Where Do I Find Wholesale Gourmet Food Suppliers for My Gift Baskets?:
A Guide to Gift Basket & Gourmet Food Suppliers (Part 3)

Work With the Gourmet Food & Gift Basket Suppliers Who are Prepared to Work With You!

Even after you've established your gourmet food or gift basket business, it's particularly difficult to find and retain good wholesale suppliers.  It's even harder when you're just starting your gift basket business!  (We can still remember when we started our business in 1993 and tried to schedule meetings with potential wholesale suppliers.  It was extremely frustrating to hear the excuses of why the Sales Rep "couldn't fit us in to his busy schedule".  We didn't really like it when we were told (indirectly) that we "were just too small to deal with".  It was also very disappointing to be told "a salesperson will get back to you", only to never hear from anyone at the company again.  However difficult it was, we persevered and eventually found a few decent wholesale suppliers, many of whom we still deal with today!


Try To Be Loyal To Those Gourmet Food & Gift Basket Suppliers Who Have Earned Your Business!

We have remained loyal to many of our earliest wholesale gourmet food and gift basket suppliers because of their willingness to work with us when we were just starting our company.  We like to believe that they saw our passion for the gourmet food and gift basket industry and our burning desire to succeed.  In short, they believed in us and were prepared to work with us in mutual profit.

When you find a potential wholesale gourmet food or gift basket supplier, if possible, try to conduct an interview with them (either on the phone or in person).  Ask them how long they have been in business, who their customers are, what their minimum order size is and which of your direct and indirect gift shop or gift basket competitors (if any) they are already servicing.  Query them if they provide any sampling allowances or provide free samples for in-store demonstration purposes.  Determine what their shipping and handling charges are.  (This can be particularly important - you may find a great supplier of gourmet foods and gift basket supplies but if you're located in the East Coast and they are located on the West Coast, the freight charges may make doing business impossible.)  Inquire if they have a website and if so, if you can place your orders online, at your convenience.  Inquire also if they provide any discounts for placing your orders online.   

In summary, don't be afraid to make your wholesale gift basket suppliers earn your trust and your business!  To establish a Wholesale Account Online with epicureanfoods.com click here.

Phyllis and Greg Sprout began their company, epicureanfoods.com, in July 1993.  They specialize in supplying hard-to-find gourmet foods and gift basket supplies to gourmet shops, gift shops and gift basket companies across North America. 

They have helped the founders of literally thousands of gift, gourmet food and gift basket companies start and grow their businesses.  Many of these companies remain excellent customers of epicureanfoods.com today.  They can be reached at phyllisandgreg@epicureanfoods.com.