SCALING LOCAL & REGIONAL FOOD WITH BROADLINE DISTRIBUTORS

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1 SCALING LOCAL & REGIONAL FOOD WITH BROADLINE DISTRIBUTORS FairAcre Traders LLC

2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION... 3 PURPOSE... 3 OUR BACKGROUND... 3 BROADLINER SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW... 4 KEY DEFINITIONS... 4 FOUR PILLAR SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW... 5 FAIRACRE TRADERS CASE STUDY WHO WE ARE PROGRAM KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR FARMS & FOOD HUBS KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR BROADLINERS FUTURE OUTLOOK AUTHORS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WORKS CITED Figure 1: Definition of Local for Various Advocacy Groups... 5 Figure 2: Four Pillars of the Broadline Supply Chain & Local Food... 6 Figure 3: Number of Farms by Annual Sales... 8 Figure 4: Food Hubs by Legal Status and Distribution Model Figure 5: FairAcre Traders Marketing Materials FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 2

3 INTRODUCTION PURPOSE Much of the growth of local and sustainable food has taken place through direct channels, in which producers transact directly with consumers through farmer s markets, CSAs and similar outlets. Despite their significance in shifting consumer choice toward more sustainable foods, these direct channels still represent only a tiny percentage of the food America eats. The vast majority of our food is moved through intermediary channels that connect production and consumption through foodservice and retail distributors. These intermediary channels are gaining importance in the movement toward more local and sustainable food. According to a 2011 study, over 50% of the approximately $5 billion in local food sales came from intermediary channels (Falat, 2011). Today, almost two thirds of the 300+ food hubs in the United States have intermediary components to their business (Rogoff, October 2014). This growth is only expected to continue with local sourcing remaining a top culinary trend among chefs year over year (National Restaurant Association, 2015) (National Restaurant Association, 2016). There are two main intermediary channels: foodservice food consumed away from home in places such as restaurants, cafeterias and hospitals; and retail food purchased at outlets such as grocery and convenience stores, often for consumption at home. This report focuses on the foodservice sector. Specifically, this report discusses the role broadliners can play in local/regional food distribution. This paper emphasizes opportunities and challenges, specifically with fresh, local produce. Broadliners are so-called because they carry a broad line of food and non-food items for their customers. Broadliners constitute an enormous share of food distribution in the U.S., yet most of the food they move is conventional. When it comes to local food, barriers need to be overcome in order for broadline distribution and local food producers to work effectively together. The advantages of doing so are significant: broadline distributors may have the most efficient transportation and logistics systems in a given market, and their end customers want to receive locallygrown supplies on the same trucks that deliver their non-local products. Yet it can be difficult to realize these synergies. While there are several resources available to food hubs and farms on how to scale their operations in foodservice sector, there is scant information on how to effectively work with broadline distributors. This paper is written for farms, food hubs and advocates interested in increasing the supply of locallyproduced foods in their region through broadline distributors. We also include a section on insights for broadliners to consider when working with local produce. OUR BACKGROUND FairAcre Traders is a value chain coordinator, connecting buyers and sellers and providing programs in service of scaling local foods region by region. We serve farms, food hubs and foodservice distributors. We provide a sales and marketing program that delivers traceability and messaging of the farmers' FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 3

4 stories to end customers under an umbrella platform. Our long-term goal is to grow robust regional food systems across the country. In this report, we discuss the program FairAcre Traders ran in New England in Every case sold was affixed with a label carrying a QR code. Customers could scan the label to access a suite of marketing and point of sale materials that tell the farmer stories to consumers. The program was successful and is poised for growth in year two. This report shares our insights and learning to encourage farms, food hubs and broadliners to work more closely together in regions across the country. Analysis and findings are synthesized from primary and secondary sources of research including: (1) key insights and lessons from the 2015 New England pilot, (2) a review of the key literature available on broadline distribution and local / regional food, and (3) interviews conducted with experts across the broadline distribution supply chain. This report represents a composite picture from these sources, reflecting collective insights gleaned. BROADLINER SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW KEY DEFINITIONS Since this report discusses the role broadliners can play in scaling up local/regional food, we start by further defining broadline distributor, foodservice, and local/regional food. Broadline Distributor A broadline distributor carries a "full-line" of products typically including dry grocery, perishable, frozen, tabletop, equipment and supplies. They are considered one-stop-shops to carry nearly all that is needed to operate a foodservice kitchen. They offer competitive prices, financial incentives, streamlined service, and the convenience of buying food and non-food items from one vendor. The number of items a distributor typically carries ranges from approximately 8,000-12,000 stock keeping units. Foodservice Foodservice defines those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home. This industry includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and several other formats. The companies that supply foodservice operators are called foodservice distributors. Foodservice distributors also sell small wares (kitchen utensils). Some companies manufacture products in both consumer and foodservice packaging. Consumer packages are generally smaller with elaborate label design for retail sale. Foodservice packages are generally larger, industrial-sized and have simpler label designs compared to consumer packages. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 4

