Honor Foods recently returned from the Spring Unipro Foodservice conference held at the Gaylord Rockies located in Aurora, Colorado. The event was comprised of over 1,400 suppliers and members. We were very fortunate to have a large Team presence throughout the conference, both at the booth and on the floor, including representatives from our Honor Foods Philadelphia location, and our R.W. Zant location in LA.
As always, we enjoyed meeting with various food vendors to learn what is new in the marketplace. From new product releases scheduled to updates on supply chain disruptions or inventory concerns, it was an excellent opportunity to learn what’s new in the marketplace and what’s emerging in the food service industry.
On the flip side, our sales Team had a chance to talk to many of our current food distribution customers to see where we can help them fill in the gaps in their business. Our Team was able to hear that products are hot at the operator level, where food distributors are looking to fill inventory gaps, and recent growth opportunities offer food distributors to fill in the gaps in their business. In addition, we had the chance to talk to potential future distribution customers to see how they are currently using foodservice redistribution and where we may have product offerings, they currently don’t have access to.
Overall though, the best part of the conference is always the chance to catch up with our customers, see what’s new, and see what we can do to serve them better. One of the biggest highlights of this year’s meetings was the opportunity to talk about our Honor Foods Protein Solutions. We have made great strides since the last conference, and were excited to talk about our boxed beef, pork, and chicken programs.
In addition, we had the opportunity to bring three of our new Team Members with us to UniPro this year to meet our distributor customers and food supplier Partners. These three Team Members were Casey Neff, Tina Craig, and Joe Whitelock. Learn more about their roles and experience in this video!
All in all, this year’s Spring UniPro conference was definitely a success. Just in case you missed it, or we didn’t get a chance to catch up at the conference, here are 13 of the most frequently asked questions our food vendor and food distribution Partners discussed with us at the event (and the answer to the questions too, of course!)
What’s New at Honor Foods?
This was the most popular opening question from both food vendors and distributors, and we have a great answer. A lot! In the last few years, we have had a few new acquisitions. Sommer Maid Creamery and Sunny Morning are dairy-focused, and Sunny Morning has a large customer base in the Southeast. In addition, Sunny Morning has two facilities in Florida, one in Orlando and one in Fort Lauderdale. This has given us a great customer base in the Southeastern region with little to no regional redistribution options.
Now that these companies have been part of our portfolio for a few years, our dairy capability and experience has grown exponentially. In addition, we have increased our presence in the Southeast regions. Sunny Morning continues to ship more products out of our Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale facilities, and Honor Foods has many trucks servicing the region and all our Sommer Maid customers. We know that more redistribution options in the Southeast are an important pain point for our food supplier Partners, so we look forward to continuing to grow our presence in the Southeast.
In addition, a few years ago we acquired R.W. Zant in Los Angeles, California. R.W. Zant is a well-known brand with a strong fresh protein focus. They have a great pick-up business, a large customer base, and a ton of industry knowledge, with a large percentage of Team Members having been with the company for over 20 years.
R.W. Zant has continued to grow and now also offers dairy products in addition to some additional broadline products. R.W. Zant is a great option for distributors on the West Coast looking to fill in dairy needs, add dairy to their product offerings, or who is in need of a new place to buy dairy products.
Tell Me about Your UniPro COP Titled Sales Through Honor Foods
We are happy to share that we are making great progress! We have added new products to our boxed beef and pork program, and now even carry some chicken products!
If you are looking to add weight to your next Honor Foods order, this is a great opportunity to step in to the protein world with very low risk. It is also a great way to expand on a small scale. If you have customers that are looking for a protein source, talk to Alex or Casey about our offerings. They would be happy to send you weekly price lists and keep you updated as our program continues to grow.
What are the benefits of Your UniPro COP Titled Sales Through Honor Foods?
There are many benefits to participating in the UniPro COP Titles Sales Program through Honor Foods. Here are five of them:
You are participating in a volume leveraged, central buy that offers you a lower cost of goods
It helps manage risk, reduce volatility and anticipate market direction
You gain additional resources with customized procurement support
We help you prepare for the market instead of reacting to it
We offer the same program but at lower minimums
Are You Storing Broadline Products in the Southeast Facilities Right Now?
Currently, our warehouse facilities in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale are dedicated to dairy due to limited freezer and dry storage space. However, we have used those to assist in moving products in certain situations, and we are delivering broadline food redistribution items in the Southeast from the Philly location in as little as 2-3 days with the help of our expert freight brokerage company Trinity Logistics. We are constantly expanding our presence and customer base in the Southeast and look forward to continuing to grow our current operations in that region.
