Retail brands sell to shoppers. Foodservice brands sell to people who cook for a living. Forget that, and you’ll spend a lot of money learning it the hard way.
I sat down with Elliot Begoun on his podcast Tardigrades, Not Unicorns to talk about what it actually takes to win in foodservice. Elliot’s show is built around “tardigrades”: nimble, resilient, capital-efficient brands that last. After 40+ years selling, marketing and tasting food across this country, I’d argue foodservice is where tardigrades are made. Here’s what we covered.
This is a relationship business first.
Operators, chefs and distributors aren’t a channel. They’re people with tight margins, short-staffed kitchens and zero time for a pitch that doesn’t solve their problem. The brands that grow are the ones that show up, follow through, and earn trust one account at a time. Your distributor rep carries thousands of SKUs. Why would they talk about yours? Usually because someone at your company made it easy and made it personal.
Your passion is a sales tool, but only if you translate it.
Founders love their product. That’s an asset. But passion alone doesn’t move cases. Operators want to know what it does for their menu, their labor and their plate cost. The job is to turn “I love this” into “here’s why your customers will order it again.”
Chefs talk. Let them.
Word of mouth in foodservice is more powerful than most marketers realize. Chefs move between kitchens, compare notes and follow each other’s work. One respected chef putting your product on a menu can open doors no ad budget can. Find the culinary champions who genuinely believe in what you make and give them reasons to talk about it. (Shameless commercial – we manage chef ambassador programs.)
Understand the operator before you sell the operator.
A university dining program, a 12-unit pizza chain and an independent bistro have completely different needs. Volume, consistency, prep time, storage, menu flexibility: each one weighs those differently. Generic messaging speaks to nobody. Tailored marketing speaks to the person who signs the order.
Build a dedicated foodservice landing page.
This one surprises people, and it’s one of the most overlooked fixes out there. Most retail food brands send operators to a website built for consumers, with lifestyle photos, retail locators and recipes for home cooks. An operator wants pack sizes, case counts, yields, spec sheets, distributor availability and a fast way to request a sample. Give them a page built for them, and watch your leads and conversions improve.
Choose your battlefield: chains or local.
National and regional chains offer scale. But the approval process is long, the spec requirements are demanding, and the volume can stretch an emerging brand thin. Local and independent operators move faster and can become proof points that make the chain conversation easier later. Neither path is wrong. What matters is picking one deliberately and resourcing it properly.
The common thread? Foodservice rewards brands that respect how operators actually work. Show up consistently, speak their language, make it easy to say yes, and let your best customers tell your story for you.
That’s not unicorn thinking. It’s tardigrade thinking: steady, resilient and built to survive whatever the market throws at you.
Thanks to Elliot for a great conversation. If you’re a manufacturer or emerging brand trying to crack foodservice, give it a listen. And tell me in the comments: what’s been your biggest hurdle getting in front of operators?
#Foodservice #FoodIndustry #CPG #FoodMarketing #B2BMarketing #Restaurants