5 Several distributors service the foodservice industry. Broadline foodservice distributors are among the largest category of suppliers to service the foodservice industry. Local/Regional Food The definition of local/regional food varies widely among consumers, advocacy organizations and wholesale customers, from the 30 Mile Meal Project in Ohio to the USDA definition of 400 miles. A tiered model approach is used by NOFA Vermont, Farm to Institution New England (FINE) and adopted by FairAcre Traders. This approach gives our customers the ability to buy local, regional, and beyond all from traceable, independently-owned farms, giving end customers the opportunity to tell the farm story in a way that works for them, and providing the best opportunity for developing robust regional food systems. A few common definitions of local are highlighted in the figure below. Figure 1: Definition of Local for Various Advocacy Groups FOUR PILLAR SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW Currently, only a small percentage of local/regional produce moves through broadline distribution. When it does, it follows a supply chain with four critical links which we the 4 Pillar Model detailed in the figure below. (1) Demand (2) Supply (3) Distribution and Contract Management (4) Value Chain Facilitation FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 5

6 Figure 2: Four Pillars of the Broadline Supply Chain & Local Food.1. Supply.2. Distribution and Contract Management.3. Demand Farmer/Grower Broadliner Contract Management End Customers Advocacy Groups Food Hub Primary Roles Grow, process, aggregate, pack, market and supply produce Each player may perform more than one role, e.g. some growers process and aggregate, others do not Food hubs often play a role in aggregation, processing and logistics Highly fragmented Thousands of farms Hundreds of food hubs Sales agents and brokers exist, more commonly in conventional produce Primary Role Move product Five Largest 1. Sysco 2. US Foods 3. Performance Food Group 4. Gordon Food Service 5. Reinhardt Primary Role Manage contracts for end customers Types Food service management companies (FSMCs): Sodexo, Aramark, Compass Group Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs).4. Facilitation Primary Role Prepare and serve product to consumers Types Institutional: healthcare (hospitals), education (K-12, university), military Restaurants: chain, QSR, white table cloth Hospitality and other specialty: hotels, events, arenas, etc. Primary Roles Advocate and influence purchasing Examples Healthy Hospitals Initiative Real Food Challenge Value Chain Facilitation Entities that understand the various aspects of the supply chain and work to help players create shared value. FairAcre Traders is an example of a value chain coordinator (VCC) providing a sales and market platform. Demand The first pillar we will discuss is demand. Demand is the core foundation; demand predicates everything. The greatest way to gain product acceptance is to demonstrate demand for that product. Therefore, it can be argued that demand plays the most important role in the supply chain. Below we discuss end customers and advocacy groups; both help drive demand. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 6

7 End Customers The broadliners end customers are also known as operators. Operators are typically segmented as follows: Institutions Restaurants Hospitality and Other Specialty END CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION by CUSTOMER TYPE - Healthcare - Colleges and Universities - K thru 8 and High School - Government (military and their bases / commissaries) - Chains - Individual Operators - Hotels - Events (sports, etc.) - Catering - Other These groupings are based on common needs among customers within each segment. Often, broadliners sales teams are aligned with the above segmentation. End customers can also be segmented by their procurement arrangement. End customers are sometimes independently (self) managed, meaning they manage their own procurement. These end customers are typically called Street Customers, and are small in size and scale. Large operators that manage their own procurement are sometimes called Large Leveraged Operators (LLOs). They are leveraged operators because they have buying leverage given their size. They often receive volume discounts based on the scale of their orders. Finally, other operators utilize a third party to contract procurement; these are operators use food service management companies (FSMCs) or group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to get some of the scale advantages of leveraged operators. This segmentation can be summarized below. Street Customers Large Leveraged Operators Contract Management & GPOs END CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION by PROCUREMENT TYPE Independently operated / self-managed customers who have less leverage for price negotiation Large independents and other institutions that have leverage to negotiate pricing Contracts that are managed by third parties enabling volume discounted pricing Broadliners sometimes segment end customers by procurement type because how their customers procure products impacts the broadliners profitability. We discuss the profitability of broadliners in the broadline economics section of this report. End customer procurement of local food can be complex. Farm to Institution New England has developed a toolkit for institutional buying that may be helpful in understanding this component of the business. The toolkit can be found here. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 7

