I was wondering what the folks within the forum think about the subjuct of using the distributor labeled products versus using a national branded item.

What the the group see as the pro's and con's?

I've found the differences depended on the product and the supplier.  A packer label of, say canned tomatoes, from US Foodservice has a different taste than those from Sysco.  However, I found the USF product to be close enough to my branded product that I could interchange without a noticable depreciation in my final product.

It's simple enough to do blind taste tests of product within your establishment using employees as the tasters.  Since we tend to be more critical of tastes and process than customers, I had always found that to be a more reliable indicator.

Don't be afraid to ask your rep for a sample of whatever you plan on pitting against a national brand.  They're usually more than happy to help you out.

Ciao,

Steve thanks for the feed back; what I have seen over the years is that distributor branded products can have a number of suppliers packing their products (same distributor labeled products).  The label can be the same packed or distributed by XYZ; and even the ingredient line can be the same....yet there are product differences supplier to supplier.

Case in point, shorting and oil; they (the distributor) can be switching suppliers weekly, based on an overage over the commodity market and best bid price by their private supplier.  ususally not big differences, yet it would be difficult to control end quality.

I was just looking for general feedback/discussion POV from the foodservice community on the difference of private labeled product, versus the brand national or manufacturer's labeled products.  With the market being so tight on cash, what would stop a distributor from string out two or three suppliers on a private label program?

Bob,

I've found during my time in the trenches that in oils you get what you pay for.  There are some brands that I've been loyal to because of the quality.  When you do the math it's usually cheaper in the long run to use a quality oil/shortening in the fryer to begin with.

The items that I've used from packer labels have almost always been edible commodities or disposables such as plastic wrap, aluminum foil, to go cutlery, etc.

Ciao,

Been hearing some rumors and seeing some emails from friends in the FS industry about cut backs of people at a number of the distributors accross the country. (Sysco, US Foodservice, large indepandents).  Just wondering how this will affect product, service, quality, etc.

What has anyone on this foodservice forum seen or heard? 

In mn us foods shut down their northstar division and left alot without jobs. One of my best Sysco delivery guys said alot of drivers are down to 3 days a week or less. That sucks to hear.

Justin