ROCKVILLE, MD – November 24, 2009 – Avendra, the hospitality industry’s leading procurement services company, continues to collaborate with suppliers to bring new products, ideas and expertise to customers. The most recent program, the Fresh Produce Road Show, proved to be a unique educational experience and an opportunity for Avendra and local produce suppliers to foster relationships with culinary teams at customer locations.
For the pilot road show, Avendra partnered with Coastal Sunbelt Produce and its corporate chef, Martin Saylor, to visit customers in the Washington, D.C. area. With dozens of specialty and local produce items on display in a modified delivery truck, the Fresh Produce Road Show brought Avendra and Coastal Sunbelt Produce’s deep expertise to multiple customer locations. The truck was made easily accessible from each customer’s loading dock and the culinary and purchasing teams were invited to view and sample all of the products on board.
Chef Saylor engaged with customers and suggested uses of key and unique ingredients like maroon carrots, black garlic, heirloom apples and sweet Okinawa potatoes. “It is our experience that executive chefs have a strong desire to know what is cutting edge,” stated Jerry Cerand, Avendra’s director of Strategic Contracting. “This program allows them to touch, taste and smell the latest in culinary trends.”
Avendra customers learned about availability, seasonality, and the differences between local, organic and sustainable, while getting the opportunity to actually sample various products. “It is refreshing to talk about and see what is new in the marketplace in terms of products and their application,” commented Dave Widmer, senior director of food and culinary standards for HMSHost. “It was also nice to have an Avendra representative there who could discuss elements, such as yield and preparation time, that directly affect overall operating cost.”
Grif Drew, strategic contract manager of fresh produce for Avendra explains, “The benefits of controlling products through the supply chain go beyond case price--to yield, portion control, waste and safety.” Avendra’s Grower Shipper program, for example, helps ensure that high volume and high risk produce items are monitored for quality throughout the supply chain. All Avendra produce distributors are required to participate in the Grower Shipper program, which limits the number of growers that they can procure from based upon the grower’s ability to meet Avendra’s standards that enable a safer, higher quality product with better traceability and controlled pricing.
Avendra’s supplier partnerships make the Fresh Produce Road Show extendable to markets across North America. Due to the success of the pilot, Avendra plans to work with additional produce distributors to bring the road show to more customers in 2010.
About Avendra
Avendra is North America’s leading procurement services company serving hospitality-related industries. Avendra customers gain access to contracts leveraging $3 billion of annual purchases, expert advisory services and in-depth purchasing data and analysis. Through Avendra, customers obtain substantial savings on their purchases and other value added services to improve their operations and bottom line results. Formed in 2001, the company is headquartered in Rockville, MD and has regional offices in the United States and Canada. For more information, please call (866) AVENDRA, visit www.avendra.com or email inquiries to info@avendra.com.
Contact
Lindsay Hargett
301-825-0500