Want to sell to restaurants with confidence and win repeat chef orders? This guide shows how to build a reliable pipeline, present a tight offer, and close low pressure recurring sales.
You will learn who decides in the kitchen, the best times to visit, how to get past the host, and how to turn a two minute tasting into a weekly order.
We cover packaging that works on the line, pricing by pack size, and a simple three touch follow up that respects busy service.
Whether you grow microgreens or supply other fresh goods, you will find practical steps that boost restaurant sales and strengthen long term relationships that chefs value.
Define a sellable offer before outreach
Choose a small core range you know inside out
Pick about five core items that you can describe with precision. Know the flavor, the texture, how each crop behaves in a walk in cooler, and how many days it holds under normal kitchen use. Understand real plate applications so you can suggest where each item shines. A focused catalog helps you learn faster and speak with confidence. One grower built roughly five hundred thousand dollars a year mainly through restaurant accounts by dialing in a tight selection with consistent sizes and steady delivery.
Standardize so kitchens trust you
Keep cut sizes uniform and delivery days fixed. Offer one grow size for most items and stick to it. Consistency lets chefs plan portions and reduces surprises during service.
Make onboarding easy
Bring a simple vendor packet. Include a W nine, a sample invoice, clear ordering instructions, and your payment terms. New vendors create extra steps for a restaurant. If you remove friction at this stage you raise the chance of a fast yes.
Map the buyer and decision flow
Know who actually decides
Kitchen roles differ by house. A Chef de Cuisine usually runs the line and often chooses suppliers. An Executive Chef may oversee menus for one or many locations and approve vendors. Some owners make the final call. Ask who selects greens and who signs off on new suppliers before you start tasting. That keeps the conversation short and relevant.
Plan for groups and chains
Some groups buy only from approved lists. If you hear that, ask how to start as a backup supplier while you work through approval. You can often begin with one item that solves a clear need while procurement moves in the background.
Targeting and pipeline math
Build a local hit list with intent
Create a list of thirty to fifty restaurants inside your delivery radius. Look at recent plates on social to confirm garnish use and plating style. Log service pattern such as dinner only or lunch and dinner, cuisine, and the name of the decision maker. This becomes your weekly pipeline.
Treat it like numbers not luck
Set a practical target like four new clients per month. One grower aimed for that by contacting about thirty prospects to secure around ten real conversations which produced roughly four wins. Use a simple tracker for status, next step, notes, and the person you spoke with. This keeps momentum steady rather than sporadic.
Do not stop at restaurants
Chefs are core buyers yet nearby food service can be strong repeat customers. Coffee shops and bakeries move grab and go items and can buy steadily. One bakery spent over one thousand dollars per month once they added sandwiches and stocked local inputs. Hotels can centralize multiple outlets and room service under one buyer. Spas food trucks and golf courses buy daily and appreciate reliable local supply.
Lean on quiet channels if you dislike sales
Caterers can be excellent partners in tourist areas where events are frequent. Community touchpoints such as themed nights and small groups turn into repeat household buyers. A short text list helps clear bumper crops without hard selling.
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Timing that earns attention
Choose windows when chefs can listen
For dinner only restaurants aim for roughly noon through three in the afternoon. For places that serve lunch and dinner aim for about two through five in the afternoon. Avoid the lunch rush around eleven through twelve. Skip Friday and Saturday because service is intense. Many head chefs are off on Monday so expect a sous chef that day.
Read the room the moment you step in
Watch the prep rhythm. If the kitchen is calm with steady chopping and music you are in a good window. If cooks are moving fast and calling tickets it is not your time. Respect that and return when the team can actually engage.
Getting past the gate without friction
Meet the chef directly
Leaving samples at the host stand often fails. Items can sit too long or reach the pass without your name. Aim to meet the chef even for two minutes so there is a face and a handshake tied to the product.
Ask for the right return time if the chef is unavailable
If the host says the chef cannot meet now ask which day and time is usually slower. Write it down and return at that exact moment with your samples. Walk in confidently with your bag or tray visible and a calm smile. Move with purpose toward the kitchen and be ready to step back if the team is slammed.
The five to ten minute kitchen meeting
Lead with taste not a speech
Place small tastings in the chef’s hand. Offer one short use cue such as lemon basil on crudo or red vein sorrel for bright acid on fish. Keep suggestions light and respectful. Show you studied their menu without telling them how to cook.
