This 300 bowl order could've been huge

Last fall, in my first few weeks of launching, I sent over 255 cold emails and over 85 Instagram messages introducing my new business: wellness catering and meal delivery.

Typically with cold outreach, 5-8% of people will be interested, 1-2% will turn into something that grows the business (aka a new sale, partnership, etc), if that. It’s truly a volume game.

From that outreach, I met a cafe owner catering corporate offices by the airport. SCORE. He wanted to outsource making salads to Better Bowls.

I WAS PUMPED.

We met in person at his cafe. I was prepped with a gameplan, options and full size bowl samples. The bowls looked stunning: beautiful colours, creamy tahini dressing with cold-pressed evoo, pasture-raised chicken breast, y’know - the usual around here.

He gets right into it:

“I have a large catering order coming in that I’d like to outsource parts to you - 300 salads. I’m giving your samples to my customers today and if they love it, the work is yours.”

I reply with, “Wonderful, I would love the opportunity to partner.”

He called me later that evening:

“So I shared your bowls with my customers…I also had them try out my Triple Bean Salad. They really liked my Triple Bean Salad.”

He then says:

“We use Italian Dressing and mix it with mayonnaise to make an in-house dressing. You may want to consider that for your bowls, I think it would go over better with my customers, you can price it lower, and then we can discuss working together for future orders.”

Thank god this was a phone call and not a video call because this was my face:

I polietly acknolwedged his feedback. But we did not move forward with partnering.

It’s easy to see now why this partnership would never have worked - but at the time, I was gutted. All that cold outreach: a 300 bowl order could’ve been HUGE.

So, I slept on it (whenever I’m mentally stuck, I sleep on it).

The next day, the lesson emerged:

My bowls aren’t meant for everyone. And that’s a good thing.

It’s good that I don’t waver for mayonnaise. It’s good that I have a clear vision for what we are and what we are not (the right palette GETS how freaking good it tastes and feels to eat these wellness bowls).

And when I stay grounded in that, I will lose orders. It will suck.

AND (there’s always an and): when I stay grounded in what we are, I will resonate with clients who LOVE our relentlessness in building better food.

So cheers to losing a huge order. xx

I APPRECIATE YOU SO HARD.

-Caitlyn

Need wellness bowls next week? Order here for Sunday delivery or pick up. Friday 5pm is cut-off.

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