What Does Operational Consistency Look Like Between Honor Foods on the East Coast And R.W. Zant on the West Coast?
Right now, our R.W. Zant location is operating independently on the West Coast due to the geographical separation between the two facilities and their focus on protein. However, we have a wonderful relationship with the R.W. Zant Team and have collaborated to help customers where it makes sense.
Why Do I Need a Regional Redistributor in the Northeast If My Products are Also Available at a National Redistributor?
The simple answer is that regional redistributors can often penetrate markets that national redistribution companies don’t. National redistribution companies are very good at what they do, but their policies, minimums, turn times, and regulations often limit who can buy from them, in addition to what areas their trucks will physically deliver to. Regional redistribution companies like Honor Foods excel at this market segment, ultimately offering food vendors a larger pool of distributors and, ultimately, end users to get their products to.
How High Do You Store Products on Racks?
We recognize that capacity is a huge concern for food vendors looking to Partner with us or any foodservice redistributor because a large capacity means the ability to have greater SKU count depth and the ability to order larger quantities. We are very fortunate to have a beautiful, large facility in Philadelphia that is 250,000 square feet with 115k sq. ft. of Frozen space, 75k sq. ft. of Cooler space, 60k sq. ft. of Dry storage space, often racked six high, offering 20,000+ pallet positions with the ability to expand. This has resulted in us offering 8,000 SKUs from over 400 vendors.
How Many Sales Team Members Do You Have in Total?
In total, we have 52 Sales Team Members. This includes 27 at Honor Foods in Philadelphia, 18 at R.W.Zant, and eight at Sunny Morning. These Team Members work as an extension of the manufacturer’s sales Team to promote products to foodservice distributors. Our outside sales Team Members visit foodservice distributors on location to share what is new at Honor, what new products are available, do demonstrations, share trends in the industry, and more. Our inside sales Team Members are the foodservice distributors’ direct point of contact when they place orders, and work with them to identify products that may interest them.
Do You Do Imports and Exports?
Yes, we do import and export. We understand that the ability to export products specifically to the Carribean market offers enormous growth potential for our Vendor Partners, and we do export to these regions. In addition, the worldwide economy in the foodservice industry has created a need for the import market to fill the gap between the demand the US foodservice industry creates in categories like fries and frozen vegetables and the capacity we can produce. Therefore, we have a strong import presence in those categories, ensuring we always have good quality products available at a competitive price.
What Are the Minimums for Your Customers?
Minimums vary by service area. Any product order from Honor Foods contributes to the minimum requirement and can be comprised of items from as many different manufacturers as you would like. In addition, our trucks are multi-temp, meaning your order can be comprised of dry, refrigerated, and frozen goods. Reach Out to Our Sales Team to learn more about the minimum requirements for your geographical area.
Can I See Your Product Offerings on Your Website?
Yes, you can see our new product offerings on our website. We also spotlight some of these items on social media. Here is a great place to see all of our new product offerings.
What Are Your Lead Times?
Lead times can vary based on pick-up or delivery, location, order availability, and more, but often, in the Northeast, orders placed by 3 p.m. can be delivered the next morning. In the Southeast, orders from Sunny Morning are typically delivered within the next day or, if coming from our Philadelphia location, to our Southeast location in 2-3 business days.
What Does Freight Cost?
While freight costs can vary, one advantage of working with Honor Foods is that our parent company, Burris Logistics, is a logistics company. They also have Trinity Logistics, which is freight brokerage. Because of this, our freight costs are minimal.
Conclusion
We love visiting the UniPro Foodservice Conference in the Fall and Spring of each year to catch up with Partners, meet new customers, and learn what’s new in the foodservice industry. It’s a great opportunity to hear from both foodservice distributors and food product suppliers about current needs and trends and how we can help. We appreciate everyone who stopped by the booth to meet our sales Team and all the food vendors who took meetings with our buyers. We can’t wait to see everyone this Fall in Nashville, Tennessee!
Honor Foods, a Burris Logistics Company, was founded in 1949 as a redistributor of center-of-the-plate foods. Since then, Honor Foods has grown into the Mid-Atlantic region’s premier provider of frozen, refrigerated, dry, and dairy products, representing more than 300 brand-name food suppliers and carrying more than 3,000 in-stock items. Honor Foods brands R.W. Zant and Sunny Morning provide additional beef and dairy expertise on the West Coast and in the southeast. In addition, our exclusive house brands — Colony Lane and Valley Fresh, have a well-earned reputation for top quality and value at competitive prices.
Great products and prices are just part of the Honor Foods value-add. We pride ourselves in having a Team of dedicated professionals who manage each partnership. Our commitment to your business needs is what makes us unique.
