Operating a salvage food grocery store takes a lot of effort in customer satisfaction and perception; from the start people will always have a preconceived notion that most of the food found in your store is old or in some way compromised. Let me back up and restate: new customers will have this idea that most of the items will be old or expired. It is up to you to prove them wrong and keep them coming back to spend more dollars.
The best way to overcome this challenge is to educate your client base and keep you store, and it products clean. I know several salvage food stores who prepare and hand out a flier to new shoppers explaining salvage food and how it is, in fact, safe to consume.
A flier containing information about the salvage food process from store to reseller might be a good idea as most customer will question how inventory was obtained. An educated customer is a wise shopper and will look past dented cans and crunched boxes!
The other part of the equation is to keep your stores interior and exterior clean at all times. If the aisles are cluttered and messy this will not sit well with most shoppers. A clean, inviting environment is a healthy and safe environment.
