You should consider the relationships you have with your buyers to be mutually beneficial partnerships, where you both work together to get the maximum benefit out of the relationship.

Building and maintaining relationships with buyers helps distributors meet their needs more directly, which in turn helps strengthen your distribution strategy — as building trust by catering to buyers' needs can help make them more understanding of price changes and other supply chain challenges.

It also secures a sense of loyalty that makes buyers more open to working together with their distributors to maintain their relationships long-term. The food distribution industry has existed for a long time. Unfortunately, so have many of the systems and practices that are still common within its business models.

Many food distributors are still using legacy technology that doesn't fully meet their needs. Offline tracking, spreadsheet tracking, and accounts receivable collection by phone or in person are all examples of legacy systems commonly used by food distributors that have more efficient technology solutions available now.

Outdated technology prevents distribution businesses from operating to their full potential; for example, all the legacy systems mentioned above are extremely time consuming, especially compared to alternatives that use technologies like artificial intelligence and workflow automation to modernize systems and reduce time spent.

There's also a lack of integration between many of these older technologies, which can create gaps in data and force distributors to revert to manual processes that are time-consuming and error-prone.

Data is easily siloed. There's no automation. The food distribution industry largely isn't taking advantage of the current digital age. Technology to help bridge these gaps exists — it's up to distributors to take advantage of it and modernize their systems. Advanced last mile technology can help distributors modernize their routing and planning.

Wholesale software can help with inventory management and tracking, while utilizing IoT devices and telemetrics is helping distributors with their traceability and data consistency.

One of the easiest parts of your food distribution business to modernize with technology is by starting with your accounts receivable with notch. Managing orders, reconciling invoices, and processing payments can all be done with software that integrates seamlessly with other technology platforms and streamlines systems not just for you, a food supplier, but for all your restaurant partners, too.

Guides Case Studies Blog News. Sign In. The way the foodservice distribution industry works is complex — and rapidly changing. Be conscious of food miles It's not uncommon for food to travel great distances before it's sold.

Luke Ierullo. Additional Blogs. Days Sales Outstanding: What Is it and How Can Your Business Improve it? March 6, Mental Health in the Hospitality Industry: Advice for Supporting Teams February 2, Bad Restaurant Reviews: How To Respond to Negative Guest Feedback August 15, Several manufacturers outsource their logistics and hire food service distributors.

Warehousing and storage are additional considerations for food manufacturers. While large distributors operate their own warehouses, specialized distributors which tend to be smaller ones may skip the warehousing process and instead transport fresh products in refrigerated sprinters directly from the producer to the foodservice operator.

Overall, top-rated food distributors communicate with their partners effectively, ensure that the product is delivered on time and they are avoiding waste, which is essential to becoming more sustainable.

Having an unreliable partner can be damaging to a company's reputation and the planet, so ensure you choose an excellent one. Food distributors can be great for marketing and selling the products they carry to foodservice operators. In many cases, foodservice operators buy foods from distributors, as it's more convenient.

Because it eliminates the need to work with different manufacturers from growers to factories to find products. This may not always be the case, considering farm-to-table restaurants, but it does happen quite often.

Another positive aspect of using a reputable food distributor is their marketing efforts. Thanks to them, manufacturers can fully dedicate themselves to their core competency, which is creating more of their product.

In fact, they'll only be working with distributors as an intermediary. This is better than managing relationships with individual foodservice operators. Distributors also have the infrastructure to distribute marketing materials to retailers.

Sure, you'll most likely have to deal with the cost of designing and printing these marketing materials, but, your distributor should get them into the hands of retailers, who will then ensure it gets into the hands of customers. It's an investment worth making!

Things are different when you work with a distributor. They'll not only make your food products available at multiple retail locations, but they'll also position your products where customers will most likely be searching to purchase them.

Wholesale food distributors employ representatives. Their role includes meeting with retailers, as well as introducing food operators to existing products and even new ones. The best way to market a food product is undoubtedly by providing taste samples.

So, work with a food distributor and offer them plenty of free product samples so their product representatives can showcase them when they meet with retailers.

Here's an extra tip: you can contact your distributor's marketing representatives to strategize ways to work together to promote your products. They will also contribute to the discussion of the feasibility of the project. Some of their most important responsibilities include comparing supplier offers, negotiating contracts and pricing, tracking orders, ensuring timely and consistent delivery, reviewing the quality of products, and more.

The quality assurance team must ensure consumer expectations regarding qualities and sensory attributes are being met. It is done using the following food safety tests:.

The regulatory team is mainly involved in the prototyping and processing stages. They work towards ensuring the product is legal, safe, and follows regulations for:.