Ask questions that uncover real needs
Ask if they already buy microgreens and from whom. Ask how current items hold in the walk in. Ask about preferred sizing and delivery days. Ask if price or waste is a concern. These questions reveal the single change that would make you useful.
Keep it human
Many growers are introverted. That is fine. A calm genuine conversation about food beats a rushed pitch. A little rapport goes a long way. Some of the best outcomes come from a short talk that includes a minute on something other than product.
Closing without pressure
Offer a simple recurring test
Suggest starting with one box weekly on a set day such as Tuesday and make it clear they can change or stop at any time. Then pause and let the chef answer. A quiet pause here often does more than extra words.
Use samples with a clear next step when they are not ready
If they need time leave a box so they can test hold in their cooler and try dishes. Say exactly when you will return such as next Tuesday at three. If you do not land the account after three well timed tries step back for about three months while staying lightly present with a tiny sample now and then.
Grow the order after you prove reliability
Once you are delivering well suggest a second item that clearly fits a plate you saw. Expansion works when it serves their menu rather than your quota.
Align packaging and pricing with kitchen reality
For tests and early orders ship eight ounce packs. Larger packs raise the risk of waste if a tub sits on the line. A one pound order ships well as two eight ounce tubs. Use sixty four fluid ounce deli containers for eight ounces of greens since they open fully and close easily. This also saves time on your side. Packing large tubs is much faster than many small retail packs. One grower packed about seventy five trays in about two hours with large packs compared with roughly six hours for many two to four ounce packs. Price by pack size rather than total order so the cost per ounce drops at eight ounces and again at one pound while any quantity above one pound stays at the same price per pound for predictable buying.
Follow up cadence and persistence
Use a simple three touch cycle
Plan three well timed visits or contacts. First visit is the tasting and a clear starter ask. One week later return to hear how the greens held in the cooler and how they fit the dishes. The third visit is a final attempt to solve any remaining issue. If it still does not land, pause outreach for about three months. During that quiet period stay lightly present by dropping a tiny clamshell once in a while so the team remembers you when their needs change.
Combine visits with gentle digital nudges
Confirm appointments with a short message the day before. After a missed connection send a friendly note that offers two specific times the following week. Keep records of who you spoke with, what they liked, and the next date to follow up. A steady rhythm turns maybes into small test orders, and small tests often become weekly standing orders.
Packaging that works for kitchens and for your labor
Choose pack sizes that protect quality on the line
Keep restaurant packs to about eight ounces. Larger tubs are tempting but they raise the risk of waste if someone forgets a big container on the line. For one pound orders ship two eight ounce tubs. Kitchens can keep one on the pass and one in the walk in which cuts spoilage.
Use containers that open fast and close cleanly
A sixty four fluid ounce deli tub fits an eight ounce fill for most items. Full lift lids open wide, reduce spillage, and close without a struggle during service. Avoid tight hinged lids that crush delicate leaves or spill when staff try to shove product back in.
Label and handling that saves the pass
Print clear labels with farm name, item, net weight, harvest date, and a simple storage note such as close after each pull and keep one backup in the walk in. Add a tiny portion cue for line cooks. This turns your box into a micro guide that helps the team use the greens correctly.
Harvest and packing that free hours
Large packs slash weigh time and label work. One grower finished about seventy five trays in about two hours when they packed into large tubs, compared with roughly six hours when they had to weigh many two to four ounce retail packs. The result is more harvest done in less time and more capacity to serve chefs during peak days.
Pricing strategy chefs understand
Price by pack size rather than overall order size
Reduce the per ounce price at eight ounces and again at one pound. Above one pound keep the same price per pound so the kitchen has predictable costs regardless of quantity. This matches your labor reality since bigger packs remove extra labels and repeated weigh outs.
Show simple numbers that feel fair
If an eight ounce tub prices at twenty dollars which is two dollars fifty per ounce then a one pound price at about thirty six to thirty eight dollars that is about two dollars twenty five to two dollars thirty eight per ounce rewards the larger commitment without cutting too deep. Orders of several pounds still pay the same per pound as the one pound tier and you ship as multiples of eight ounce tubs.
