The Sustainable Restaurant Association discusses why you should build a more diverse supply chain — and how to get started.
The sourcing decisions made by restaurants and other food businesses have a direct impact on communities, livelihoods and local economies. Your procurement strategy isn’t just about buying the items you need: it represents an opportunity to do real good. Rather than keeping money circulating within the large-scale companies that already dominate the market, your business can — and should — support ethical business practices and reflect the diverse communities it serves.
This can include buying from:
- small and medium businesses,
- female-owned businesses,
- businesses owned by minorities, including people of colour, Indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities, and
- social enterprises and cooperatives.
The benefits of a diverse supply chain
Ethically speaking, diversifying your supply chain makes space for a variety of business ventures, helping to support a healthier mix of businesses of all shapes and sizes. Not only does this support economic growth within local and regional communities, it also helps to promote equity and inclusion, making it feasible for small operations to stay afloat and for people from any background to earn a living. As businesses recognise the value of supplier diversity, they’re creating pathways to innovation and long-term competitive advantage.
It also means a stronger supply chain. By reducing your dependency on a limited number of companies, you’re building resilience; sourcing from a varied mix of suppliers means your business is less likely to feel the effects of supply chain disruptions caused by extreme weather events, climate shocks, natural disasters, international conflicts or pandemics.
How can I go about diversifying my supply chain?
1. Analyse your supply chain
First, make a clear list of every business you buy from: big wholesalers, specialist importers, direct suppliers and producers. Note who owns each business, where the product comes from, how much you spend with them and any esg information you can find. This helps you see where your biggest impact lies.
2. Ask who benefits financially
Take time to understand where the money goes. Ask questions like, “how is the payment divided between the producer, the supplier and any middlemen?”. This helps you see whether most of the value stays with the people who are growing and making your products or is getting lost along its way through the supply chain.
3. Define your brand values
Bring your team together and talk about what you stand for. Decide what your top priorities are when it comes to who you buy from — whether that’s supporting the local economy, working with businesses owned by underrepresented groups, giving back to community projects or backing those who are trying to do better for the environment. Write these values down, then work together to create a realistic target for shifting your procurement strategy so that your money is redirected accordingly.
4. Bring dei into your supply chain
Check that your supply chain matches your internal policies on diversity, equity and inclusion. Be proactive about ensuring a significant proportion of your spending goes to businesses owned by people from underrepresented communities.
5. Expand your supplier list
If you’re not sure where to start, ask around. Talk to other local chefs or restaurateurs for recommendations, or look online for directories and networks with lists of diverse suppliers. You can also explore collaborative purchasing models, which work to connect foodservice businesses directly with local farmers, fishers and producers.
6. Take care with high-risk items
Some food products carry a particularly high risk for human rights abuses; these include coffee, tea, beef, chocolate, chillies, palm oil, soy, sugar, citrus fruits and avocados. Check for certifications like fairtrade and the rainforest alliance, which set clear standards on pay and working conditions. If you can, consider buying direct from roasters or importers who are open about pricing and committed to providing fair pay for farmers, fishers, pickers and producers.
7. Honour ingredient origins
Where your menu features culturally significant products, make sure your money is going to businesses owned by those communities. For example, if you serve mezcal, look for brands owned by mexican producers rather than multinational companies. If you’re buying ingredients traditionally grown in certain regions, consider whether you’re sourcing them from farming communities who work hard to grow them sustainably — like indigenous communities — rather than from large-scale producers
8. Support your local economy
Get to know what’s being produced in your area. Let this lead your menu design, creating dishes around what’s available and in season locally. This helps build strong, reliable relationships with the people at the heart of your supply chain and create a unique, localised offering based around provenance. Knowing who you’re buying from makes it easier to tell great stories about your food to your customers.
9. Include social enterprises
Don’t forget about all the non-food items in your space; there are plenty of organisations creating social impact through their products. Perhaps you could find uniforms produced by a social enterprise that employs people with disabilities, or furniture built by a local workshop that gives jobs to people experiencing long-term unemployment. Some businesses also donate a percentage of their profits to community initiatives.
10. Set clear targets
Set clear targets based on measurable numbers. For example, you could aim for 60% of your food spend to go to local suppliers. Add timeframes for achieving these targets and track progress regularly.
11. Create a procurement policy
A simple policy document helps everyone in your business understand what’s expected when ordering. Write down your priorities along with your targets and deadlines for improvement, then share it with your team.
12. Go further than procurement
You don’t have to stop at reviewing your sourcing; go further by raising money for community projects that help producers, co-organising an event or promotion to give them more exposure, creating a special dish to highlight their work or arranging volunteering days so your team can see first-hand how your spending helps communities.
13. Share their stories
Use your menu, website and social media to share the stories of the people behind the foods and drinks you serve. This celebrates and acknowledges their work and helps your diners to understand that every item has a rich context and the work of many hands behind it.
For more insights and stories from sustainable restaurants, hotels and bars across the globe, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn and sign up to our newsletter! If you’re interested in exploring what sustainability can do for your business, drop us a line at hello@thesra.org.
