Career in Food and Beverage Industry

In the later years a career in the food and beverage industry was a big No! No! Times have changed and people find the Food Industry more exploring, interesting and interactive, apart from the excellent salary package. If you hold an inclination to do something big in the Food Industry, initially you will have to start with little things. A skilled worker has more openings in this industry. A degree in culinary arts, nutrition & dietetics, food and beverage operations will do the magic. The Food and Beverage industry is all about Serving. The more you serve, the more you earn.

The Food and Beverage Industry is a huge industry, not limiting the job opportunities to specific openings. Food Service management requirements are similar to those of any other management position in the service industry. Any person, who is willing to work hard, enjoys dealing with people and supervising others can enter in the management level jobs.

Highlights on the various Divisions of Food and Beverage Industry

Bakery Industry

This sector is doing brisk business. Stiff competition in the global bakery market is a driving force for growth potential. The mindsets of people are changing, now people just don't want a round cake but designer cakes. The Job is not just limited to Baker and a Helper, it has moved on from just a "Bakery" to a giant size Bakery Industry. There are top level job positions namely Vice President, General Manager, Chief Financial Officer to name a few.

Hotel Industry

This is yet another section doing overwhelming business. Huge number of Job Vacancies lies in this area. Beginning from a Bartender, Chef and Room Service Boy right up to top managerial level jobs. This industry is also known as the "Hospitality Industry". This industry is directly associated with Free Time. The Hotels in Exotic Holiday Destinations are striving towards having brisk business. They try to reduce rates, brush up the facilities available and try to see that none of the rooms are empty.

Beverage Industry

When it comes to wine, drinks, the Beverage Industry rushes into action. The Key positions for this industry are Quality Analyst. People are so particular about food; there is a need for a Quality assurance manager in the Beverage Industry as here is it more dealing with drinks. Apart from this there are various other Jobs available here.

Bright Career Prospects

The career opportunities are brighter in the Food and Beverage Industry. Here you could choose the area of your interest. If you are a foodie and love to cook you could opt for the Hotel Industry and if you love to meet people and move to places the Hospitality Industry is calling you. Variations in Job profile is what the Industry offers. All you need to do is to slog it out and excel in your work.

Food For Thought - Is Your Food and Beverage Operation Being Run Properly?

I eat food. I drink beverages.

Therefore, I am qualified to oversee a Food and Beverage operation.

In assessing the operations of many clubs/resorts each month, I find that one of the most poorly operated, inconsistent areas of club/resort operations is Food and Beverage. Especially in member owned environments, which are often overseen by a club board, people seem to think that because they dine out, they somehow have some level of expertise that allows them to make business decisions about this important aspect of the club. The reality is that this is one of the most complex departments in a club to manage, control, and produce a consistent experience.

Let's ask a few questions!

Is your Food and Beverage experience appropriate for what your members/guests want to have in your club/resort? Are you priced properly, too high, or too low? How do you know? Are you tracking cover counts by day? By shift? By hour?

Are your food selections stuck in yesteryear, a nice balance of old favorites and new selections, or edgy? Is your menu designed for function or fashion? Do you change your menu quarterly, or at least semi-annually to keep it fresh? Or is it changed every year or two and become a club dinosaur? What are your product specifications and portion sizes? Is every item on your menu costed? What is your goal for a la carte food cost? Do you know the contribution margin on every item on your menu?

What about your special events. Are they really special? Do they create a buzz in the Club? Are they eagerly anticipated or the same thing that was done the last 10 years with nothing more than the year changed in the newsletter and promotional piece touting the event? Is your staff challenged every quarter to try new events? New price points?

Got Value?

What about value added programming? It's happening every day in the hospitality industry. Chili's, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Flemings, Cody's Roadhouse, McDonalds, Quiznos, Subway, and many other national franchises are actively programming to keep people coming in. Any wonder the success rate of franchises is over 90% while the success rate of individually owned restaurants is about 10%?

What are you doing in your club to create a "WOW" for your members/guests in your Food and Beverage offerings? Are you standing pat on your $32 filet and $28 sea bass wondering why you are doing so few covers? Or, are you trying new concepts that may provide "meal replacement" dining instead of only "special occasion" dining?

