SIDNEY — Freshway Foods continued to grow in 2016. The company expanded business with existing customers, added new foodservice and retail customers, and expanded its transportation capabilities.
“We continued developing new products that save operators time and money,” says Devon Beer, president of Freshway Foods. “Our fresh-cut produce, deli salad kits, repack products and forward distribution and logistics services allow restaurants and supermarkets to reduce labor costs and simplify their back-of-house operations.”
His report continues:
Feshway Foods was acquired by US Foods, the nation’s second largest food distributor in June 2016. US Foods serves chefs and food service operators across the country including independent restaurants, regional and national restaurants, healthcare and hospitality entities and government and educational institutions. The company employs approximately 25,000 people in 61 locations nationwide and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.
US Foods has always had a reputation as being one of America’s great food companies, so joining forces with them was a really exciting moment for all of us at Freshway. US Foods also hopes to grow the business here in Sidney, which means great jobs for our community.
Freshway continued its partnership with The Workforce Partnership of Shelby County and participated in educational activities at local schools. In September, the company participated in the Career Exploration Academy sponsored by The Workforce Partnership. This two-day event, held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds, gave students from Sidney Middle School and Sidney High School access to presenters who work in a variety of careers. Freshway associates shared information with the students about careers in process engineering, food science, and marketing.
Freshway also continued to focus on product development in 2016.
Our goal is to develop seasonal and trending items that will keep consumers coming back to our retail and foodservice customers. For example, our Fall/Winter line of behind-the-glass deli salad kits features trending ingredients like plant-based protein and heirloom vegetables, as well as flavor profiles, like sweet and spicy, that appeal to Millennial shoppers.
Freshway continued to recruit for a variety of positions in 2016, including machine operators, forklift operators, and Class A CDL drivers. The U.S. currently has a shortage of truck drivers, and many carriers are struggling to hire enough drivers. Freshway has been successful in recruiting and retaining truck drivers in this competitive job market.
We are very fortunate to have a team of experienced drivers, many of whom have driven over 250,000 miles with Freshway. As we grow, we focus on recruiting drivers who are committed to road safety and who want to work for a company where their contribution is appreciated and rewarded.
Freshway Foods is a fresh fruit and vegetable processor, repacker, distributor, and logistics provider focusing on customized product and service solutions to a customer base that spans the eastern half of the United States. Its customers include casual, fast casual and quick service restaurants, broadline distributors, foodservice distributors, supermarkets and club stores. Freshway sources products fresh from the field from prime growing regions, processes them to high quality standards, and delivers those products to customers using their private logistics company.