8 Advocacy Groups Consumer advocacy groups play a strong role in institutional procurement by setting standards and encouraging end customers to procure healthier, more sustainable, and local foods. As a result, many institutions have taken a pledge to procure more local. Often, such pledges are to procure 20% of purchases from local sources by Becoming familiar with advocacy groups, their standards, and their participating institutions can also help farms and food hubs determine which institutions will be early adopters of local food. Some advocacy groups playing an important role for school and hospital institutions are The Real Food Challenge, Health Care Without Harm, and AASHE. Supply This pillar is associated with growing, washing, aggregating, processing, packaging, labeling, and transporting product. The supply side is highly fragmented with thousands of small farms and hundreds of food hubs. Various activities can be managed at the farm level or the food hub level, depending upon capabilities of each entity, i.e., sometimes the farm does all activities with no need for a food hub and sometimes the farm uses the food hub for most post-harvest activities. Farmer / Producer While in 1900, 95% or more of the food eaten in the U.S. was produced within 50 miles of consumers homes, today s landscape looks much different; the majority of our food is being produced in far-flung corners of our country and in countries around the world (The Hale Group, 2012) The result of such globalization has been consolidation of large-scale, industrial farming, leaving thousands of small US farms accounting for only 3% of all food sold (Rogoff, October 2014). Figure 3: Number of Farms by Annual Sales Source: (Rogoff, October 2014) FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 8

9 Amidst this globalization, demand for locally sourced products from these small farms is experiencing a wave of growth. While demand is increasing, small farmers face a number of obstacles in meeting it. Processing, packing, distribution, and marketing is required to sell products in the intermediary market. Moreover, meeting the federal regulations, investing in new equipment and technology, and obtaining certifications to grow certain products contributes to high start-up costs that can be difficult to bear for the small/medium-sized farm. Many of these farms require assistance and resources to meet the rising demand for their goods. Yet thousands of farms across the country are already selling to intermediary channels, and the number of these farms continues to grow each year. This growth is due to increasing demand, a new generation of small farmers, the use of new technologies and other equipment efficiencies, and technical assistance from food hubs and local food advocacy groups. Food Hub Food hubs, in particular, are designed to help build and strengthen regional and local food systems, and help address the challenges faced by small and mid-sized farmers struggling to get their products to market. Food hubs have become a popular model to supply consumers with fresh, locally sourced food. The origins of the food hub lie in prior movements that promoted social justice and sustainable agriculture, as well as the U.S. cooperative movement, to assist small-scale farmers and protect their interests. One core feature that unites food hubs is their work in connecting producers with buyers large and small in nearby markets. In this regard, food hubs build a network of farms and manage the aggregation, distribution and marketing of food or specialty items they produce. The USDA s definition of a food hub is a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand. The definition is deliberately broad, as food hubs can take very different shapes and models, based on the unique needs of the producers and buyers in an area. Some food hubs have physical infrastructure for washing, aggregating, processing, labeling, or distributing, others do not and act more as sales and brokering agents. Some provide technical assistance to producers and farmers, others do not. Some are incorporated as traditional for-profit entities, others as cooperatives, and others as nonprofits. And food hubs serve various markets: some serve the direct to consumer market only, some serve the business/institution market only, and some are hybrid models serving both. The one thing they share in common, however, is that their stock in trade is source-identified products from local and regional producers. The charts below outline the various distribution and legal entity models for food hubs. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 9

10 Figure 4: Food Hubs by Legal Status and Distribution Model Source: USDA Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer (Rogoff, October 2014) The common thread woven throughout the fabric of food hubs is a mission to strengthen local and regional food systems first and foremost. The services food hubs provide typically alleviate the burden placed on the local farmer/produce who has limited time and resources. Several resources are available to learn more about the food hub movement. The National Good Food Network s website is our recommended starting point and can be found here. Distribution & Contract Management Broadline Distribution A foodservice broadline distributor stores and distributes a "full-line" of products including perishable, dry grocery, frozen, tabletop, equipment and supplies. According to the Hale Group, a US based company that offers advice on strategy and marketing to food and agribusinesses, broadline distributors emerged in the early 1970s offering the ultimate concept of a one-stop-shop distributor, i.e., everything you need on one truck. Today they account for nearly 60% of all distributor sales to operators (The Hale Group, 2013). Broadline distributors compete with systems distributors (that typically serve chains), alternate distributors (such as Costco and Sam s Club) and regional/specialty distributors. In the case of local produce, broadliners most likely compete with regional/specialty distributors or back door sales, i.e., institutions that work directly with farms or food hubs that deliver to the back door. Top Three Broadliners Broadliners have experienced a wave of consolidation in recent years and are expected to continue to grow in size. A typical broadliner will have multiple divisions or operating companies throughout the country. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 10