Something as simple as Happy Hour can generate additional usage. Comfort food such as meatloaf, chicken pot pie, lasagna, or similar for" at $8 or $9 during the week are popular. Taco bars, pasta bars, burger night, half price on bottles of house wine, Fresh Fish Fridays or a Friday Fish Fry, a Chef's selection at a special price on slower evenings, sushi nights, appetizers at a special price, entertainment, and many other concepts and events drive usage, provide incremental revenue, and keep the staff working. Are you experimenting with new events in your club/resort? Give it a try. You'll be surprised at the buzz it creates.

The Experience

How is your dining room presented? With white tablecloths? No tablecloths? Placemats? Are you charging appropriately for the experience you are providing?

How are your buffets presented? Elegantly with skirting, floral displays, and shiny silver chafing dishes? Or rudimentary with little or no frills? Does it make sense?

Do you have standards of operation to ensure the food and beverage experience for your members/guests? Is every staff member wearing a clean and pressed designated uniform? Is there a specific manner to present menus, serve, food, cocktails, and wine? Are members called by name? Are specific steps of service in place?

Does the service staff know the composition of every item, sauce, and portion size from the menu? Is training provided at least monthly? Is your staff selling suggestively?

To explore business into this widely expanding industry, www.made-from-india.com gives you trade directory of Food & Beverage product , Indian Food & Beverage supplier & manufacturers, Food & Beverages exporters, Food & Beverage Traders, Food & Beverage Distributors, food manufacturers in India, Food & Beverage Factories, Food & Beverage Producers, wholesalers. Manufacturers and suppliers of bottles & cans of beverages. A large number of products like: alcohol, beverages, bread & biscuits, frozen food, saffron, snacks, spices & seasonings etc. are included under the category of Food & Beverages in the exclusive directory of www.made-from-india.com

The Food and Beverage Business - Sinking Its Teeth Into Robotics

Human labor in the food and beverage industry has been plagued with problems for quite some time now with issues such as productivity and efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness being some of the major concerns. Because of these problems, more food and beverage manufacturing companies are looking to robotics to streamline their operations.

The use of robotics in manufacturing isn't a new concept. There are many industries that are now relying on robots for much of their day-to-day operations. Food and beverage companies are also beginning to see the advantages that robotics can do for their bottom line.

Advantages

Robotics systems help refine productivity. A lot of tasks involved in these industries require repetition and speed, and robotics can help companies get their products to consumers faster.

Another benefit of utilizing robots in production is that it enables manufacturers to establish a safer work environment. Traditionally, manufacturers depend on manual labor for product packaging, food assembly and even heavy lifting. But there is such a high potential for accidents in these tasks that it makes more sense to put in a system that can handle operations without the risk of physical harm.

There is also an improvement in terms of quality and safety. Sanitation is a vital issue in food handling and the reality is, the chances of contamination are higher when operations are handled by people. Human-initiated measures just don't compare to the cleanliness standards that can be achieved with robotics. Equally sophisticated sanitation technologies come along with these state of the art systems.

Pick, Pack and Stack

The majority of robotics systems in manufacturing lines are devoted to picking, packing and stacking functions as these are usually the areas that are most repetitive and speed-critical.

The picking function is one of the initial stages in the production process and efficiency is important during this phase. Food items take on a variety of shapes. It is vital that the robotics systems used are capable of handling such inconsistencies as these impacts highly on operational speed.

Packing is usually the area where robotics is most often utilized. Robotics has great potential in packing operations as there are numerous types of packaging used to wrap food in. Robots can be manipulated to efficiently handle the differences in package dimensions.

Product stacking is also an area where robotics can be used extensively. Stacking can be a complicated process especially when pallets are loaded with different types of products. Additionally, highly perishable products need to be loaded in a room with very low temperatures. Human laborers aren't able to stay long in these rooms and this is where robots take over. Also, there are certain equipment that won't work efficiently within cold temperatures. This problem is eliminated with the use of robotic systems.

Outlook for the Future

Experts are confident that the potential of robotics in the food and beverage industry will expand. The retail industry is seen as one of the areas where robotics can be incorporated. Fast food chains can benefit from using robotics. Currently there are developments on vending machine systems as well as the use of robots for bartending function