The marketing and sales teams are involved in various stages of product development and assigned tasks such as:. Those in senior management roles must oversee and guide the strategizing process involved in developing a new food product.

Food product development timelines can range from several months to years, depending on the product and the complexity of the processes involved. Brand new products take much longer to develop than line extensions and improvements, which can only take a few months.

The development stages are significantly compressed for existing products with established audiences. Developing a new product takes a lot of time, capital, and resources. It is crucial to divide the process into distinct stages and formulate a detailed plan to keep teams on the same page and set your enterprise up for success.

Every step also comes with checks and balances to ensure the development process is on the right track. If your team encounters an obstacle, it must be dealt with or discarded immediately.

This stage involves researching product ideas and evaluating them based on feasibility, production costs, potential audience interest, etc. Ideation is also the stage wherein a company will conduct market research to gather data regarding:.

After narrowing down your list of ideas, you can proceed to the next stage. Also known as the formulation stage, this involves procuring the ingredients, producing the shortlisted products in small batches, and market testing them. This will help you identify audience interest in the product and gather data you can use for future marketing endeavors.

The market test should tell you which products show a good buyer response to continue the development process. You can pick the top performers from the trial products and move on to the next step. This stage will bring to light any issues with the following:. Processing involves scaling production to get an idea of incurred expenses.

This stage mainly tests the ability of the manufacturer to produce the product efficiently and consistently. Product changes, specification finalization, food safety, and quality testing are often conducted during this stage.

The commercialization phase involves getting the product ready for launch and onto shelves. It includes the following processes:. The commercialization stage is also an opportunity for manufacturers to evaluate drawbacks and negative feedback about the product.

Upon launch, the manufacturer is tasked with determining the success of the product using consumer feedback and metrics like:. Resolving this might mean a larger investment from the company, such as purchasing new equipment or introducing new processing mechanisms.

This might not be feasible for small enterprises with limited resources. Sourcing the ingredients and calculating costs are crucial in determining the future profitability of the product.

After undergoing the production and processing phases, products may develop unfavorable characteristics. The shelf life might turn out to be too short, or initial marketing tests might not turn out positive. These issues during processing can lead to a negative outcome that stalls development and extends the timeline.

These issues can be difficult to iron out if the enterprise is on a time or budget crunch. Despite the lengthy process and challenges that must be faced, food companies continuously find opportunities to release new products even in over-saturated markets.

Here are the latest trends and innovations you want to take a look at before beginning the food product development process:. One of the most popular trends in the food tech industry revolves around the rising consumer demand for alternative protein sources, such as:.

The driving forces behind the trend are environmental concerns and health issues. It requires protein sources that provide the necessary nutrition while reducing carbon footprint and avoiding harmful ingredients. The nutraceutical trend demands a functional food product that can be used as a nutritional alternative and medicine.

It leads to products like:. The eCommerce trend grew exponentially due to the pandemic. Restaurants that continued delivering food through online platforms saw their delivery revenue increase throughout The best food-related examples are the introduction of ghost kitchens and online food delivery services.

These kitchens create food for off-premise consumption only. The increasing number of large-scale food recalls has increased the demand for more transparent manufacturing and supply processes. Consumers are also becoming increasingly aware of the importance of nutritional labels and understanding food grading systems.

Overall, the movement has led to technology like real-time food monitoring coming to the fore. One example that satisfies the higher demand and need for personalized nutrition is 3D food printing. Some popular products to explore in personalized nutrition include:.

Automation is the key to solving a majority of troubles in the food industry. It can significantly reduce waste, enhance traceability, improve quality control, improve productivity, and increase food safety.

It also helps solve the labor shortage problem while offsetting high operational costs. Applications of robotics in the food industry are plenty. Some of them include the following:. Food waste not only involves the waste of consumables but also resources like labor, time, and capital.

It also increases operational costs and creates a larger carbon footprint. New strategies being implemented in food waste reduction include:. Modern consumers are very interested in the impact of their consumption habits on the environment. Consumers increasingly demand a food experience that enhances the emotional and sensory elements.

This is leveraged by trends like local food sourcing. Regional food sourcing also offsets supply chain issues and other concerns from the pandemic. It involves heating edible ingredients and printing them on a plate layer by layer. The growth of this field is currently restricted by the food products available for extrusion and equipment costs.

In the near future, 3D printing will be a suitable solution for personalized nutrition solutions, lower operational costs, and accessible meals created from a sustainable process.

Restaurants are embracing digitization to streamline all elements of their operations. This boosts efficiency, reduces labor costs, minimizes errors, and enables data collection on consumer behavior for data-driven decision-making.

