Best Practices

Using FoodHub to increase your business connections is easy. Here are five simple steps you can take to maximize your chance of success on FoodHub.

1.       Upload a Photo: Uploading a photo to your profile personalizes your information. Use a photo of yourself, your operation or your logo.

2.       Be specific: Be specific about your selling/buying protocols so that people know how to do business with you. Check out Cascade School District’s profile to see a great descriptive paragraph about how to do business with them.

3.       Tell your story: Telling your story gives a personal touch to your profile – letting people know who you are, what your values are and why they should do business with you. Check out Hummingbird Wholesale’s profile for a great example of a personal story.

4.       Update Your Product List: Complete a product list and update it as seasons and availability change. If you’ve listed all your products on your profile, people will find you when they search for that product. SELLERS: If you haven’t listed all the products you sell on your profile via the “My Products” tab, you WILL NOT SHOW UP in search results. If you haven’t created a product list, check out Barking Moon Farm’s impressive product list.

5.       Check and respond to your FoodHub Messages! People may be contacting you to do business with you! Many of these messages are time sensitive; don’t let a business opportunity pass you by.

WOW! Check out the Davidson Commodities profile. (Hit ‘Browse’ and sort by ‘D’ or search for one of their great products, like lentils, and they’ll pop right up.)

Don’t you love the way they describe their business, their practices, their philosophy on partnerships, their willingness to send samples? I feel like I now know enough about them to know I want to know more!

Does your profile do all it can to market your business?

FoodHub sellers, see that SEARCH box in the upper right hand side of the site? The one that says really clearly, “search for products“?

Type in a product you sell and hit the blue search button. Does your record come up in the search results? What? NO!?

Assuming you actually want interested buyers to find you, you might want to spend some time making sure your listing comes up in FoodHub’s search results. FoodHub’s search feature is entirely based on products. To make the most of your FoodHub membership, you’ll want to be sure that you’ve spent some time with the ‘My Products’ tab and that you’ve detailed all the products you sell.

FoodHub buyers, are there products you really want but can never seem to find or get enough of? Use the ‘My Products’ feature and list those products in your profile so that when potential suppliers go looking for buyers that might be interested, your listing shows up.

And remember, we are here to help. We’re improving and streamlining the ‘My Products’ tab right now (see previous post on this topic). In the meantime, don’t hesitate to send us your product lists or give us a call if you need any assistance.

Susan Wilch, Member Services Manager (503.467.0816 or meet@food-hub.org)

As FoodHub’s Member Services Manager I’ve been thoroughly enjoying getting to know our members by reading the member profiles. Oftentimes people ask me for help in making sure their profile is as effective as possible. One of the best recommendations I can make is for you to use the “Marketplace” section to your advantage. You want your profile to be inviting and full of great information about you and your business. Make sure you list the products you buy and/or sell by using the “My Products” tab.

And then remember, the “Marketplace” is visible to every single FoodHub member upon login. Use the Marketplace section to shout about time sensitive things you have to sell or to alert the FoodHub community when you have something very specific you want to buy.

You should always, always, always check the Marketplace section; it changes frequently.

FoodHub member Herman Hemke of Quality Acres included information and a nice description about his soft white spring wheat flour on his profile (as well he should). I suggested that he post information about this specialty product in the Marketplace section too. Herman reported that once he posted his flour in the “Marketplace”, he had two potential buyers contact him the next day!

Now that’s a connection! Remember, I’m here to help. Don’t hesitate to contact me at 503.467.0816 or meet@food-hub.org. I’m happy to review your profile or offer suggestions to maximize your FoodHub experience.

Are you watching the box in the right hand side of your dashboard? Members, click on dashboard now. Better yet, click on Marketplace and make sure you aren’t missing an opportunity to do business.

Here’s just a few of the posts we’ve seen recently:

In the “WANTED” category:

• Looking to buy 40-60 dozen farm raised eggs in the Seattle area.
• Blueberries from Skagit, Whatcom, Snohomish county in WA. Will buy fresh and field packed blueberries 100-200lb/week during the season for resale at our farmstand.
• Looking to contract with local farmer(s) to purchase entire season’s crop. We use approx 80+ bushels of habaneros per year. You can process/store or we can. Let’s Talk! We also need suppliers for market season – tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, jalapenos and cilantro.

In the “AVAILABLE” category:

• Farm fresh eggs. (Wonder if this person has seen the post for eggs above!?)
• New crop walnuts. Excellent freshness and flavor. In shell or hand cracked.
• Hard red and soft white wheat.
• Red potatoes and red beets.
• Wagyu beef: Restaraunt cuts of Tenderloin, New York, Top Sirloin & Prime Rib, Grade A-5. We also have hamburger in patties, in 15 lb boxes.

They say you never have a second chance to make a first impression.

When a food buyer or seller sees your business listing for the first time after clicking Browse on FoodHub, what do they see? Nothing!? Or a pithy two or three lines of text that make them want to learn more about you?

On the SELLER side, check out:

Cattail Creek Lamb: Cattail Creek Lamb has been growing lambs in the Willamette Valley and selling lamb meat direct to restaurants, stores, and institutional buyers for 25 years. We’ve got the most tender and flavorful fresh dry-aged lamb you’ve ever had year round.

Applegate Valley Artisan Breads: We deliver a superior product and are willing to work with each chef in order to give them the exact type of breads that compliment their menus.

Creative Growers: Creative Growers grows certified organic vegetables and herbs for restaurants. All our products are handled and packaged to minimize the handling in the kitchen. Products are harvested to the order, and specifications of the individual chef.

On the BUYER side, check out:

Bamboo Sushi: Bamboo Sushi is the world’s first certified, sustainable sushi restaurant. We are dedicated to sourcing the highest quality fish, meats, and produce with the utmost concern for marine stewardship and sustainability.

Bon Appetit INTEL: INTEL’s several corporate campuses enjoy the Northwest’s finest local ingredients because of our commitment to supporting local farmers and food producers through our popular Farm to Fork program.

Garden State: We’re a food cart in Sellwood, specializing in Italian street food. Our goal is to be serving food produced locally whenever possible!

What kind of first impression are you making?

It’s hard to form a relationship with a blank computer screen, don’t you think? Make it easier on potential new business contacts by uploading a picture of yourself, your operation or your corporate logo into your profile page.

Need help? Call us at 503.467.0816 or email us at meet@food-hub.org or message us through the Admin Account on FoodHub.

Hhhmmm … we should put a picture of the FoodHub member services team there. We’ll do that right away!

When you are creating your profile, there is a spot in the ‘Account Management’ section that asks, “Receive email notifications from FoodHub?” A drop down menu lets you select either YES or NO.

This is just a friendly reminder that we strongly recommend you check YES.

The other day I heard from a farmer who had three unread inquiries from food buyers sitting in their ‘Message Center’ but didn’t realize it because they weren’t receiving email notifications from FoodHub. Why weren’t they getting this crucial information? They’d checked NO when asked if they wanted to receive email notifications from FoodHub.

Respond to potential new customer inquiries in a timely manner by checking YES.

(To make sure you have email notifications turned on, click ‘Edit profile’ from your ‘Dashboard’ tab.)