In the restaurant business, consistency is king. Whether it’s the signature flavors customers expect or the service they receive, maintaining uniformity across multiple locations is critical. Yet, one area that often gets overlooked in multi-unit operations is non-food consumables—items like gloves, napkins, takeout containers, and cleaning supplies.
When these products aren’t streamlined across locations, inefficiencies quietly pile up, cutting into profits and operational effectiveness. Let’s explore why standardizing non-food consumables is a smart move for multi-unit restaurant operators.
Lower Cost Through Bulk Purchasing
When each restaurant location orders its own non-food consumables, buying power is diluted. Centralizing purchasing allows multi-unit operators to negotiate better pricing, take advantage of volume discounts, and reduce overall supply chain costs. Buying in bulk also minimizes price fluctuations and helps stabilize expenses.
Simplified Inventory Management
A restaurant chain that stocks different brands, sizes, and types of disposable gloves or takeout containers at each location is bound to face inventory headaches. Streamlining consumables means fewer SKUs to track, easier forecasting, and a reduced risk of over-ordering or running out of critical supplies.
Consistent Customer Experience
Imagine ordering takeout from a restaurant’s downtown location and receiving sturdy, well-branded packaging—then ordering from a suburban location and getting a flimsy, generic container. Inconsistencies like this impact customer perception. Standardized consumables ensure brand identity and quality remain intact across all locations.
Increased Operational Efficiency
When kitchen staff, front-of-house teams, and managers don’t have to learn and adapt to different products, service speeds up. The right non-food consumables—selected for efficiency—help streamline workflows. For example, standardizing on a single type of trash bag that fits all bins across locations eliminates wasted time hunting for the “right” one.
Reduced Waste & Sustainability Benefits
Ordering a mix of different products leads to excess waste—whether it’s leftover supplies that don’t get used or packaging that isn’t recyclable across locations. By standardizing eco-friendly options, restaurant groups can not only cut costs but also make sustainability a core part of their brand’s identity.
Stronger Supplier Relationships
When restaurants order a scattered mix of non-food consumables from multiple vendors, managing those relationships becomes a logistical challenge. Consolidating orders with a trusted supplier leads to better service, priority access to inventory, and improved reliability when it matters most.
Take Control of Your Non-Food Consumables
Multi-unit restaurant operators already know the power of consistency in their food offerings—now it’s time to apply that same principle to non-food consumables. Streamlining these essential supplies leads to cost savings, improved operations, and a better customer experience.
At JD Food, we help restaurant groups simplify their supply chain by offering reliable, high-quality non-food consumables alongside our premium proteins. If your locations are ordering independently and leaving efficiency on the table, let’s talk about how we can bring consistency—and savings—to your operation.
Ready to streamline? Let’s make it happen.