After the pandemic, the demand for the digitization of public spaces like restaurants has only multiplied. Global societal issues are no longer niche discussions—regular consumers have made them their concern, too.

Marketing is the process of interfacing with customers on multiple levels, from customer service, to ads that raise awareness about your products' usefulness.

When you work with a distributor to make your food products available at multiple retail locations, you take advantage of that distributor's ability to position your products where customers will most likely be looking to buy them. This basic step in the marketing chain can offer the vital, simple service of making your food products easily available rather than expecting customers to request them or order them directly from you.

When distributors deliver food products to retail locations, they also have the infrastructure in place to deliver marketing materials such as coupons, brochures, or shelf talkers, which retailers can display along with the product.

You'll most likely have to bear the cost of designing and printing these marketing materials yourself, but the distributor you work with will be able to get them into the hands of retailers, who will in turn get them into the hands of customers. Food distributors employ representatives who meet with retailers and introduce them to new products as well as existing products whose sales can benefit from increased visibility.

The most effective way to market a food product is by providing taste samples, so you can take advantage of your distributor's marketing capabilities by providing plenty of free product sample for its product representatives to bring when they meet with retailers.

Get in touch with your distributor's marketing representatives and strategize ways to collaboratively promote your products. Distributors can meet this challenge by looking for new and creative ways to add value for their restaurant clients. One way to do this while also adapting to the changing landscape of the digital age is by adopting technology that allows customers to manage orders, invoices, and payments online more on that below.

Another way is for distributors to build stronger relationships with their buyers. You should consider the relationships you have with your buyers to be mutually beneficial partnerships, where you both work together to get the maximum benefit out of the relationship.

Building and maintaining relationships with buyers helps distributors meet their needs more directly, which in turn helps strengthen your distribution strategy — as building trust by catering to buyers' needs can help make them more understanding of price changes and other supply chain challenges.

It also secures a sense of loyalty that makes buyers more open to working together with their distributors to maintain their relationships long-term. The food distribution industry has existed for a long time. Unfortunately, so have many of the systems and practices that are still common within its business models.

Many food distributors are still using legacy technology that doesn't fully meet their needs. Offline tracking, spreadsheet tracking, and accounts receivable collection by phone or in person are all examples of legacy systems commonly used by food distributors that have more efficient technology solutions available now.

Outdated technology prevents distribution businesses from operating to their full potential; for example, all the legacy systems mentioned above are extremely time consuming, especially compared to alternatives that use technologies like artificial intelligence and workflow automation to modernize systems and reduce time spent.

There's also a lack of integration between many of these older technologies, which can create gaps in data and force distributors to revert to manual processes that are time-consuming and error-prone.

Data is easily siloed. There's no automation. The food distribution industry largely isn't taking advantage of the current digital age. Technology to help bridge these gaps exists — it's up to distributors to take advantage of it and modernize their systems. Advanced last mile technology can help distributors modernize their routing and planning.

Wholesale software can help with inventory management and tracking, while utilizing IoT devices and telemetrics is helping distributors with their traceability and data consistency. One of the easiest parts of your food distribution business to modernize with technology is by starting with your accounts receivable with notch.

Managing orders, reconciling invoices, and processing payments can all be done with software that integrates seamlessly with other technology platforms and streamlines systems not just for you, a food supplier, but for all your restaurant partners, too. Guides Case Studies Blog News.

Sign In. The way the foodservice distribution industry works is complex — and rapidly changing. Be conscious of food miles It's not uncommon for food to travel great distances before it's sold.

Luke Ierullo. Additional Blogs. Days Sales Outstanding: What Is it and How Can Your Business Improve it? CFI prides ourselves on being up to date and compliant with all new rules and regulations, so we keep our clients compliant, too. The other tips fall under the umbrella of technology and modernization such as item forecasting, route planning, and data sharing.

CFI is already ahead of the curve not only with sustainability practices, but implementing these strategies. Our unbroken cold chain services not only keep your goods at optimum temperatures, but we utilize CoolSkys overpacking technology that refracts light, absorbs less heat, while less moisture is lost, prolonging the life of the coolant while keeping cargo safe, and saving resources.

We believe that logistics, at its core, is about information. We offer real-time tracking, temperature monitoring sensors, shipment transparency, and unparalleled twenty-four hours, seven days a week customer service. Commodity Forwarders sends a newsletter out quarterly and more frequent communications as market conditions require.

Email address:. Hit enter to search or ESC to close. Close Search. Produce Strategizing Food Safety By Chris Connell October 7, No Comments 2 min read. Home » Strategizing Food Safety Food Safety Tech has released a list of seven ways to support food safety while considering your bottom line.

