A virtual marketplace that helps specialty food makers offer their products to thousands of retailers around the country is rapidly gaining traction in the industry.
Kansas City, Kansas-based Associated Wholesale Grocers is the latest distributor to incorporate the Infinite Aisle platform, which was launched in January by the Specialty Food Association and Specialty Food Partners to help SFA’s manufacturer members market their product to retailers. Last week AWG, a cooperative wholesaler that supplies more than 4,000 stores, announced that it has launched an online purchasing platform for its retailer members called VMC Virtual Warehouse, which will include Infinite Aisle.
The platform makes it easy for retailers to request samples and place orders with specialty food makers, and streamlines the process of onboarding new vendors, AWG said. It also gives retailers more access to a wider range of local products.
“We are delighted to offer this expanded service to our members and genuinely appreciate Specialty Foods Partners for the incredible platform and support,” said David Smith, president and CEO of AWG, in a statement. “Nobody does ‘local’ better than our member retailers, and it’s our job to provide what they need to build upon that strength.”
The new virtual warehouse is an extension of AWG’s Valu Merchandisers Company, which offers specialty foods, health and beauty care, general merchandise and other products to retailers.
AWG joins several other distributors that have begun to incorporate the Infinite Aisle platform into their offerings. These include Chex Finer Foods, Davidson Specialty Foods (owned by C&S Wholesale Grocers), and Merchants Distributors (known as MDI, which is part of Alex Lee Inc.).
“We couldn’t be more excited to see these types of big developments within our new SFA Infinite Aisle program,” said Leo Squatrito, VP of events and member development at the Specialty Food Association. “Partnerships with distributors like AWG, which supplies more than 4,000 independently owned supermarkets and grocery stores in 36 states, and many others coming onboard soon, will continue to open up thousands of new retail establishments for our amazing specialty food and beverage members and their products.”
Together, the distributors that are offering the Infinite Aisle reach more than 10,000 retail stores, said Tony Lee, founder and CEO of Specialty Food Partners, which implements and oversees the Infinite Aisle on behalf of the SFA.
Lee said AWG “recognized early on that an online direct ship program can be utilized to massively increase the number of specialty and local items available to their members.”
In the Infinite Aisle program, food makers ship the products themselves directly to retailers using shipping labels that Specialty Food Partners provides. The makers retain complete control over which retailers can view their products in the Infinite Aisle, and can deny any orders that come in if they so choose. Products that are already in the distributors’ warehouses are not listed in the Infinite Aisle.
When retailers place their orders through the Infinite Aisle, Specialty Food Partners ensures that the food makers have the items in stock, and then relays the orders to the maker for shipment.
Makers also set their own pricing, with help from algorithms that SFP provides that can ensure they earn adequate margins based on the size and weight of the products. The distributor charges the retailers for the items sold through its VMC virtual warehouse, and then SFP in turn pays the makers, so they don’t have to worry about collection.
Currently about 600 specialty food makers are in some stage of joining the Infinite Aisle platform, according to Lee.
“We would obviously like everyone who is a maker to join, because it’s free,” he said.
Specialty Food Partners conducts webinars for SFA members every two weeks to explain the Infinite Aisle program.
Related: SFA Infinite Aisle Open to Maker Members, Distributors; SFA President Discusses Pandemic Takeaways, Plans for 2021.