May 8th, 2020 
reply to the students’ response and not the question in 150 words minimum and provide 1 reference. Respond to the students response as though you are talking to them, use name
question
Please share three relevant things you have learned last week about your project , and cite sources (maybe documents or data), people or things you met or talked to, to gather information. Thanks.
students response
Three relevant factors to the development of my business plan for a Natural Food Broker within the convenience channel that I have learned this week and had not anticipated:
- There is very little data on the Food Broker Industry.
Because the food broker industry is difficult to measure because companies tend to be small, private, and regional (Salmans, 1982, para 4). I had to pivot and look at the driving factors of the food and retail industries, along with consumer trends which drive the demand for food brokers. Th scope of this is a bigger than initially anticipated.
- The food broker has two customers.
As I was writing the initial plan, I was entirely focused on the C-store as the customer, and entirely missed the Brand as the actual customer, so I had to go back and re-rewrite some of my plan with this in mind. Although, the C-store customer is a relevant factor, the initial customer is the supplier and that is how a food broker generates revenue.
- Receivables or the lack of receivable must be considered in the financials.
I met with a reputable natural food broker that has been operating for almost 5 years in the foodservice channel. I interviewed John Hein with The Advance Natural Group to understand how the financials work or pass through from the supplier to the broker. One big call out he made was that there are often times the Supplier does not pay on time. This may have a significant impact on the amount of on-hand cash that is necessary to keep operating month to month. Paying employees is a major function and greatest expenses a food broker has. He was able to identify about a third of suppliers pay behind schedule and that a solid contract proves to have some effectiveness when attempting to collect.
Salmans, S. (1982, April 23). Food industrys middlemen. The New York Times. Retrieved
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