Reach out today and let us show you how CFI can protect and move your perishables.

Looking forward, community stakeholders are taking proactive steps. A significant regional conference is scheduled for Nov. They aim to strategize and develop actionable plans to combat the challenges of food supply and distribution.

Christian Bibeau, General Director of Moisson Estrie, presided over a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the issue of food insecurity.

For the full story and more subscribe to The Record. By Daniel Kirchin Local Journalism Initiative Hooked on School Days, an annual initiative of the…. By Ruby Pratka Local Journalism Initiative The de facto leader of a potential new municipal party…. Behavioral Design Tools Contains an evidence review, sample diagrams, and electronic checklists of behavioral design strategies to facilitate healthier food purchases.

Use the checklists below to record whether suggested strategies are already in use, planned for implementation, or may be considered in the future. Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Toolkit Helps emergency preparedness and response personnel, families, and the public ensure that children are fed safely when disaster strikes.

Cultural Food Preferences in Food Service Considerations when seeking to offer cultural foods in food service. Covers topics such as how to decide which foods to offer, how to communicate with vendors, and how to use policies and contracts to ensure these foods are available.

Also see resources for fruit and vegetable voucher incentives and produce prescriptions. Philadelphia Hospitals Offer Healthier Options with Good Food, Healthy Hospitals Good Food Healthy Hospitals invited hospitals to adopt standards in at least one of five hospital food environments: purchased food and beverages, cafeteria meals, patient meals, catering, and vending machines.

After 1 year in action, two hospitals saw an increase in sales in healthy items. In addition, behavioral design optimizes building and facility design, construction, and management to improve the overall experience. Facility efficiency, environmental support, and community development [PDF Nutrition guidelines for charitable food systems are used in settings such as food banks and food pantries to ensure that people with food insecurity have nutritious food offerings.

The HER guidelines [PDF For charitable meal distribution programs, food service guidelines can be adapted to meet consumer needs. Food service guidelines are specific standards for healthier food and beverages and food service operations used in venues such as cafeterias, cafés, grills, snack bars, concession stands, micro markets, and vending machines.

The venues can be in worksites such as hospitals; colleges and universities; private workplaces; and state, local, or tribal government facilities and community settings such as parks, recreational centers, and stadiums.

Food service guidelines do not apply to food served to children in childcare or school settings that are governed by federal laws and regulation, including the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program.

It is one of the most comprehensive sets of food service guidelines available. It contains standards for food and nutrition; facility efficiency, environmental support, and community development; food safety; and behavioral design.

The food and nutrition standards align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans [PDF Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search. Español Other Languages. Priority Nutrition Strategy: Food Service and Nutrition Guidelines Promote food service and nutrition guidelines and associated healthy food procurement systems in facilities, programs, or organizations where food is sold, served, or distributed.

Minus Related Pages. On This Page. This may not always be the case, considering farm-to-table restaurants, but it does happen quite often. Another positive aspect of using a reputable food distributor is their marketing efforts. Thanks to them, manufacturers can fully dedicate themselves to their core competency, which is creating more of their product.

In fact, they'll only be working with distributors as an intermediary. This is better than managing relationships with individual foodservice operators.

Distributors also have the infrastructure to distribute marketing materials to retailers. Sure, you'll most likely have to deal with the cost of designing and printing these marketing materials, but, your distributor should get them into the hands of retailers, who will then ensure it gets into the hands of customers.

It's an investment worth making! Things are different when you work with a distributor. They'll not only make your food products available at multiple retail locations, but they'll also position your products where customers will most likely be searching to purchase them.

Wholesale food distributors employ representatives. Their role includes meeting with retailers, as well as introducing food operators to existing products and even new ones. The best way to market a food product is undoubtedly by providing taste samples.

So, work with a food distributor and offer them plenty of free product samples so their product representatives can showcase them when they meet with retailers.

Here's an extra tip: you can contact your distributor's marketing representatives to strategize ways to work together to promote your products. Although there is still work to be done, you'll be taking a massive weight off your shoulders by forming a partnership with a food distributor.

You'll still have to consider the sales strategies you'll take if they don't offer one and have a clear understanding of the cost margins. You'll have to keep track of the distribution timelines, and you must know how long the distributor estimates the delivery process will take.

They help by focusing on what they're good at, which is selling to customers right away. So, find the right partner , and you'll succeed. Plus, efficient transport is essential to decreasing or preventing waste of time and materials, and money.

Working with a reliable partner is better than losing profits for hiring an ''easier'' but low-quality service. It's worth working with a specialty distributor if you sell the kind of product that requires the right conditions.