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 After many years of
experimentation, organic food has finally arrived in the food concession
industry.
Throughout North America more and more festivals and fairs had food
concessions that were hustling organic products.
Why has it taken so long? Food concession operators are notorious
for being slow off the starting block. Many believe that a food
concession is designed to provide greasy and messy products. They have a
tendency to model their operations after others around them, and while
looking at the success of others can be a valid way to enter a business,
it does not leap frog you ahead of them. You become an industry
follower rather than an industry leader.
But, there are other reasons why organic foods took so long to make a
firm entry into the food concession industry. The manufacturers
were slow to make the products available in bulk form. This was
primarily due to the fact that most of the organic foods were being
processed by small, local companies, who were having problems keeping up
with producing enough products for supermarkets and specialty health
food stores.
Every day a new organic supermarket opens and every day, supermarkets
are expanding their organic food sections, because a percentage of the
population realizes that the foods filled with chemicals are not healthy
and want healthier ways of life and that percentage is growing daily.
Raw material production has and still is a problem, farms processing
organically cannot keep up with demand. But, to the rescue of what
was a fledgling market only a few years ago, has come the big
manufacturers who have their own farms and can demand that the market
change to provide organic staples, such as floor, spices and oils.
I have been unable to find a food commodity that cannot be procured as
an organic item!
Now these organic raw materials and processed foods are being made
available to the food concession industry. It is definitely a
strong marketing strategy, especially if you have been having difficulty
gaining access to certain fairs and festivals.
Organic foods do cost more, but the population that wants organic has
been educated that organic does cost more and they are willing to shell
out the money, you will be able to maintain your profit margins and as
you may be unique in any specific fair or festival, your prices will be
difficult to compare.
Twenty years ago the food concession industry was hamburgers and
hotdogs, then came the arrival of the first ethnic food - pizza.
Now ethnic foods populate 75% of the food court at any fair or festival.
It won't be long before organic food concessions are taking 25% of the
space.
Don't be the last one to jump on the organic bandwagon!
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