The most important part of any business is attracting and maintaining loyal cust omers.

While it s true that top-notch products and services play a large role in a ttracting customers, it is the customers themselves who keep business in motion. For food retailers, the most important tools you can provide to your customers are quality products at affordable prices. Bulk foods are quickly becoming an ef ficient way for retailers to do just that offer a wide range of products that esse ntially provides customers with savings in all sizes. What many shoppers fail to realize is that bulk foods sold at a majority of reta ilers are not the same as those sold at wholesale clubs. Clubs often require cus tomers to buy in bulk, which is usually in the form of multiple packages of one product sold at a lower price. In this format, customers are forced to buy a cer tain size or quantity in order to take advantage of the lower price. However, bu lk foods sold in a traditional retail setting, such as grocery stores and farmer s markets, refer to foods that are bought in bulk by the retailer and are then b roken down into manageable sizes for customers to purchase. This gives customers the freedom to choose not only what product to purchase, but the quantity as we ll, all while enjoying the benefits of lower prices. As a retailer, adding bulk foods to your product selection can provide a number of benefits to your business. Think about this: bulk foods can allow you to offe r savings of up to 60% to your customers, while helping your profits to grow! Wh ile many food prices are increasing, customers are looking for a way to save mon ey, and bulk foods will allow them to do just that while helping your business t o succeed. In turn, lower prices will help to not only keep current customers lo yal to your store, but will help to attract new customers too! Adding bulk foods to your store will also allow you to expand your product selec tion and provide customers with a large variety of products within one convenien t location. For example, installing a 16 foot dispensing system would allow your store to offer an average of 100 new items! These items are easy to maintain, a s replenishment is as simple as adding new product to the top of the bin. The di spensing system is designed to always follow the first in, first out rule, ensurin g that your products are always fresh. Minimal maintenance of these bins allows your employees to focus on serving the customers or to be utilized in other area s of the store. Merchandising bulk foods is also a breeze thanks to minimal packaging and clear dispensing containers. Bulk foods, especially those placed at eye level, are bou nd to catch your customers attention for two reasons. First, they are able to ge t a clear view of those delicious chocolates, candies, snack mixes or other prod ucts that appeal to their specific taste. Second, they are able to see exactly w hat they re getting before they purchase it, helping them to buy with confidence. You can also keep your marketing plan fresh by touting the Earth-friendly benefi ts of bulk foods. There is a significantly reduced amount of production, packagi ng and transportation required in the creation of bulk foods, which helps to red uce the carbon footprint on our environment. This makes bulk foods an environmen tally friendly food option for those who are Earth-conscious consumers. There ar e also many organic and gluten free items available in bulk. Adding these items to your product selection will provide your customers with the convenience of fi nding everything they desire in a one-stop shop, which will in turn increase the ir loyalty to your store and in the end, your profits too! Welcoming bulk foods to your product selection is a choice that will benefit bot h your store and the customers who shop there, helping to make your business a v alued part of your community.