Distributor Dispatch

The Hidden Economics of Restaurants

Walk into a busy restaurant on a Friday night and everything can look pretty simple or pretty messy from the outside. The dining room is full. Drinks are flowing. Servers are running around. Food is flying out of the kitchen. There might even be a line at the door. You look around and think,…
Understanding Foodservice Distribution

When most people think about buying food, they think about grocery stores. Publix, Walmart, Costco Restaurants think differently though. A restaurant can’t simply drive down to the supermarket every morning to buy enough food to serve hundreds of customers. At least most of them can’t. They need thousands of pounds of fresh, frozen, and…
Why Independent Restaurants Matter

When people think about the restaurant industry, they often picture the big names. McDonald’s. Chick-fil-A. Olive Garden. Texas Roadhouse. Those companies deserve credit for what they’ve built. They employ hundreds of thousands of people, serve millions of customers, and have become household names. But the heart of the restaurant industry has always been the…
Taylor Farms: The Company Helping Keep America’s Kitchens Stocked

Walk into almost any restaurant kitchen, hospital cafeteria, school, grocery store, or convenience store, and there’s a good chance you’re looking at products from Taylor Farms—even if you don’t realize it. And while consumers often recognize brands like Coca-Cola, Tyson, or Heinz, Taylor Farms operates largely behind the scenes. Yet it has become one…
Why Are Food Prices Going Up?

If you’ve been grocery shopping lately or eating at your favorite restaurant, you’ve probably noticed something frustrating: Food costs more than it did just a few years ago. Consumers often blame restaurants for raising menu prices, while restaurant owners blame distributors, and distributors point toward manufacturers or suppliers. The reality is far more complicated.…
National Fried Chicken Day: The Business Behind Every Basket

Every year on July 6, Americans celebrate National Fried Chicken Day. For most people, it’s simply another excuse to order a bucket of chicken, a crispy sandwich, or a basket of tenders. But behind every piece of fried chicken is one of the largest and most sophisticated supply chains in the food industry. Fried…
How Food Gets From Farm to Fork

Most people have a general idea of where food comes from. It starts on a farm—either in the ground or from an animal. Eventually, it ends up on a plate in a restaurant, school, hospital, grocery store, or around the dinner table at home. What many people don’t realize is how much has to…
The Business Behind the Plate

Most people look at a restaurant meal and see the finished product. A burger. A steak. A plate of pasta. A seafood platter. What they usually don’t see is all the time, effort, and coordination that made that meal possible. Having worked on a dairy farm, spent years in restaurant management, and now working…
5 Public Food Distributor Stocks Every Investor Should Know

When most investors think about the food industry, they usually focus on restaurant chains, grocery stores, or major food manufacturers. Companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Tyson Foods often receive the attention. What many investors overlook is the industry that sits between food producers and foodservice operators: food distribution. Food distributors serve as the logistical…
What Growing Up on a Dairy Farm Taught Me About Supply Chains

When most people hear the term “supply chain,” they picture warehouses, trucks, distribution centers, and computer systems. When I hear the term, I picture farming. I grew up on a dairy farm in Southwest Virginia. Long before I understood concepts like logistics, inventory management, procurement, or commodity markets, I was learning lessons and getting…