11 A snapshot of the top three broadliners in size is listed below: TOP THREE BROADLINERS 2015 SALES # OF DIVISIONS (Operating Companies or opcos ) PUBLIC OR PRIVATE Sysco* $48.7 B 73 in US / 95 total Public TX US Foods $17 B 64 Public IL Performance Food Group $15 B 68 Public VA HQ *Owns and operates FreshPoint, which focusses solely on fresh produce. This adds another 12 divisions in the US and 2 divisions in Canada. FreshPoint works both cooperatively and competitively with the Sysco broadline operating companies listed in the chart above. Divisions Broadliner divisions (also referred to as operating companies or opcos ) typically act independently from one another. While there are corporate platforms that all divisions share, to date, local programs operate primarily at the division level. We suspect this may change as local and sustainable become more important company-wide initiatives. Operations Broadliners deliver to their end customers on a set schedule. Most broadliners order on spec, i.e., they order based on estimates. This means inventory management is critical, ensuring perishable product stays fresh throughout its sales cycle. Broadliners do not distribute daily but rather 1-3 times per week depending upon the customer. By their very nature broadliners focus on large-scale buying in order to fill trucks and efficiently move product from one location to another. This makes small pick-ups from many farms difficult and inefficient. As a result, broadliners are still determining how to efficiently meet the growing demand for local. Economics Broadliner profit margins are very thin; broadliners therefore need to be very careful to deliver return on their investment (ROI), i.e., they need to carefully control the amount they spend servicing a customer in order to ensure a profit margin is made. Broadliners make little to no profit margin with contract management companies, GPOs, and large leveraged operators. These customers fill broadliners trucks in order to gain economies of scale. Where broadliners make higher margins is with independent operators (also known as street customers ), by charging them higher prices. Therefore, broadliners rely heavily on street customers in order for their financial model to work, i.e., they need to low margin scale to fill trucks, but they also need a number of street customers that can yield a higher margin. However, more and more operators are moving to contract management/gpos, leaving broadliners with fewer street customers. As a result, broadliners are finding themselves in need to FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 11

12 find new efficiencies to survive. The chart below with data taken from the Hale Group demonstrates the economic pressures distributors face. Table 1: Conceptual View of a Broadline Distributor s P&L Street CMCs, GPOs & LLOs Overall Sales 100% 100% 100% Cost of Goods 82% 86% 86% Gross Profit Margin 18% 14% 14% Operating Expenses Selling Experience 5% 3.5% 4% Warehousing 5% 2.5% 3% Transportation 4% 3% 3% G&A 3% 3% 3% Total Operating Expense 15% 12% 13% Operating Margin 3% 1% 1% %age Share of Portfolio 30% 70% 100% Increasing (++) or Decreasing (--) % of Portfolio Contract Management Several broadliner end customers often utilize a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) for their procurement. This number is growing and the Hale Group expects 80% of broadline distribution customers to utilize some form of contract management by 2020 (The Hale Group, 2012). Farm to Institution New England s food service management company report does an excellent job explaining contract management. The remainder of this section is sourced from that report (Obadia, August 2015). Foodservice management companies are commercial enterprises or non-profit organizations that contract with institutions to provide food service management. Foodservice management companies provide their institutional clients with a wide array of services that may include any combination of the following: development of the menu; food procurement; negotiating food prices with suppliers and manufacturers; maintaining a well-functioning retail space; providing capital for infrastructure improvement; managing staff; and maintaining regulatory compliance. Some FSMCs serve all institutional sectors, while others are focused on a specific sector such as education or health care. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 12

13 The primary reasons institutional end customers decide to work with FSMCs include: (1) their own administration does not have the expertise or staff to manage dining services, (2) they believe FSMCs will lead to cost savings, or (3) an infusion of funds are needed for construction or other improvement projects. The Big Three There are over 200 FSMCs in the United States, but the three largest by revenue are Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo (in descending order). In 2013, these companies generated a collective $31 billion in sales in North America. The education sector (K-12 schools and colleges and universities) generated $9.59 billion in sales and the health care sector generated $7.4 billion. The remaining sales came from the government, corporate, and sports and leisure sectors. These three companies provided food service management for 47% of all hospitals, 21% of colleges and universities and nearly 11% of all public school districts in the country. Compass Group, the largest of the three FSMCs, generated a combined $6.7 billion in sales from the health care and education sectors. Compass Group is the parent company for Morrison, who serves the health care sector, Chartwells who serves the education sector, and Bon Appetit Management Company, which is a high end specialty company that serves multiple sectors. Aramark generated just over $4 billion in sales from these two sectors, serving 948 health care clients, 481 public school districts and 420 colleges and universities. Finally, Sodexo generated nearly $6 billion in sales from the health care and education sectors. They served 1,150 health care facilities 470 school districts and 850 colleges and universities. TOP THREE FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES: MARKET SHARE IN THE HEALTH AND EDUCATION SECTORS Collective Number of Clients for Top Three FSMCs HEALTH CARE COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES K-12 DISTRICTS 2,683 1,500 1,451 Number of Facilities Nationwide 5,724 7,021 13,588 Percent of Facilities Managed by the Big Three 47% 21% 11% Due to the fact that these companies purchase and prepare food for such a large number of institutions, their buying patterns have a tremendous impact on the food system. For example, if FSMCs decided to make purchasing local or regional food a priority, they could greatly influence what regional farmers grow and the amount of land in production. For this reason, FSMCs are the focus of many local food system efforts. However, the first step in working with FSMCs is understanding how they operate and knowing their barriers and opportunities for increasing procurement of local food products. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 13

