How to Sell Your Product into Lipari Foods
Google “how to sell to Lipari Foods” and you’ll find that submitting a product through their site is the first step. This might not be a bad option if you’re ready for a very long review and sales cycle. However, if you’re not prepared for how the company operates, there are plenty of potential pitfalls to submitting a product early as you may only have one chance.
Since its establishment in 1963, Lipari Foods has tasked itself with the responsibility of superbly serving customers. Through the help of dedicated and highly spirited individuals, the institution has dedicated themselves to a single mission; ‘take care of customers.’
Lipari Foods is a food distribution brand that specializes in putting a smile on the face of their customers through efficient and top-level performances. They major in distributing products such as meat, seafood, bakery, confections, beauty and health products, dairy products, and much more. Maintaining a healthy relationship with their customers through product publicity advice and innovative solutions has helped the organization remain at its industry’s zenith. They have effortlessly built personal relationships with each customer by understanding customer preferences and peculiarities. This has aided the smooth distribution of goods from the central distribution center in Warren, Michigan.
With Lipari Foods sales force covering over 14 states, including cities such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other regions, the organization has strategically placed 36 depots in the central distribution center to take orders and deliver by their customer’s doorstep; a tactical master class that ensures Lipari Foods rivals any food distributor in the country.
The establishment’s exemplary modus operandi has been consistent throughout the years with the aid of effective maximization of the company’s investment, enthusiastic and passionate staff, and consistent investment in state-of-the-art systems.
Growth & Development
70 years ago, the founder of Lipari Foods, Jim Lipari, began selling food items and products from the trunk of his car while actively working as a Butcher. Along with his partner, Jim later created his barbecue sauce Bazzo’s and another sauce tagged ‘Bella Mia Spaghetti Sauce.’
He operated through the sales route while selling his products from his Ford station wagon. He later created Lipari Food Distributors in 1963; a small scale institution to help with the supplying and transportation of his products, most importantly Bazzo’s and Bella Mia Spaghetti Sauce. He persistently continued to put effort into his food distribution agency while working multiple jobs and even added other products to his line. In 1971, Jim Lipari purchased his second building, which served as a warehouse and was under his son Thom’s supervision.
During the same year, Lipari added more food products to his lines, such as ham, cheese, and salami. The business began yielding profit with Jim expanding his space to a third location. The persistent desire to provide food saw Jim birth the plan to sell frozen dough to bakeries in 1983. The massive growth of the business forced the purchase of another location and more product expansion.
Presently, Lipari Foods is a top food distribution company that has partnered with multiple firms over the years, and the company has successfully cemented its legacy as a top player in the food industry.
Partnerships
Over the years, Lipari Foods has acquired distribution businesses and partnered with multiple institutions that have assisted in the company’s tremendous development. The organization has been aided by additional support divisions such as KLT Importing and JLM Manufacturing. These support divisions offer lower cost, customer food programs solutions, product variety, distribution, and many more.
Further, Lipari Foods has consistently given back to the community and supported families through partnerships with local food brands such as Gleaners Food Bank of Southeast and The Make A Wish Foundation. The company has made donations to support communities and families.
Working with Foodservice Distributors
Every year, more people eat outside of their homes. This trend has led to a rising potential for food , beverage and seafood businesses to become foodservice industry suppliers. Restaurants, hotels, hospitals, retirement communities, nursing homes, military bases, prisons and leisure facilities are included in the foodservice sector and are often referred to as the HRI Trade (Hospitality, Restaurants and Institutions). Foodservice operators are aggressively pursuing a diverse supply of food and beverage goods and there is a rising appetite for local and unique food selections.
Many foodservice distributors can trace their roots back to the mid-1800s when they started as family owned companies. The trend has continued in the industry as new foodservice distributors have entered the market and some of the original companies have maintained their independent / family owned status.
There are different requirements for the foodservice trade than for grocery retail, especially with respect to packaging and labeling. Pack sizes are usually larger and labels that appeal to customers are not needed. In “me-too” items, foodservice operators have no interest. Your product needs to be distinguished from the competition. There are many ways of identifying a product; only a few concepts are packaging, convenience and a business tale. For example, there are many honey products on the market; by using more compact packaging, innovative recipes and sharing the unique story of how the business started, a new honey may be distinguished from the competition.
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The food industry firm, Technomics, estimated that approximately 225 million meals are eaten away from home each day in the United States. This includes both restaurant and non-commercial eating places. Americans can be very busy and at the same time social. Many Americans prefer to have at least one meal outside every day. It could be the lunch during work, or the breakfast at a restaurant opposite the office, or a late dinner with a friend at a nice place; it is a dominant culture in the country.
However, we know the names of these restaurants, we may know the popular chefs but the people who deliver food products the restaurants prepare are hardly known by us because they are always behind the scenes. These people are known as foodservice distributors.
A foodservice distributor works as an intermediary between manufacturers of food products and the foodservice operator. This could be a chef, foodservice director, food and beverage manager, and independent food preparation businesses operator owners. The foodservice distributor procures, stores, sells, and makes deliveries of food products, providing foodservice operators with access to items from a wide variety of manufacturers. Foodservice distributors purchase pallets and bulk inventory quantities that are broken down to case and sometimes unit quantities for the foodservice operator. Most foodservice operators purchase from a range of local, specialty, and broadline foodservice distributors on a regular basis which could be daily or weekly basis.
It would have been very difficult for restaurants to meet the nutritional needs of about 65% – 70% of Americans who eat outside every day if not for the job of foodservice distributors in the line. There are a lot of things to be concerned with in the running of a restaurant and it would be an enormous burden if restaurants go to manufacturers of food products to keep getting supplies which could be as frequent as daily or weekly. Someone has to be in the line meeting demands and getting the products across to the restaurants.
It should be clarified at this point that foodservice distributors don’t only distribute to restaurants, they also get food products to cafeterias, industrial caterers, and hospital and nursing homes.
Estimates by the International Foodservice Distributors Association reveal that foodservice distributors in the Unites States, as a daily average, deliver approximately 27 million cases of food and other products.
There are several foodservice companies and they may very well range in size from a one-truck operation to larger corporations. There are broadline foodservice distributor offers a wide array of products, while a system distributor stocks a narrow array of products for specific customers, such as restaurant chains. A broadline distributor may carry up to 15,000 different items for purchase and operate topnotch warehouse and transportation operations.
The average American who eats out has the cause to be grateful to foodservice distributors. The industry sector is projected to grow as more eating places are looking at offering their customers more varieties.
Top 10 Foodservice Distributors
- Cheney Brothers
- Sysco Corp.
- US Foods
- McLane Foodservice
- Performance Foodservice
- Cooper-Booth Wholesale Co.
- Gordon Food Service
- DOT Foods
- Reinhart Foodservice
- The Martin-Brower Co.
- Porky Products
- Ben E. Keith Co.
- Shamrock Foods Co.
- KeHE Distributors
- Food Services of America
- Vistar Transportation
- Golden State Foods
- Lipari Foods
- Buffalo Rock Co.
- Merchants Foodservice
- Blue Line Foodservice Distribution
- Labatt Food Service
- Systems Services of America
- DPI Specialty Foods
- Coastal Pacific Food Distributors
- Dutch Valley Foods
- Vendors Supply Inc.
- Orion Food System
- Jake’s Finer Foods