These days, you’ll see plenty of people popping their glasses on to read the tiny product labels in the supermarket. Plus, more and more diners want to know more about the ingredients used in menu items when they are eating out. So why not give your customers what they want?

Keeping up with food industry trends

From digital menus to diverse dietary requirements, food trends evolve rapidly and it’s vital to keep up with customer demand. A huge food trend right now is transparency with regard to where ingredients come from and how products are made. Along with key factors like sustainability, there’s a strong movement towards wholesome food and away from mass-produced imposters.

Offering your customers quality ingredients, along with information about what makes them so, ensures diners feel confident they are making a good choice when it comes to eating at your food business.

Using top-notch products

In order to offer transparency, the first step is to source products and ingredients that you trust. For example, do you know where the ingredients come from that go into mass produced condiments and how they are made? At Relish48, we know exactly what goes into our wholesale relish products in Sydney.

We’re close friends with our suppliers. They’re a family-run farm business that has been producing relish, pickle and pepper products since 1948. With trusted family recipes and hand-picked ingredients, that flavour punch is a guarantee. Following the traditional theme, the products are also processed and packed by hand. Now, that’s the type of story customers love to hear about!

Advertising the story of ingredients

There’s no reason to wait for customers to ask you where their food comes from. In fact, you’ll find plenty of benefits when you deliver the information to them. A food business that offers transparency with regard to ingredients attracts instant trust from consumers. It's a promotional tool in itself.

Using relishes as an example, you could make a point of highlighting the hand-picked ingredients and traditional production methods on your menus. Take this a step further on social channels. Advertise daily specials highlighting the mouthwatering taste and quality ingredients in your condiments.

Your website is another fantastic platform for providing transparency. Dedicate a page to outlining the ingredients in your key dishes and where they come from. if you source ingredients from a family-run farm or a niche providore, tell a bit of their story. Consider the language you use as well - think 'traditional’, ‘family recipes’ and ‘hand-picked’ where appropriate. Anything that conjures thoughts of quality and authenticity.

Finally, make sure your employees are fully educated about the dishes you’re serving. When they rattle off the ingredients, along with a story of where they come from and how they’re made when diners are considering their choices, you’ll likely score 10 points for trustworthiness and quality before the first bite.  

Then, sit back and relax as word of mouth takes your story to brand new customers!