Explain the why in everyday language
Tell buyers that larger packs save you time in packing and labeling and you pass a bit of that saving to them. Remind them that two eight ounce tubs for a pound help the line reduce waste. Predictable pricing and less waste make the decision easy.
Relationship building that leads to retention
Be a steady human presence not a hard seller
A calm conversation about food often beats a fast pitch. Many successful sellers spend a good part of the chat on normal life topics because genuine rapport builds trust. Ask about the chef’s background and the menu vision. Listen for cues about pain points such as hold time or delivery days.
Invest after the first order
Drop a tiny taster of a new item with a one line idea linked to their menu. Send a short note before seasonal menu changes offering one or two crops that match new plates. Reliability matters most. Show up when you say you will, in the window that works for their service.
Strong ties are a safety net
When dining rooms were disrupted, farms with loyal chef relationships saw sales return toward previous levels within months because chefs made an effort to keep those suppliers in the mix through takeout and specials. Real trust outlasts swings in service patterns.
Pipeline expanders beyond restaurants
Coffee shops and bakeries
These outlets move a steady stream of grab and go sandwiches and bowls. One bakery spent over one thousand dollars per month once they added sandwiches and stocked local inputs. Offer a mild nutrition mix, pea shoots, and a spicy radish mix for easy assembly. Provide wholesale tubs and an optional small clamshell for retail.
Hotels and caterers
Hotels often have several outlets along with room service under a single buyer. Propose standardized items with fixed delivery days and one invoice. In tourist areas caterers are frequent buyers and value labeled tubs that work on stations. A simple garnish kit of two or three items with hold notes can become a recurring order in event season.
Spas food trucks and golf courses
Wellness programs want mild mixes and wheatgrass shots. Trucks want bold mixes for tacos and burgers. Golf courses need hearty greens that hold during banquets. These accounts widen your route without much extra marketing.
Community channels
Theme nights and small social groups create word of mouth. A short text list helps move bumper crops quickly. Ask regulars if they want harvest day texts and keep the message simple with item, pickup window, and a quick reply to reserve.
Tools for outreach and weekly rhythm
Short messages that book real meetings
For a chef or CDC use a direct note that asks for a ten minute tasting at a specific time window such as two thirty on Tuesday or three on Wednesday. Mention that you will bring a small guide with storage and use tips for one of their dishes. Keep it short and friendly.
A smooth doorway line for the host stand
Carry your samples and say you have a two minute tasting for the chef and ask if now is a bad time. If the chef is tied up ask which day and time is usually slower and plan to return then. Leave nothing at the stand so your name stays with your product when you return.
A weekly rhythm that compounds
At the start of the week add ten new prospects to your tracker. Midweek send five messages per day and stack tastings in the two to three window. End of week update notes, plan harvest for next week tastings, and prep usage sheets. This light routine creates a steady flow of meetings without feeling like a grind.
Responses to common concerns
If price comes up, explain the pack size tiers and how two eight ounce tubs for a pound reduce waste. If onboarding feels heavy, hand over a packet with W nine, a sample invoice, and a clear ordering contact so setup takes only a few minutes. If they already have a supplier, offer to be the backup with one item tied to a specific dish.
Proof points to guide decisions
Time windows that earn attention
Dinner only houses are most open from about noon through mid afternoon. Lunch and dinner houses are most open from about two through five. Avoid late morning during lunch rush. Skip Friday and Saturday. Many head chefs take Monday off so expect a sous chef then.
Gatekeeper and meeting approach
Meet the chef directly. Do not leave samples at the stand. If the chef is not available ask for the slower day and time and return for a brief tasting with a clear next step.
Small test then scale
Suggest one box per week on a set day with the option to adjust or stop at any time. If they need time, leave a box and return exactly when promised. Use a three touch cycle then cool off for about three months if needed.
Real world numbers that matter
A focused selection and reliable service helped one farm reach about five hundred thousand dollars in annual restaurant sales. Packing about seventy five trays into large tubs took about two hours while the same volume in many small packs could take roughly six hours. A bakery buyer can spend around one thousand dollars per month when grab and go programs scale. A steady goal of four new clients per month is practical when you contact about thirty prospects to get around ten real conversations.
These practices keep the process clear for chefs and efficient for you, which is the heart of selling to restaurants in a way that lasts.