Sealane Food Service is an Australian owned and operated family business, established in 1982 in Melbourne. The broad-line foodservice distributor offers an extensive range of frozen, chilled, dry groceries, food, packaging and cleaning products.
Its services extend to a wide sweep of the hospitality industry, including cafes, restaurants, function centres, caterers, hotels, sporting clubs, takeaway outlets, nursing homes and educational institutions. Its philosophy is simple: “service is our business”.
“We understand that each customer’s needs are unique,” Sealane Business Development Manager Andrea Ckuj says. “We provide personalised service to meet these needs. Being passionate Melbourne foodies, we keep up to date with the market trends.”
With more than 4000 product lines, a key Sealane strength is its ability to source niche products to assist customers in creating their desired menus.
“We’re a flexible and nimble company,” Sealane Business Development Executive Craig Johnson says. “We’re passionate about food and are very proud to be distributing a number of excellent, high quality, unique products that come from passionate manufacturers who understand the changing landscape of the food industry.”
Sealane’s advice to foodservice retailers is to simplify their menu.
“Better to offer a smaller range of high-quality consistent dishes, rather than offering a large variety of dishes where it proves difficult for the kitchen to manage the consistency and quality of a broader range of dishes,” Mr Johnson says.
Looking outside the box to create value-adds for the customer will also increase retailers’ bottom line, adds Ms Ckuj.
These value-adds may include:
- Selling additional side dishes.
- Creating weekly specials/signature dishes.
- Offering tasty treats to accompany the morning takeaway coffee, such as savoury muffins, cookies, slices, banana bread and macarons.
- Displaying high quality retail products in venues for customers to buy.
“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” Ms Ckuj advises. “Use your pantry staples to create new and exciting dishes with a twist. Simply add a couple of different elements, such as exciting, authentic Mexican tortillas, bao buns, sensational flavoured condiments, Persian fairy floss, etc.”
Read more about foodservice suppliers in the May issue of Convenience World.