14 Vendor Approval Process One of the primary ways FSMCs are able to offer low costs is through their procurement companies or divisions, often called group purchasing organizations (GPO) or supply management departments. Supply management departments are part of FSMCs that act similar to GPOs and link purchasing to the management of the organization. GPOs can be structured in a variety of different ways. Their principal purpose is to pool the collective buying power of their clients to obtain volume discounts from vendors and manufacturers. FSMC contract with vendors to supply the institutions. There are three types of vendors: prime (otherwise known as contracted or preferred ), approved, and not approved The prime vendor carries the contracted items negotiated by the GPO or FSMC. This is typically a large distributor such as Sysco or US Foods. An approved vendor has gone through the approval process set forth by the FSMC and may carry one or more contracted products. Purchases from this vendor are then restricted to approved items. A vendor that is not approved will need to go through an approval process before selling to the FSMC and the facility. The process for becoming an approved vendor varies based on the FSMC. Compass Group offers a link to a vendor application form on their website to initiate the approval process by their GPO, Foodbuy. In most cases, vendors must meet food safety requirements such as GAP certification by a third party auditor and/or have a Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan in place, depending on the operation. Liability insurance is also typically required. For example, Foodbuy requires a minimum of $5 million in liability insurance. Value Chain Facilitation Value Chain Coordinators are entities who work to connect the dots across the supply chain in service of a shared mission. They ensure the right people, goods and resources connect with each other. Most often value chain coordinators work outside day-to-day business operations, a vantage point that offers a unique perspective on the optimal solutions in a regional market. (Tropp & Barham, 2015) Tropp & Barham describe the following role as making a difference and working in service of creating shared value. These roles are: Matchmaker Identify and connect key stakeholders through referral services and other forms of short-term or one-off engagement. This public interest broker role is key to development of food value chains because many businesses are stepping outside their normal channels to find new collaborators. Convener/Relationship Builder Build the necessary relationships across the food value chain by engaging key stakeholders (farmers, processors, distributors, and buyers), maintaining communication channels, and fostering a trusting environment. Some examples of this are convening stakeholder meetings, forming working groups, and implementing other forms of longer-term engagement. Technical Assistance Provider Work with food value chain members to build capacity through education and training programs in such areas as sustainable production practices, food safety, FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 14

15 marketing/branding, etc. These education programs can raise consumer awareness and ultimately drive sales for food value chain products. Policy Advocate Raise policy issues and partner with others to address policies and procurement requirements, such as bidding procedures and preferred-vendor practices that may interfere with the ability of food value chains to access certain marketing channels. Resource Prospector Identify and pursue resources, such as grants, loans, and services to support value-chain collaborators as they develop their enterprise(s). Catalyst/Innovator As a resource prospector, value chain coordinators can also use grants and other external resources to test new business models and lower the financial risk of the businesses engaged in the value chain. Over time, value chain coordinators may be less needed as the local food supply chain matures. Until then, they play a critical role in growing this movement. FAIRACRE TRADERS CASE STUDY WHO WE ARE FairAcre Traders LLC is a value chain coordinator that performs the role of catalyst/innovator and matchmaker in service of scaling local food, region by region. FairAcre Traders was incubated by Wholesome Wave and New Venture Advisors with grant funding generously provided by Wholesome Wave, the John Merck Foundation, and the USDA in order to deliver value to farms and food hubs through sales to large-scale buyers. FairAcre Traders makes it easy for large-scale buyers to source and market farm-identified, food-safe local and regional foods under the FairAcre Traders platform. Each case sold has a QR code label so end customers have access to the FairAcre Traders merchandising toolkit, giving them the marketing and point of sale materials to tell the farm stories. As a result, FairAcre Traders adds value downstream and upstream by connecting buyers and sellers with a fully traceable marketing program. Downstream: FairAcre Traders makes it easy for large-scale buyers to source farm-identified, food-safe foods. All products are farm-identified and meet the food safety requirements set by the buyer. Fair Acre Traders provides compelling point-of-sale and merchandising materials that conveys the stories of the farms from which they source. Upstream: FairAcre Traders works with food hubs, connecting them to buyers with a sales and marketing/communication program that is highly valued to the buyer and end customer. The food hubs act as supply coordinators, working with a network of farms (and ideally other food hubs) to bring the program to life. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 15

