If you are in a situation, whether it’s for an event, an individual need, or a business, where you need to purchase large amounts of fruit, you may not know how to get it or how the process works. The tips below offer a quick guide for first-time buyers of bulk fruit that will help you through the first time and the many times after if you continue to need these products.
Consider Your Location
Depending on where you live or where you run your business, access to fresh fruit might be widely available or very limited. If you are located further inland where it is dry and not much fruit can grow, there may have to be more complex planning to get large quantities of fruit to you. Whereas if you live on the coast or near farming territory, large quantities of fruit and vegetables are probably more readily available.
Varieties of fruit are also a factor when it comes to your location because there may not be certain types of fruit in your region, so you will have to find a provider who can ship the fruit you need to you. If you are worried about availability in your area, do some research about what kinds of companies provide fruit to your area to see if it is feasible to get large quantities of it shipped to you at a reasonable price.
Find a Local Wholesaler
One of the great things about buying fruit in bulk is that it is often offered at wholesale prices. If you are going to buy fruit in large quantities, then your best option is to find a fruit and veg wholesaler in your area who can get you the products that you need at a good price. They usually work closely with farmers or are farmers themselves, so they know how to handle the fruit with care and deliver it to you in great shape and ready to be consumed.
Working closely and building a relationship with a local fruit wholesaler is one of the most important business relationships you can have if you are running a business that sells or uses a lot of fruit. Wholesalers will often give special offers to loyal customers and also throw in extra items to sample. Working with a local wholesaler is also a great way to support a local business and create a better, more interconnected local community.
Decide Exact Quantities and Varieties
Before making a large purchase of fruit, you should do some math and decide exactly how much fruit you need. If you are putting on an event with lots of people and you are offering fruit to the guests, then calculate how many guests are attending and how much fruit you think each person will likely consume. If you want to get many different kinds of fruit for your event, then you may have to source from several different fruit sellers because not every seller sells the same varieties. This requires a lot of communication and planning, so make sure to start planning for this long before the actual day of the event.
Quality Over Quantity
Although your goal is to buy fruit in large quantities, if the fruit is not of good quality then it is better to walk away than buy a large amount of fruit that nobody is going to buy or eat. When working with a fruit seller, ask to try their product before making any kind of business deal to ensure that their product is of high quality. Some sellers may specialize in a certain type of fruit and are consistent in providing that fruit at a high quality, but may not have a good supply of other varieties. Sometimes to get the best product you have to buy certain fruits from one seller and others from different sellers.
Coordinate Transportation and Storage
The transportation and storage of large quantities of fruit can take a lot of coordination depending on just how much fruit you plan to purchase. Some sellers will deliver the fruit to you while others require you to pick it up. If you are just making a one-time purchase of a large quantity of fruit, try to find a seller that will deliver it to you so that you do not need to spend extra money on hiring a refrigerated van to transport it yourself.
It is also important that once the fruit is in your possession you have adequate refrigerated space for it so that it stays fresh for longer. This is especially important for catering events or any other events that require you to carry the fruit from one location to another. If you run a restaurant or other local business establishment, you should have a dedicated produce fridge to store your large quantities of fruit.
Set Up a Sustainable Schedule
One of the biggest problems with holding large quantities of fruit is that they go bad very quickly. It is important to set up a sustainable schedule with your fruit provider so that you are wasting as little as possible. If you run a restaurant, for example, and you have a certain dessert on the menu that you know requires a certain type of fruit, then work with your team to keep track of how many of those desserts are being sold each day. Once you have some statistics, you can determine exactly how much fruit you need to make a certain amount of desserts that will be consumed before the fruit goes bad.
Sustainable purchasing of produce is important, especially in a world where more and more food gets wasted every day. Purchasing large quantities of fruit with no exact purpose for it can lead to money lost and food wasted, so make sure you are only ordering what you need each time you order.
Fruit is a hot commodity in many industries from restaurants to grocery stores to catering events, so the industry of bulk produce is always in high demand. If you are getting into a food service industry that requires regular fruit purchases, follow these tips for successful transactions.
