The Growing Popularity of Food Service Distributors

Food service distributors are taking advantage of numerous new food service trends showcased and implemented as the public begins to reopen and adjust to a new normal.

FREMONT, CA: Food service distributors are essential in sustaining the nation's food supply and stocking grocery store shelves.

Plant-Based Nutrition

Plant-based foods market grew by 11.4 percent in 2019, compared with the retail food market's growth of 2.2 percent, according to the Plant-Based Foods Association's survey. The Covid-19 pandemic and consumers striving for better health are causing plant-based foods to become the dominant force in the industry.

Due to this growth surge, the bar for plant-based products has been raised, and operators can no longer get away with producing substandard goods. This is especially true for plant-based products such as burgers, where numerous companies compete to create the best plant-based option on the market. Coronavirus outbreaks also occurred frequently in large slaughterhouses. This caused some consumers to perceive meat as low-quality and unclean, and an increasing number of consumers no longer wish to support the meat industry.

Safety And Hygiene

The food service industry has the strictest regulations of any industry in the world. Due to the pandemic, the food service industry, particularly distributors, must go above and beyond to ensure that the foods they distribute to the public are safe and regulated. Consumer-reliable, high-quality foods should be the industry's primary objective. Employee health and personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitization, and food safety are constantly monitored to ensure quality. This consumer reliance and dependence contributes to an increase in required volume and a reduction in retail costs.

Sustainable Future

Sustainability is expanding rapidly in the United States and internationally. Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with living sustainably for a better future and planet. Sustainability is a substantial market for those in the food industry and a growing trend among food service distributors as consumer demand increases.

This mindset is permeating diverse demographics and spreading to restaurants and supermarkets. Foodservice conglomerates are astute enough to recognize that adopting more sustainable operating practices and, in turn, sharing these strategies with the rest of the world is a vital investment in the future of their businesses. If products can contribute to the sustainability factor, food service distributors can help reduce costs while increasing the overall volume.