Appetite for Convenience

This book will inform people interested in selling perishable (frozen or refrigerated) foods via the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel how the process works. This book will not make you an expert from the supply chain to marketing to metrics, but it will provide a solid foundation for how this industry works.
Reasons to sell through the direct to consumer channel include the following:
• Direct interaction with consumers—no middleman.
• Channel that most benefits the food producer from repeat (subscription) sales.
• Lowest cost of entry.
• Fastest go to market option.
• Works well with other channels. A company can add DTC sales to an existing distributor to retailer sales program.
• DTC sales can be hugely scalable. The degree of scalability is a function of multiple factors as discussed throughout the supply chain sections of this book.
• The DTC sales channel is tailor-made for foods unavailable through local markets. These products tend to be unique and appeal to a limited audience. Examples include super-premium meats (wagyu beef), and Eastern European frozen meals.
This book seeks to address the need for information about this growing sales and distribution channel from people who are either in the food business or want to enter the food business. The DTC channel can serve as a primary or secondary sales channel.
This book strives to provide information about the many facets of selling and distributing perishable food via the DTC channel. Specific items addressed include the following:
• An understanding of DTC supply chain basics.
• Why frozen and fresh foods provided through the DTC channel can require different supply chains.
• A firm grasp of the principal supply chain components.
• DTC marketing. How it works. Choices in marketing. Selling through Amazon and other third-party sites.
If your company is considering the direct-to-consumer channel for your frozen or refrigerated product for the first time, this book is the primer you will want to read.