Correct Product Selection for Profit

This article contains helpful tips on how to choose the type of product to sell from a concession business. Using objective reasoning and these tips, choosing a food type, a very important decision, can be easy.

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product selection, concession business

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Product choice is one of the most important decisions that must be made when starting a food concession business. While many components of the concession business are important, choosing the type of food you will sell is the main component of your money-making potential. Choosing the wrong type of food can be detrimental to your business while choosing the right type of food can make you the talk of the neighborhood. There are several ways to choose food. First, choose a food you are experienced with. Second choose a food that is from your heritage. Third you can choose a food that is not in the area you plan to set up. Fourth you can choose a food to that is popular only if you can make the best of it. Finally, listen to your potential customers and what they want.

First and foremost, a great idea for trying to choose what foods you will sell in your concession business is to choose a food you are comfortable with cooking. If you don’t know how to cook lobster, unless you practice lots and learn how to make it very well, don’t choose to cook lobster. If you are a great burger cook, use that to your advantage. Experience is one of the most important traits you can draw upon in this business. If you have any type of food preparation experience and you choose to sell the type of food you are used to, you already have a leg up on the competition.

Secondly, a good idea to help inspire your food choice is to use your heritage. If you are Mexican, you may choose to sell Mexican foods. If you are Polish, you may choose to serve a fast-food form of Polish food. Using things that are in your background is similar to using food that you are experienced making. Many people who choose to let their heritage be a food guide feel more attached to what they are doing. You may feel like you are paying tribute to your history.

Another way to choose your food type is to choose something that is not currently in the area that you plan to set up in. For example, if the place you are going to set up is known as Hamburger Alley, you may want to pick chicken sandwiches for your signature item. Giving potential customers a choice between what is the norm and something unique is always a good way to get them to stop by. They may enjoy a taco now and then.

Do something that is going to make you stand out. This will help your potential customers remember you more easily.

Conversely, the very bold person can try another tactic. You may choose to do something that is very popular where you set up. However, if you choose to make hamburgers on Hamburger Alley, you MUST be the very best at it. If you can make a phenomenal burger, based on other people’s opinion, by the way, you can make a name for yourself as the best burger from burger alley. This is, I must warn you, much more difficult than figuring out something unique to sell.

A final idea about how to choose your menu is to listen to the people that are going to be your customers. Go to a neighborhood hang out or a local shopping district or business plaza near where you are planning to set up. Ask locals about what they think is needed in the neighborhood. Listening to your potential customers, you will start a relationship before you even open your restaurant.

No matter how you choose the type of food that you will sell, you must remember how truly important it is. Placing the utmost of care and consideration on this type of decision is very important. Above every other piece of advice on how to choose your food, be comfortable with what you choose. Going to work terrified everyday that you won’t turn things out right, or worse, not turning things out right is not the way to make a good impression.

Determining the correct size of Grease Traps

The size of a grease trap required depends upon the amount of waste that is produced by a given facility. To determine the correct size grease trap use the dimensions of the waste sinks. Grease traps are differentiated by their pounds and gallons per minute. Grease Traps may be placed under the sink or they may be buried.

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Grease Traps, Zurn Grease Traps, Zurn Grease Trap Interceptors, Zurn 2700 Grease Traps, Restaurant Grease Trap, Grease Trap Sizing

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Restaurants and other food service businesses generate literally tons of cooking oil, grease and food wastes every day. If this waste is not managed properly, it can cause major environmental problems. Much of the waste is in solid form and can be safely put in packages and placed in the trash. Liquid waste containing oil and grease dumped directly into the sewer, however, can block the system and cause wastewater to flow back-up .To avoid this you have to install and properly maintain a grease trap.

Grease traps capture the oil and grease from the flow of wastewater by slowing down the flow of hot greasy water through the grease trap (actually a tank) and allowing it to cool. As it cools, the grease and oil separate out of the water and float to the top of the trap. The cooler water continues to flow down the drain pipe to the sewer while baffles prevent the accumulated grease and oil from flowing out of the grease trap. The size of the grease trap depends largely on how much waste your business produces and how often you perform trap maintenance. Grease traps may be located inside or outside of the building. Traps that are located inside the building tend to be smaller and require more frequent maintenance. Traps that are located outside the building tend to be larger and may be less disruptive to maintain. Outside grease traps will operate differently in winter versus summer and are more prone to clogging during cold weather. As a business owner/manager, you should know where the grease trap, drain lines, and clean-outs are located at your restaurant.

Proper cleaning and maintenance of the grease trap and drain line reduces the amount of solids and grease going into the public sewer system and minimizes the likelihood of back-ups or blockages. Some sanitation districts and/or municipalities require grease traps and periodic maintenance and inspections for specified businesses. This is because untrapped oil and grease in the wastewater decreases pipe capacity over time and eventually will cause the pipe to clog. Piping systems without grease traps need to be cleaned more often and some piping may have to be replaced sooner than otherwise expected. Excessive grease sent to the wastewater treatment plant can also overload their system and cause the facility to exceed its allowable discharge limits. Running extremely hot water down the drain only moves the problem down stream, and may only make it worse. Fixing a sewer line blockage can be expensive, both in terms of potentially lost customers and repair cost. If the pipe clog is within your building sewer line, you will be responsible for fixing the problem and paying all costs. If the clog is in the public sewer line, but can be traced to your restaurant, you will be liable for paying all or a portion of the repair costs. Accumulating the oil and grease close to the source in a properly maintained grease trap is the most cost-effective way.

There are several ways to maintain a grease trap and dispose of the wastes. Your decision will likely be based on cost, availability of services, and disposal/ recycling opportunities in your area. Most restaurants hire a professional pumping service to remove the waste from the grease trap and dispose of it properly. Some areas have service companies that specialize in grease trap wastes, while other areas may have pumping contractors that service grease traps, sand traps, and septic tanks. Pumping service contractors can usually be found in the yellow pages of the telephone book under the listings for “Grease Traps and Service”, “Septic Tanks”.