FICCI FLO, under the leadership of its 43rd National President, Ms. Puja Garg, organized an insightful webinar titled “Getting On the Buyer’s List: How to Prepare, Position & Sell to Hotels, QSRs, & Institutional Buyers,” with Chef Vijaya Bhaskaran, General Secretary of the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA). Chef at Olam Food Ingredients and Founder of Everything Recycles, Mr. Bhaskaran discussed how women entrepreneurs in the food, agriculture, and allied sectors can get on the buyer’s list for hotels, QSRs, and institutional buyers.
The culinary industry leader shared market readiness strategies with FLO members. He advised them to connect with the right buyers, such as hotels, restaurants, cafés, catering, cloud kitchens, and institutional food services, to succeed in the institutional food service market. Then, the chef shared examples of high-demand products in the hospitality industry, like French fries, frozen seafood, demi-glace sauce, honey in small jars, ready-to-use filter coffee, and whipping cream. He emphasized the importance of consistency, packaging, pricing flexibility, and being audit-ready for food businesses.
The chef also advised entrepreneurs on targeting specific buyers, participating in trade shows, and developing a go-to-market plan, while highlighting the need for patience when dealing with hotel and restaurant chefs. The session also covered challenges like tight margins, MOQs, and payment cycles, and emphasized the need for branding even in B2B. During the Q&A, Mr. Vijaya Bhaskaran addressed specific queries on hotel procurement, the bidding process for chains, and strategies for targeting niche products like tea, cold-pressed oils, and microgreens.
The culinary industry leader highlighted IFCA’s social initiatives, such as collaboration with the United Nations on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 to end hunger, work with Akshaya Patra, support for a girls’ college in Uttarakhand, plans to launch a technology platform for entrepreneurs, efforts to promote Northeast farmers’ rice in Japan, and training international chefs in Indian cuisine.
The session concluded with discussions on how the IFCA Association could support women entrepreneurs in building their brands and accessing market linkages. The webinar was hosted under the FLO Agriculture, Agro-based, & Food Processing Industry Initiative, led by Ar. Minal Jain (Lead) and Ms. Radhika Gupta (Co-Lead). Access Matters as much as Capability. Build Readiness, Create Connections, and Grow Confidently.