Selling Chicken to Restaurants and Hotels in Ghana

What the kitchen actually needs from you

A kitchen manager does not ring you about the price of a bird. They ring when the bird is wrong. A stew portion that varies by 200 grams from one day to the next means the cook has to adjust the pot, the cook is annoyed, and the manager starts looking for another supplier.

Restaurants and hotels in Ghana tend to care about four things, in roughly this order: that the product arrives when promised, that it weighs what it should, that it is clean and cold, and that the invoice matches the delivery. Price comes after all four. We have heard farmers say that a buyer pays the highest price in town and still drops them, and the reason is almost always that the birds were late twice.

The kitchen plans its week around your delivery. If the chicken is due on Thursday and arrives on Friday, the Thursday menu has to be changed, and the buyer has no reason to forgive that.

Write the spec before you quote

A spec is a short written description of what you will deliver. It stops arguments before they start. It should cover the product, the weight range, the cut style, the packing and the delivery day. Keep it to one page, and attach it to every quote and invoice.

A broiler spec for a restaurant might look like this, with each figure as an example for you to replace with your own numbers:

Agree the spec before the first delivery, not after the first complaint. If the chef wants a tighter weight band, ask whether the price changes. A tighter band costs you more birds sorted out and thrown back, and that cost belongs in the price.

Set a weekly volume you can hit in a bad month

Most farmers promise too much in the first meeting. They say they can deliver 200 birds every week, then find that a mortality spike or a late chick shipment leaves them with 120 in week three. The restaurant does not forgive a shortfall because you were trying to be generous.

Work out your minimum sustainable volume. Take the number of birds you can reliably sell each week across a bad month, and quote a little below it. Then add the high season on top as an extra order you confirm a few weeks ahead.

Here is a worked example with illustrative numbers. Suppose you run one house with a rolling flock that gives you about 40 birds in a good week and 30 in a bad one. You agree to deliver 30 birds on Tuesday and 30 on Friday, which is 60 birds a week, and you keep 10 birds in reserve for the next order, or to sell to a walk-in buyer. That reserve is what lets you say yes to a sudden extra order without breaking your promises.

Consistency is the product

A restaurant can cook any bird. What it pays for is the bird that looks and weighs the same as last week. That means keeping the batch age steady, feeding to a known programme, and sorting out the birds that fall outside the weight band before they reach the buyer.

One practical habit helps a lot. Weigh a sample of ten birds from each batch a day or two before dispatch, and write the average down. If the average is drifting towards the top or bottom of your spec, you can adjust the sale date, not the bird. A few days can shift the weight, and you want to know that before the van is loaded.

Our broiler weight chart gives you the weeks to check, and our guide to when to sell broilers explains how to match the sale age to the buyer's weight band.

The delivery run, step by step

Delivery is where most restaurant relationships are made or lost. The following routine is simple, and it works when the person who signs for the goods is not the person you spoke to on the phone.

1. The day before, confirm the count and weight range with the kitchen by phone or WhatsApp.
2. On the morning, load the crates in the cool hours and keep them covered in transit.
3. Carry the invoice and a copy of the spec in a plastic sleeve, not loose in a bag.
4. At the back door, count the birds in front of the receiver, weigh a sample, and note any shortfall on the invoice.
5. Ask the receiver to sign the copy, and keep your copy in the van.
6. Call the buyer that afternoon to confirm the next order and to hear any complaint while it is still small. Our delivery page explains how we handle the same kind of run for chicks, if you want to compare notes.

The signature matters more than people think. A signed count is what protects you when a bird goes missing from the crate and the buyer says it was never delivered.

Invoicing that gets paid on time

Restaurants and hotels are slow payers more often than they are bad payers. A clean invoice speeds things up, because it gives the accounts clerk nothing to query. Every invoice should show the business name, the delivery date, the number of birds or kilos, the price per unit, the total, and the payment terms. Give each invoice a number, and keep the sequence in a book or a simple sheet.

Agree payment terms before the first delivery. Weekly invoices with payment in seven days are common for regular buyers. Cash on delivery is normal for a new buyer. Whatever you agree, write it on the invoice and on the spec, and do not let the first delay become the new normal.

Accept mobile money, bank transfer or cash, and confirm each payment in writing. A payment that arrives without a reference is one you can lose track of, so ask the buyer to send the reference by WhatsApp when they pay.

When an order is cancelled or runs late

Cancellations happen. A hotel closes a function, a restaurant changes its menu, or a wedding moves. The cancelled order is not the end of the relationship, but it does cost you the birds you were holding for it.

Plan for it. Keep a second buyer on a short list who can take birds at short notice, even if they pay a little less. Tell your main buyer on the day of a late dispatch, not after the van has arrived. Explain what happened and when the next batch will be ready. A buyer will accept a plain, early explanation far better than a vague apology on delivery day.

If the order is cancelled after the birds are at the right weight, do not let them sit in the crate. Ask the second buyer to take them that day, and offer them at a price that reflects the short notice. A bird held for three more days costs you feed, water and risk, and it loses weight as well.

Send a sample before you agree a standing order

Before a restaurant commits to a weekly order, ask the chef for a trial. Send one crate of birds to the kitchen at the agreed spec, and ask the chef to tell you what is wrong with it. The chef's notes are worth more than a dozen phone calls about price.

Ask three specific questions: how long did the bird take to cook, how much did it lose in the pot, and did the portion look right on the plate. The answers will tell you whether your weight band is correct, and whether the cut style suits the menu. Adjust the spec, then send a second sample before you agree the standing order.

Pricing for the kitchen, not the market

A restaurant does not buy at the market price on the day. It agrees a price for a period, usually a month or a quarter, and it expects that price to hold. Quote per kilo for dressed birds, because that is how most kitchens cost their menu, and make sure the kilo is the weight you deliver, not the weight you hoped for.

If the cost of feed or chicks goes up sharply, speak to the buyer early, with the figures. A buyer who sees the numbers and the reason is more likely to accept a revised price than one who hears of it for the first time on the invoice. We cover the wider pricing method in our pricing guide, and our general selling guide looks at the other buyers you may be serving alongside restaurants.

Checklist before your first restaurant order

• One-page spec, signed or acknowledged by the buyer.
• Weekly volume set below your bad-month output.
• Delivery days and times agreed in writing.
• Invoice template with a number sequence and payment terms.
• A signed count on every delivery, with any shortfall noted.
• A second buyer on the short list for cancelled orders.
• A trial crate sent and the chef's notes recorded.

What we would do if we were starting this week

We would pick one restaurant, not five, and deliver to it for a month without missing a day. We would weigh every sample, sign every count, and send the invoice the same afternoon. If the restaurant was happy at the end of the month, we would add a second one, and we would keep a reserve of birds for the first one's extra orders.

For the birds themselves, you need steady chicks from a source you trust. Call or WhatsApp us on +233 24 915 1503 to discuss a flock that matches your weekly volume, or send an order through the order form. Our broiler chicks page lists the starting prices and box sizes, and the bulk page explains how larger orders are quoted. For the first-cycle timing, our start-up budget article helps you line up the cycle before the first order.

Questions farmers ask