachcomber]

Rather than financial benifits you could sell other benifits of having this service available in site.

If food is available on-site it will mean less workers leaving the premisis for lunch / snacks. The products could also be made available to customers visiting the plant (if applicable) Depending on the business of the premisis in question it could be a good draw for customers / tradesmen if they could pick up a bit of lunch with their supplies.

Even the offer of a free sandwich a day for the manager(s) could swing it so don't go diving in and offering £££ first off.

Make sure you get a basic agreement sorted and signed though - as cash will be changing hands there will need to be a clearly defined system of responsibility and liability in place.

 

[newbeats4u]

not what your asking but what about in pubs too? My local pub has a pie counter which they sell pies from a local pie maker. Works pretty well i think

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

It sounds a great business and I really wish you luck with it - if you need any accountancy/taxation advice do ask.

I'd agree with Aaron - I'd sell the fridge idea on the benefit it gives those who have one, rather than immediately thinking of giving them a % of sales etc. It does after all give them many advantages.

 

[movietub]

Who is responsible for the condition of the food sold from the fridge? For example if there is a power cut and when the fridge restarts it inverts and warms the food... I'm assuming there would be several hours between your visits.

Who is responsible for that? Not keen on being pesimistic but my first response was what a great idea! Which means its worth questioning why others are not doing it.

Assuming all health&safety bases can be covered its a very good idea.

 

[Deleted member 9840]

For example if there is a power cut and when the fridge restarts it inverts and warms the food.

WHAT? :| Nahhhh, you have been miss informed.
Although there is a very very very very very remote chance certain types of three phase compressor can run backwords, the pipe work to make heating of the food happen will not be in place in a commercial display refrigeration unit.

Steve

 

[hughlss]

Who is responsible for the condition of the food sold from the fridge? For example if there is a power cut and when the fridge restarts it inverts and warms the food... I'm assuming there would be several hours between your visits.

Who is responsible for that? Not keen on being pesimistic but my first response was what a great idea! Which means its worth questioning why others are not doing it.

Assuming all health&safety bases can be covered its a very good idea.

Simple - just supply a range of signs - Fresh Salad Sandwich - Baked Salad sandwich. Cold Meat Baguette - Hot Meat Baguette. Cheese Toasties!

 

[movietub]

WHAT? :| Nahhhh, you have been miss informed.
Although there is a very very very very very remote chance certain types of three phase compressor can run backwords, the pipe work to make heating of the food happen will not be in place in a commercial display refrigeration unit.

Steve

I admit I'm not an exert in fridge gubbing lol.

I was fishing for an example, picked a rubbish one clearly! But still interested to know who is responsible for the quality control/handling of the food in between the OP's visits?

I think the idea is good but can't help wondering why we don't have vending machines stocked with fresh sandwiches each morning? It can't be that people perfer eaticg chocolate and crisps each lunchtime, not everyone does. Yet something has stopped it happening.

 

[newbeats4u]

id say that sandwiches have a shorter life use by dates than choclate thats why we have lodas of choclate vending machines.

My work has sandwich vending machines but to be fair the sandwiches are sub standard and on many occassions i have pulled a sarnie out after paying £1.50 and its out of date.

So i would think that the cost of supply and waste is higher on sandwiches

 

[BusinessIdeas]

I love this idea, sounds like you could be onto a winner!

 

[Deleted member 9840]

I admit I'm not an exert in fridge gubbing lol.

I was fishing for an example, picked a rubbish one clearly! But still interested to know who is responsible for the quality control/handling of the food in between the OP's visits?

I think the idea is good but can't help wondering why we don't have vending machines stocked with fresh sandwiches each morning? It can't be that people perfer eaticg chocolate and crisps each lunchtime, not everyone does. Yet something has stopped it happening.

No bother pal, just us fridgies are getting picked on, by our government quite a lot at the moment and i'm a bit sensitive.


Steve

 

[movietub]

id say that sandwiches have a shorter life use by dates than choclate thats why we have lodas of choclate vending machines.

My work has sandwich vending machines but to be fair the sandwiches are sub standard and on many occassions i have pulled a sarnie out after paying £1.50 and its out of date.

So i would think that the cost of supply and waste is higher on sandwiches

But if the OP sees it veasible to stock a remote fridge each day then why not a vending machine? Although from what you say they already exist - albeit poorly monitered in the case of the out of date sarnie.

I think the idea is good. Sometimes I want more than chocolate on the go but for whatever reason I just don't want to queue or suffer any form of human interaction. Normally when I'm stressed or very busy.

 

[newbeats4u]

I agree, vending machines containg sandwiches are much better than choclate and crisps and they would work if well managed.

I only work on the weekend so im getting dreggs from the week i guess. They do exist though. I think the company is called red snacks i think. The food is sub standard but they are cheap. Im from Liverpool aswell so will be alot diffierent to London I guess.

