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Have You Met the 2023 Diverse Supplier Accelerator Program Participants?

Get to Know Diverse Service, Beverage, and Food Suppliers

 

Do you want to bring more diversity into your supply chain strategy? Foodbuy’s 2023 Diverse Supplier Accelerator Program is all about highlighting diverse product, service, and food suppliers. A host of exciting businesses are a part of this program’s third cohort. From knives to pickles, they’ve got your operation covered.

 

Get to know them all below.

 

Bean & Bean

What:

Specializing in coffee from around the world, this beverage supplier also offers teas and matcha.

 

Who:

Rachel and Jiyoon Han are a mother-daughter team. Both women are certified Q Arabic Graders, meaning that they are the coffee industry equivalent of professional sommeliers. Each coffee is sourced, cupped, and curated by the mother-daughter duo.

 

Why to Watch Them:

Bean & Bean provides high-quality blends that cover a variety of tastes but what truly makes them stand out is a commitment to gender equality within the industry. All Bean & Bean’s brews are ethically sourced and more than half of their coffee products come from women-owned or women-operated farms. Their producers are fair trade and organic certified, to guarantee that all workers receive a livable wage, no exceptions.

 

Plus, 1% of all proceeds are donated to the Costa Rica-based Sloth Institute to help injured baby sloths reintegrate into healthy ecosystems.

 

 

County Fair Food Products

What:

This food supplier produces pickles, peppers, sauerkraut, and relish. All shelf-stable and fresh items are manufactured in Stockton, CA.

 

Who:

With four generations all committed to producing the finest pickle products, County Fair Food Products has become the largest packer of refrigerated pickles in the Western United States and is a woman-owned business.

 

Why to Watch Them:

County Fair Food Products has been producing pickled products out of the San Joaquin Valley of California since 1910. During the decades that followed their inception, this supplier has developed strong relationships with local farmers and perfected their growing and pickling processes.

 

Plus, this supplier values sustainability and community. They’re part of a food co-op that distributes surplus product to local farmers who use it to feed their cattle and their plant is SQF certified and 100% solar operated.

 

Me & The Bees

What:

Me & The Bees produces specialty bottled lemonade made with honey.

 

Who:

Mikaila Ulmer was just four years old when her fascination with bees began. When she added natural honey to her great grandmother’s flaxseed lemonade recipe, magic was made. 10 years later, Mikaila’s products are now available in grocery stores and restaurants and a percentage of proceeds go to organization fighting to save the honeybees.

 

Why to Watch Them:

This certified minority- and women-owned beverage supplier was a launch partner with GoPuff’s minority brand partner training and mentorship program in 2022, giving them experience in ultrafast consumer delivery. Their products are both good for consumers due to lower calorie and sugar counts, and good for the environment as they help support the Healthy Hive Foundation.

 

A. Maestranzi Sons Knife Services

What:

A Maestranzi Sons Knife Services provides cutlery care and sharpening services as well as high-grade knives.

 

Who:

A family-owned business, this regional team delivers products and services to the Midwest and East coast. The owners are a group of brothers whose family has been in the knife sharpening business for generations.

 

Why to Watch Them:

A. Maestranzi Sons Knife Services keeps knives in the best working condition through time-tested sharpening techniques, as well as their exchange program for dull and damaged blades. This program is available for slicer blades, robot coupe blades, can openers, buffalo choppers, meat grinder blades, S-blades, dicer blades and more.

 

Monsoon Kitchens, Inc.

What:

This food supplier provides Indian, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free appetizers, chutneys, cooking sauces, marinades, entrees, single-serve frozen meals, and grab-and-go fresh meals to both retail and foodservice customers.

 

Who:

Co-founder Swati Elavia is a registered dietitian and nutrition researcher who wanted to make homestyle Indian dishes accessible to Americans. She does this by using authentic recipes and working with small, diverse, and women-owned companies.

 

Why to Watch Them:

Their products use premium, natural ingredients, including antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken and phosphate free shrimp. They also offer culinary training support, marketing material assistance, and exceptional customer service.

 

 

Anu Sushi

What:

Delicious grab-and-go sushi made fresh daily and delivered right to your cooler. You can also turn to them for items like pork gyoza and squid salad.

 

Who:

Started by Burmese refugees in 2018, Anu Sushi is a certified minority-owned business that gives back. For each box of sushi sold, a meal and support are provided for an orphan in Myanmar. It’s “anu” way of giving back!

 

Why to Watch Them:

It isn’t easy to find a food supplier that offers high-quality ready-to-eat sushi products, but Anu Sushi does it well, making sushi fresh daily at their off-site kitchen. Everything is delivered packaged, labelled, and ready for sale. They even buy back unused sushi to limit any financial risk.

In addition to serving orphans overseas, Anu Sushi seeks to provide meaningful employment to the Burmese refugee community by creating entrepreneurial and management opportunities.

 

J.V.M. Sales Corp

What:

J.V.M. Sales Corp specializes in grated hard Italian cheeses but has now introduced new products fit a wider audience. Theo’s Traditional Feta Cheese and the Que’ Gusto line of South and Central American cheese broaden their selection.

 

Who:

This business was established in 1983, in Linden, NJ, but the owner’s family history of cheesemaking goes back to their Italian roots. As a women-owned food supplier they often attend events hosted by the WBENC and other groups focused on diversity.

 

Why to Watch Them:

Using the same trusted techniques that made them popular, this food supplier is diversifying their product offerings to not only fit different cuisines, but different dietary needs. They now produce cheese that suit halal, kosher, organic, and gluten-free diets.

 

Mulay’s Sausage Corp

Mulay's is a food supplier

What:

A variety of pork and beef products including chorizo, meatballs, and bratwurst.

 

Who:

A woman- and family-owned food supplier business, Mulay’s Sausage Corp gives back to local communities through collaborations with family farms as well as donations to local food pantries.

 

Why to Watch Them:

If you want meat products that are free from allergens, antibiotics, and even gluten, this supplier has your needs covered. They source crate-free, heritage pork and grass-fed, ABF hormone-free beef, sustainably raised on small family farms. These farms are paid a fixed price, negotiated by the farmers, to ensure every farmer receives a livable wage.

Foodbuy focuses on working with a variety of non-food and food suppliers. Learn more about Foodbuy’s Diverse Supplier Accelerator Program here.