In March of 2025, R.W. Zant will be celebrating the company’s 75th year of providing Personal.Service.Excellence. to the redistribution and wholesale meat industries.
The company was founded in 1950 by Robert W. Zant, a WW2 veteran, in Los Angeles, CA., selling fresh chicken, turkey and shell eggs.
As a proud family business, Robert’s sons, Bill and Jim, joined the company playing key roles in expanding their footprint. In 1979, Bill came on to learn the distribution business, and in 1984, Jim was hired to run CalHono, a freight forwarding company, which was founded to allow them to better service their customers in the Hawaiian Islands.
In 1991, Bill was named President of R.W. Zant, ushering the company into a new era with a focus on expansion through technology, sales and marketing, and industry expertise while remaining true to its core principle of providing Superior Customer Service.
In 1992, Bill hired Mike Jones to establish a Marketing Department for the company. Mike would eventually be promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Through his vision and passion for the business, Mike would be instrumental in the growth of the company over the next 30 years. Of Mike’s many achievements, one of the largest was instituting the Category Management model, a key piece in driving that growth.
As R.W. Zant has grown, there has been physical expansion as well with several buildings being added adjacent to the 1470 E. 4th St. location to accommodate the expanding portfolio of products, which include two USDA inspected custom cut facilities: Commodity Sales, specializing in poultry processing, and R-Dub Foods specializing in beef, pork and lamb processing.
In 2022, R.W. Zant was purchased by Honor Foods, a Burris Logistics Company. Through the change in ownership, R.W. Zant has remained true to it’s family business roots by aligning with an organization that shares the same values. As protein experts, a service driven redistribution business, and a company with 75 years of experience, R.W. Zant is poised to enter a new chapter of success and continue to grow as a major player in the national redistribution sector.
Here are some of R.W. Zant’s archive photos:
(Left to right) Bill Zant, Robert Zant, Jim Zant
About R.W. Zant
The R.W. Zant Company, founded in 1950, is a nationally recognized food company specializing in all aspects of Protein and Dairy Wholesale Distribution to Food Service and Retail Distributors throughout the Western United States. Please visit rwzant.com
About Honor Foods
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.