 

[movietub]

I think I would have one in my shop, would be a good way to get a few extra people in and make an small additional income to boot.

No sandwich place near my shop - annoying.

 

[newbeats4u]

Id agree with that. Its quite annoying that sometimes you are forced to eat junk. No wonder they youths of today are getting bigger. I think you should have a selection of fresh fruit, sandwiches and non fizzy drinks. And water shouldnt be so expensive in those vending machines £1 for a small bottle of water

 

[movietub]

Definately a space in the market for such a machine. In fact I almost feel we are giving it all away by discussing publicly!

This would be such an easy thing to start in anyone local town. How easy would it be to get positve press for free if you were seen to be making healthy food available alongside the junk.

I'm also thinking of college/uni grounds which have several machines stocking junk yet a huge % of students, particularly female, buy magazines about healthy living and diets.

This is exactly the sort of thing that picks up peoples interest and would find many businesses happy to give it a go. Also just the sort of idea that gets screen time on Dragons Den.

What a great opportunity for anyone in the catering business to explore.

 

[newbeats4u]

in all honesty i think it is already been done in the workplace.

However.. i have never seen it in public. I dont recall seeing them in college when I went but that was 3 years ago now.

A company could put the vending machines there and lease slots to caterers.

 

[movietub]

Yea thats the road I was going down. I know you said this already exists but I think more needs to be made of the 'healthy option' angle. The machines need to be branded and recognisable as a place to get an instant healthy lunch on the go.

Needs to be out of the workplace and into public spaces.

 

[newbeats4u]

i would say that there is a gap there as i have never seen a healthy snack machine its always the coca cola machine. The goverment should allow so many unhealthy products in these machines. It has a negative affect on the public. It not only affects kids health but also their characheristics aswell. as shown on 'honey im killing the kids'

A branded machine would work, they would be responsible of the upkeep and maintance of the machine and local caterers could sort out the food.

One problem is the waste though. you can be fined £5000 for selling out of date stuff so they would have to be careful

 

[Jon236]

I would maybe consider flipping this idea on it's head slightly. Rather than asking builder's suppliers etc to sell your products for you, with the emphasis being on you to do all the donkey work, how about supplying established food retail outlets such as corner shops, newsagents, garages, convenience stores etc to buy your product from you as stock and then they are responsible for stock rotation, point of sale health and safety regulations etc as they are the stockist. You could supply branded refrigeration units to places that require them, but you may be able to place your product within an existing refrigerated unit in these shops.

I love independently made sandwiches in shops, as ginsters etc are usually dry and uninteresting, whereas freshly made independent sandwiches are often of a higher quality.

 

[Sarnie]

I am going to be in charge of food and fridge cleanliness,I am going to have a fridge temperature sheet which I will check and fill in each morning while i am (hopefully refilling stock) As i am sticking to Doncaster I should be able to do a planned route each morning stocking and fridge checking,
I am thinking of using the Drink chiller fridges that they sell in supermarkets,Fosters and Stella do them,I will buy plane ones and have them logoed up in my design.

 

[movietub]

Just out of interest - going back to the vending machine idea!

Fridges kick out a lot of heat at the back, could that be recirculated through a second part of a vending machine to keep canned coffee at drinking temperature?

 

[Taylorn]

With regards to the vending machines, I tried to do this about a year ago and had the opportunity to buy about 5 sandwich vending machines from a company who had gone bust.

I did my research beforehand and schools, colleges were the first people that I targeted. I found that schools are no longer allowed to have vending machines which sell junkfood however they have their own caterers and so would not entertain another company coming in to supply food because of conflict of interest - even though it wouldn't have cost them anything?! Thats just the schools in my area.

I thought it was a fantastic idea but didnt go ahead with it in the end just because it would have taken up all my time just refilling the machines with no guarantee that people would buy the sandwiches and I was worried about the wastage, above all it would not have allowed me to start up my catering business in full which is what I am doing now.

I still think it is a great idea as long as you find the right market for it and enough demand in a logistically sound area.

 

[Sarnie]

One problem.I cant afford vending machines,My friges are only £100.00 a piece,
I wonder If I could rent the vending machines,Doesanyone know any companies,
I will look myself now as well

 

[Taylorn]

I wish you the best of luck.

Like i say I think it is an excellent idea and wish that I had the resources and time to explore it further myself. I am very passionate about increasing the accesibility of healthy foods to schools and workplaces.

I will be interested to know how you get on so pls keep me informed!

 

[Emcar Vending]

Cough cough!!

I'd be very wary of using the type of cabinet you mention as there is no way of stopping people from buying sanwiches from an over temperature cabinet.

Sandwiches and live food must be kept below 5 degrees and vending machines have controls to prevent purchases if the temperature rises above that level.

One problem.I cant afford vending machines,My friges are only £100.00 a piece,
I wonder If I could rent the vending machines,Doesanyone know any companies,
I will look myself now as well