Choco app connects foodservice distributors with restaurants

Choco, a global company focused on building a more sustainable food industry by simplifying how restaurants order from suppliers, released Broadcast today.

This is a digital tool to help even the least tech savvy of foodservice distributors reach their customers more effectively than any traditional digital marketing method, increase revenue, reduce waste and simply sell more stuff.

The pandemic has been tough for restaurants and their suppliers, and although the restaurant industry has been at the forefront of media, a more overlooked segment are the suppliers who also depend on the survival of restaurants for their business, and are just as affected by closures. Small- and medium-sized suppliers and producers are unsung heroes of the industry. They hustle day in and out, often in the early hours of the day to provide essential ingredients and a premium service to the restaurants.

Often these businesses have limited resources for marketing, and little command of digital marketing. Some have no website, and the most common method of engaging customers is via email or in person. In a highly relationship based industry, it’s become especially difficult for suppliers to knock on restaurant doors and drum up customers, increasing the need to reach buyers online. 

While on average only 23% of marketing emails in the industry are opened and only 3% are clicked through, customers receive Broadcasts directly in their Choco mobile app, making it as simple as two clicks for them to purchase the attached products.

Because chefs use the Choco app to place their kitchen orders, suppliers’ messages reach customers on a platform they use daily, at the time when they would place an order. Broadcasts are an easy way to target the right buyers with personalized messages, keep them engaged by attaching images or videos of products and make it easy to convert digital communication directly into sales.

A pilot study with a French supplier showed a 100% open rate of broadcast messages, and a 53% conversion rate to purchase, which shows the potential of this feature to transform the status quo. 

Broadcast messages are also the perfect way to promote special offers or highlight particular products such as seasonal products that are only available for a specific part of the year or new products that will only stay fresh for a short time. It makes upselling and reducing wasted stock as easy as sending a message. Customers receive these messages in the Choco app, allowing them to buy with a click.

“We are on a mission to drive the world’s transition towards sustainable food systems, and the Broadcast feature is an exciting first step to reducing surplus and wasted stock by suppliers, who are able to send high-converting promotions to customers who are really interested, and avoid both food and money going in the trash,” said Daniel Khachab, CEO of Choco.

Choco is free for all restaurants and suppliers. For suppliers, Choco can integrate with any existing ERP system to streamline end-to-end order processing and inventory management, and to give their customers live inventory updates. Choco offers set up help and account support for each supplier and their individual customers. For small businesses with no existing catalog, Choco can help develop and implement catalogs and create SKUs.