Foodservice Suppliers Face a Buyer Journey Where 84% of Decisions Are Made Before the Sales Call

Foodservice suppliers are confronting a fundamental change in how purchasing decisions are made, according to an expert opinion published September 23, 2026 in Nation's Restaurant News by Kate Finley, founder of PR and strategy firm Belle Communication.

Finley writes that operators now complete the majority of their research before any sales representative becomes involved, citing data that B2B buyers complete approximately 70% of their buying journey independently, and that 84% know which vendor they're going to pick before conversations. The piece argues this shift makes pre-sales influence — through trade media, peer communities, influencer partnerships, and AI-powered search — the decisive battleground for foodservice brands.

More Touchpoints, Earlier Decisions

The traditional linear sales funnel — awareness, consideration, evaluation, purchase — no longer reflects how operators behave, Finley contends. Instead, today's buyers move fluidly across stages and consult an average of eight to nine sources before making a decision, which the article describes as nearly double the touchpoints from just a few years ago. Those sources include Instagram, private chef communities, trade media, and AI-powered search tools.

Distributors, Finley notes, continue to fulfill orders but rarely drive discovery. Operators are described as self-educating, self-selecting, and often arriving at conversations with shortlists already formed.

A Four-Stage Framework

The article outlines four stages it says now drive foodservice sales: awareness, trust, consideration, and choice.

On awareness, Finley argues the relevant metric is not brand name recognition but whether an operator understands a supplier's value when a need arises — including visibility in AI-generated answers to category questions.

On trust, the piece argues that third-party validation — media coverage, chef endorsements, and peer recommendations — carries more weight than brand-produced sales materials. Rubix Foods is cited as a case example: the company's NEXT Flavor Network, which partnered with foodie influencers to co-create sauce concepts aimed at Gen Z tastes, is described as generating social buzz while validating the brand's innovation credibility with QSR decision-makers.

On consideration, content marketing and search optimization are described as revenue drivers when operators are actively evaluating a shortlist of three to five options. Golden Waffles is cited as an example for publishing thought leadership focused on waffle economics and total cost of ownership, positioning the brand as an informed choice before price negotiations began.

On choice, Finley argues that suppliers who have built trust throughout earlier stages face less price resistance, while those who appear only at the buying stage compete purely on specifications and cost.

Connecting Marketing to Pipeline

The article recommends that suppliers measure the connection between awareness-building activities — trade media, influencer partnerships, thought leadership — and revenue outcomes, including which deals cited PR or influencer content in the buying process and the correlation between media presence and deal velocity.

Finley concludes that while the foodservice industry has always been relationship-driven, the channels through which those relationships form have changed, and suppliers who build strategies around that shift will have an advantage over those who do not.

Kate Finley is the founder of Belle Communication, a nationally ranked PR and strategy firm specializing in foodservice and complex B2B brands. The article was published as part of Nation's Restaurant News' SpeakerBox opinion series and reflects the author's views.