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GOURMET FOOD SALES
The Food Network has spawned a generation of foodies who are looking for unique gourmet products. That is why selling gourmet food products online today is a win-win situation.
Maine lobster, French chocolates, and Italian olives are just some of the types of gourmet foods that are sold daily on the internet. Gourmet products are perfect for internet sales because many people around the country do not live near specialty food stores, so they use the internet to find the ingredient or product they are so desperately seeking. In addition, even people who live near gourmet stores often cannot find a particular product they are need and so they turn to the internet. Consumers will pay big bucks for a hard-to-find or unique product—in fact, the more rare or unique the food items are, the higher the profits can be.
What type of gourmet food products should you sell? You could sell a variety of products or focus on one type of product. You could also focus on a specific type of food, such as a particular ethnic food, for example. But when selling this kind of high-end product, do your research and make sure that you are indeed selling high-quality products. People are spending big bucks for these types of gourmet food products so they want to know they are getting the best. And do not lie: If you say you are selling “French chocolates,” make sure they are indeed from France; if you miscommunicate on your website, word will travel fast.
One thing to keep in mind: Before choosing a product to sell, make sure you know all about the shipping, handling, and customs rules associated with it. There are often many rules that surround consumable products. In fact, when shipping these types of products to customers overseas, remember that their delivery can be slowed down or stopped completely by customs.
It can also be expensive—or impossible—to work with importers of certain types of gourmet food products, so make sure you have relationships with international suppliers who are willing to export their goods to the U.S. And remember, it can be expensive to ship certain fresh products anywhere; one example is lobster, which you would have to ship overnight to assure that it remained fresh.
One of the best aspects about starting an online business that sells and markets gourmet food is many gourmet food manufacturers and processors will warehouse and drop-ship products directly to your customers. This distribution system is fantastic, as you can save on start-up costs by not having to purchase and warehouse inventory. If you would like more control—or are expanding at a rapid enough pace—you may want to open up a warehouse or distribution center and start shipping and fulfilling products from there.
When you create your website, make sure it has easy navigation, a lot of great product photos, and detailed information about the products, such as their history, or, as we mentioned above, where they hail from. People crave this type of information, in some cases as much as they crave the foods they are buying.
You may also want to think about including recipes on the site, which gives people an opportunity to think about ways they can use the products; it might motivate them to purchase more of the products on your site. It also could be a great way to get repeat visitors, such as by having a “recipe of the week” that appears on the site or possibly gets e-mailed to your opt-in list. Other types of marketing that would work well for this type of online business include interactive marketing techniques such as search engine marketing and search engine optimization, along with display advertising on the right, targeted sites. You may also want to create a paper-based catalog that features many types of gourmet foods and a variety of food producers and manufacturers. Of course, the catalogs should be sent free of charge to potential customers. A catalog, however, can be very expensive to produce. Make sure your site is making a profit before you even think about doing this.
SKILLS NEEDED
Of course, you’ll need an in-depth understanding of the gourmet foods market, including how the supply chain works and what the hottest trends in gourmet foods are. It also would be handy to have an understanding of fulfillment and delivery, since these are key factors in making sure your fresh foods arrive at their destinations fresh and on time. Excellent marketing, communication, and customer service skills are all important as well. Also, a great eye for design is important, as you’ll want to have a very attractive website that is pleasing and appetizing.
THINGS TO CONSIDER
To be successful in this business, you need to focus on a niche or offer a wide variety of products. Whichever you choose, make sure that you pay attention to quality and only offer the finest products possible. In addition, if you are selling perishable foods, make sure you have a system set up to offer fast, overnight delivery. Also remember that people are not necessarily concerned about price on these types of sites—quality is king.
WEB RESOURCES
ChefShop.com (
chefshop.com), an online site that offers a wide variety of products such as fresh produce, chocolates, spices, oils, and more
Earthy Delights (
earthy.com), an online site offering wild-harvested and hand-crafted foods, such as wild mushrooms, fine hand-crafted cheese, aged balsamic vinegar, exotic spices, and hard-to-find ingredients from small harvesters and growers
Formaggio Kitchen (
formaggiokitchen.com), a site that offers a variety of gourmet products with a focus on artisan cheeses