16 2015 PROGRAM In 2015, Performance Food Group, Red Tomato, and FairAcre Traders implemented a fully traceable program sourced from a network of farms in which Red Tomato acted as the supply coordinator. It was a new program for all three parties. PROGRAM PLAYERS Buyer Supply Coordinator FairAcre Traders Role Performance Food Group, Springfield, MA Red Tomato Food Hub, Plainville, MA Matchmaker & program administrator The following visuals depict key elements of our program. Figure 5: FairAcre Traders Marketing Materials FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 16

17 KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR FARMS & FOOD HUBS Our first-year FairAcre program, along with a review of existing literature and interview with experts in the industry, led us to conclude that the following areas are the areas of key consideration for farms and food hubs when working with broadliners. Food Safety & Insurance Requirements At a minimum, broadliners require GAP certification, adequate insurance (typically $5 to $7 million), and numerous certifications to ensure food safety and traceability. While these requirements exist to keep the end consumer safe and protect the broadliner from lawsuits, they are significant cost considerations for small farms and food hubs. Farms and food hubs can work closely with broadliners, advocacy groups, and value chain facilitators to determine the cost benefit of such insurance requirements. Farms and food hubs should negotiate a plan that can work for all parties. Slots & Codes Broadliners have slots for each item. A slot is a designation that indicates space is allocated for a product in their warehouse. Slots are limited in number due to warehouse space constraints, particularly for broadline distributors who order on spec, i.e., orders placed based on estimates. As a result, there is limited space for new or duplicate slots, presenting a conundrum for local. Is local a new slot or does it replace conventional when available? A related issue is branding/labeling. For example, if an operator is accustomed to placing orders for conventional squash and conventional squash is no longer available during the local season, the operator needs to know to order the local option, otherwise broadliner sales will be lost. To overcome this challenge, we recommend launching with a limited, pre-determined set of local items. We recommend strong communication against these set of local items so endcustomers know which items to look for and exactly how to order them. This strong communication should occur at every point throughout the supply chain, i.e., broadliners should communication to end customers and farms/food hubs should also communicate the same message to end customers to ensure pull through. Reliability & Consistency Broadliners require consistent, high quality produce in standard pack sizes. Growers and packers should have the ability to deliver not only the demand, but on-time, in the appropriate format, and according to the correct temperature requirements. To meet volume and variety demand, the broadliner will likely want to source from multiple local farms. As such, there is tremendous benefit to broadliners to have a single point of contact for their local program. Food hubs, value chain facilitators, and broadliners should be engaging in local program discussions as food hubs and value chain facilitators can act as a single point of contact to manage broadliner requirements. Smaller farms should work through food hub networks to participate in broadliner programs. Advocacy groups should continue to provide technical assistance to determine if working with broadliners makes sense. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 17

18 Ordering / Freshness Broadliners order on spec and keep inventory. They distribute to their customers 1-3X per week, making freshness an important metric to monitor. Real-time communication between broadliner and supply network is critical; utilizing a single food hub to have one point of contact can be an efficient way to manage communication. Storage crops are easier to keep fresh and should be included as part of the local varieties offered. Farms and food hubs should ensure they understand cold chain requirements and ensure they are abiding by such requirements as any issue will lead to broadliner inefficiencies Transportation Broadliners are efficient when trucks are full. Broadliners must maximize this efficiency otherwise their already slim margins will be reduced further. To help broadliners ensure efficiency, local farms and food hubs can establish pick-up/aggregation points along broadliner back-haul routes to keep transportation costs down Pricing / Supply & Demand Local products are often more expensive because the farms are smaller, the growing season is shorter, and economies of scale cannot be realized. Broadliners and local farms/food hubs can counter this with several measures: Guarantee farm purchases prior to the season to help secure supply and pricing Continue to educate end customers/operators as many are willing to pay a higher price for local, particularly if their consumer base is willing to pay a higher price Brand the local program, replete with educational materials and farm stories to elevate the value to end customers/operators Utilize chef and menu planning services to de-commoditize produce; making vegetables the center of the plate is a strategy that can keep plate costs low Messaging and Branding In order to command higher prices, value must be communicated. More and more, consumers want to know where their food is coming from, driving growth of nutritional, geographical, and ethical messages. Developing a differentiated brand and communicating farm stories is a key way to command value. Local farms and food hubs should have their farm and product stories available for use by the broadliner and should have a mechanism (such as a QR code labels) that provide access to these stories. Rebates and Other Charges Unique to Institutional Supply Chains In the conventional food system, broadliners and institutions increasingly rely on rebates. Rebates are costs that need to be paid by the supplier to the broadliner and end-customer to support such services as sales and marketing. If not understood and negotiated upfront, such costs can be difficult for local farms and food hubs to bear. Both sides need to come to a mutual understanding about the extent of rebate charges expected. Addressing rebates should also be part of any training or technical assistance provided by the broadliner or other groups such as advocacy groups or value chain coordinators. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 18

