Restaurant-Farm Partnerships Are Increasingly Important As Brands Seek To Offer Better Ingredients

Right now, the restaurant industry is run by a few dominant trends. Issues like food-sourcing, sustainability and quality have all become priorities among consumers, leading fast casual chains across the country to commit to offering only fresh and local ingredients. This new wave of customers gives brands the opportunity to build and maintain relationships with family farms.

An article in QSR Magazine notes that the agriculture and food service industries are increasingly intertwined—both are dealing with high costs, food safety concerns and higher expectations on the quality of their food. That’s why more restaurant concepts are reaching out to their local farms for help.

In an interview with QSR Magazine, Jeff Tripician, general manager of Niman Ranch, said, “In the past, there were a few very progressive partners—Chipotle, people like that. They were way out there in their thinking, and now other people are paying attention to that and saying we want that too.”

As more consumers become educated on where their food is coming from, restaurants and local farms will start forming partnerships. While both industries are facing a number of challenges, it’s possible that by working together they’re able to ultimately give one another a financial boost.

Dan Long, co-founder and chief culinary innovator of Mad Greens, told QSR Magazine, “You have to each trust each other and figure out how you make this work in an honest way so that everybody can win and everybody can be successful. It doesn’t help us if we drive such a hard bargain that it puts them out of business. That’s in nobody’s interest.”

To read the full article, click here.