How to prepare your shopping list for a quote

A good list speeds everything up

How fast a quote comes back depends less on the supplier than on the list they receive. A clear list gets quoted in one pass; an ambiguous one forces a back-and-forth of questions — which ají? box or pound? how many? — that delays the answer and leaves room for errors at delivery.

The good news is that a well-built list doesn't take any longer: it just needs structure. This guide gives you the one we use to process orders every day.

The four columns that matter

You don't need a sophisticated format. You need four pieces of information per line:

• Product, with a specific name: “3×3 tomato,” not “tomato”; “Persian lime,” not “lime”; “Diamante ñame,” not “ñame.”
• Pack size: pound, unit, bunch, tray, mesh bag, sack, or box. If you don't know it, write the unit you use in the kitchen and the team will translate it.
• Quantity: how many of that pack size. “Culantro — bunch — 24” leaves no room for doubt.
• Notes: ripeness, size, or intended use when it matters. “Large avocado — box — 2, to serve in three days” says more than any phone call.

Common mistakes that slow down your quote

These are the patterns that generate the most back-and-forth:

• Ambiguous names: “ají” can be chombo, criollo, or jalapeño; “lettuce” can be romaine, curly leaf, or butter. Name the variety.
• Lines with no pack size: “10 pineapple” could be 10 units or 10 boxes — the difference is enormous.
• Mixed units with nothing clarified: pounds on some lines, boxes on others, and no indication anywhere.
• Not saying whether the order is one-off or recurring: a weekly order is quoted and planned differently than an event order.
• Asking a new supplier for “the usual”: nobody has your history yet; your first complete list is what builds it.

Organize by category and lean on your menu

Grouping the list by category — fruits, vegetables, leafy greens and herbs, roots, frozen — makes it easier to review and to catch omissions before sending it. A good trick is to walk through your menu or the week's production plan dish by dish: each recipe dictates its ingredients, and the quantities come from real consumption, not from memory.

Three ways to send it

Once the list is ready, you have three paths, and all three reach the same team:

• Build it online: find the products in the catalog, add them to your quote with pack size and quantity, and send it from the “My quote” page. It's the route with the least ambiguity, because every line already comes from the catalog.
• Upload your file: if you already have the list in Excel, PDF, or even a legible photo, upload it as-is on the “Upload your list” page. Our team interprets it and replies with the quote.
• WhatsApp: type the list right in the chat. It works well for short lists or recurring orders the team already knows.

After you send it

Once the list is received, the team validates it product by product: the week's availability, the correct pack size, and the current price. If something isn't available, they tell you and propose an alternative instead of leaving a gap. Save your list: repeating and adjusting it each week is much faster than starting from scratch, and over time it becomes your purchasing template.