19 KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR BROADLINERS Technical Assistance to Farms and Food Hubs Navigating the large-scale broadline system can be difficult and supplying broadliners is not for everyone. Farmers and food hubs would benefit greatly by technical assistance programs lead by braodliners. The areas of need are: learning how to work with broadline distributors, meeting the needs of institutional clients, obtaining the necessary insurance standards and certifications, packing/supplying product in the appropriate manner, and understanding a broadliner s marketing/messaging needs. Broadliners could hold training seminars to provide this type of assistance for producers. Ideally, participation in this training be accompanied by a small grant to help farmers complete the process. Streamlined Local Procurement Procuring local can be a full time job as the supply side is highly fragmented. We recommend that divisions or operating companies either hire a dedicated local procurement specialist or utilize a regional food hub to manage their local procurement. This specialist should start small and strategic by focusing on an identified crop set which will enable better crop planning, inventory management, and end customer selling. This can help address problems typically associated with supply and can allow for glitches to be worked out before ramping up. Broadliners should consider committing to the agreed to set of crops and could share the risk with the farms/food hub. A Corporate Framework The role of corporate should be to develop a local/sustainable framework while giving each division (or operating company) enough flexibility to develop programs that meet the unique needs of their markets. The framework should be developed by a cross-company task force and should be led by divisions that have demonstrated leadership in local and sustainable procurement. Broadliners should consider reaching across lines and to include all entities in the value chain in developing its framework. A corporate framework should include some or all of the following: unified local/sustainable standards, an umbrella brand, telling the farm stories so end customers can use the information to meet their needs (e.g. on the menu, table tents, patient trays, cafeteria line, etc.), so broadliners and end customers can communicate their local procurement achievements, and an innovation plan that test various programs in across regions to determine the highest return opportunities. Additionally, corporate should which technologies can be implemented to increase efficiencies across their leanmargin operation. Leadership in Value Chain Convening The landscape of regional food advocates is large and diverse. Organizations have different definitions of local food and various other objectives that they are trying to achieve. While advocacy groups and value-chain-coordinators have played a role in bringing various entities together to date, such meetings often do not include the largest players. There is an opportunity for larger players, such as FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 19

20 broadliners and their food service management company counterparts, to take the lead in convening all pillars of the supply chain. Financing Programs We recommend broadliners establishing financing options to help the supply grow to meet demand. Financing could support technical assistance programs described above as well as physical infrastructure such as processing plants, slaughter facilities, aggregators, distributors, technologies, and more. Financing options could range from establishing a grant program, to low-interest loan programs, to equity structured options. Such financial programs would further align interests across the local/regional value chain. FUTURE OUTLOOK TOP FIVE PREDICTIONS FOR LOCAL PRODUCE & BROADLINE DISTRIBUTION 1. Steady Growth The demand to know where food is coming from will continue to drive growth for local/sustainable foods. This demand will drive broadliners to define their local strategy. And increasingly, this strategy will be driven by corporate programs that will help unify the vocabulary across divisions and opcos. As broadliners determine how to best deliver local, we see they testing various programs. We predict you will see investments and partnerships in local infrastructure such as food hubs and farms. We are already seeing this. For example, US Foods is already promoting its partnership with a Jackson, Miss Food Hub on its website. And we can expect to see other exclusive partnerships and investments in entities such as vertical farms where local produce can be secured year-round. This is already occurring on the retail side with the large announcement from Kroger-owned Mariano s exclusive partnership with vertical farm Bright Farms in Illinois. However, while percentage growth increases in local/sustainable food will be substantial, they will still represent a minority portion of the produce that is moved through their system, i.e., broadliners will drive sales of local foods which will mean significant sales for local/regional farms, but their programs will still account for only a small portion of the broadline business. This is because local/regional food will continue, on average, to be higher cost than conventional counterparts. 2. Food Safety Increases Cost of Doing Business for Farmers FSMA will increase costs for farmers and will contribute to a bifurcated food system. Larger farms and food hubs will be the ones who can sustain the costs. These entities will continue to grow and realize economies of scale and will be able to serve large-scale buyers such as broadline distributors. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 20

21 Smaller farms will avoid FSMA by selling through direct channels, which will cap their scale opportunities. However, these small farms will continue to play an important role in driving the good food conversation. Even for these farms, however, GAP certification will become the expectation, driving prices higher for these local foods as well. Higher costs by all local farms will make costs, on average, higher than conventional counterparts, which will limit wide-spread growth. 3. Value Added/Convenience Drives Growth & Margin Value added products that deliver convenience will continue to take over the produce department: cherry tomatoes, berries, pre-cut vegetables, and anything else in a bag. If it s easy to grab and easy to eat, it will have a future in produce as it will be able to demand a higher margin. Fresh valueadded will outpace frozen value-added driven by the high cost of frozen-local and the lack-offreshness perception of frozen. Value-added growth of produce will be sustained year-over-year not only because of convenience but because of consumer interest in health. Opportunities for further growth in value-added will be found via kits, snacks, flavors, and unique items. 4. Changing Roles across the Supply Chain Farmer As Product Manager The farmer will take on a roles beyond grower. They will become sophisticated marketers and business owners. As more and more consumers want to know they story behind their food, farmers will go beyond growing food and to become proficient marketers. Consumers want authentic farm stories but these stories will need to be told in a simple manner and farmers will find ways to do this. Additionally, as new generations of farmers have grown up with technology, they will use this technology for both marketing and to run the administrative functions of their farm more efficiently. Farmer As Food Hub While the USDA has made a conscious effort to support and grow food hubs, small farms have been acting as food hubs for years. For example, larger or conveniently located local farms aggregate for neighboring farms. This trend will only continue. As larger buyers grow their local procurement, they will need to utilize conveniently located aggregation points on their back-haul routes to ensure efficient distribution. Therefore, conveniently located farms along key back-haul routes will increasingly act as food hub-aggregators for neighboring local farms. Everyone Moves Into Processing Value added/convenient items will continue to grow. Farms and food hubs will increasingly add these capabilities. Broadliners may make investments in such infrastructure as well. Food Hubs Work As Food Networks Many food hubs will find ways to operate more sustainably by working with other neighboring food hubs. Experiments of such nature are in various stages of exploration in Michigan (Michigan Food Hub Network), Wyoming (Wyoming Statewide Food Hub Network), Iowa (Local Iowa Food Enterprise), and the Central Appalachian Network in Ohio/Virginia. The benefits of such networks include: sharing of best practices, promoting food safety through collaborative efforts, sharing of common costs such as audits, processes and procedures, and training, and grower expansion by buying and selling each other s goods. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 21

22 5. Technology and Fewer Middlemen While personal relationships are key in produce, we predict technology will play an important role in supporting a sophisticated, go-to-market architecture that ensures GAP-certified, quality-controlled, fully-traceable product. Technology has the opportunity to make things more efficient and in the low-margin business of produce, efficiency is key. For example, a technology platform has made local procurement more efficient for large-retailer Price Chopper where the GrowersHub technology platform enables direct-farm buying. This eliminates middle-men and relies upon technology, backhaul routes, existing personnel resources, and warehouse ordering to procure high volumes of local produce. We predict such technologies will expand, particularly as the next generation farmer is comfortable with the use of technology for increased efficiency. FAIRACRE TRADERS As a value chain facilitator, we seek to add value where needed. As we enter the 2016 season, we continue to work with Red Tomato to serve Performance Food Group with a fully traceable local program. We are also expanding our work to meet the retail, marketing, and technology needs in the marketplace. All initiatives work toward our goal of strengthening regional food systems through largescale buying. Long-term, we look forward to seeing which of our predictions come to fruition and which surprises surface so we continue to understand how to best facilitate and create positive change in this important movement. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 22

23 AUTHORS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was written by Daphne Mazarakis and edited by Kathy Nyquist, co-owners of FairAcre Traders. We acknowledge and appreciate input from Laura Edward-Orr, Executive Director at Red Tomato. We thank our customers at Performance Food Group, Joe Reardon (Vice President of Marketing & Procurement) and John Carpenito (Produce Buyer/Specialist) for their input and their business. We acknowledge and are grateful for the countless conversations we have had with our collegues within the local food movement and within the broadline distribution channel. WORKS CITED Falat, S. M. (2011). Scaling Up "Buy Local, Sell Fresh": Lessons from Michigan Growers, Suppliers, and Sysco. Michigan State University. Michigan State University. Farm To Institution New England. (2015). Foodservice Toolkit. Farm To Insitution New England. National Restaurant Association. (2015). What's Hot 2015 Culinary Forecast. National Restaurant Association. National Restaurant Association. (2016). What's Hot 2016 Culinary Forecast. National Restaurant Association. National Restaurant Association. Obadia, J. (August 2015). Food Service Management Companies in New England: Phase I Research Findings: Barriers & Opportunities for Local Food Procurement. Farm to Insitution New England (FINE). Rogoff, J. (October 2014). Improving Systems of Distribution and Logistics for Regional Food Hubs. The Central Appalachian Network. The Hale Group. (2012). Foodservice 2020: Global, Cosolidated, and Structured. The Hale Group. The Hale Group. (2013). Foodservice Distributors of the Future - The Evolution of the Foodservice Distribution Sector. The Hale Group. The Hale Group. (2012). GPOs in Food Service - Landscape & Growth Opportunities. The Hale Group. Tropp, D., & Barham, J. (2015, January 22). Talk Is Cheap...And Efficient: Facilitating Value Chain Development Without Costly New Infrastructure. Wallace Center, NGFN, and Winrock International. FairAcre Traders Scaling Up Local With Broadline Distribution 23

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