“Short Coded” Foods and “Best use By” Dates = Lost Profit.
The worst nightmare for many retailers is short-coded dates and “best use by” dates. With limited time remaining to comply with this short ticking fuse, consumers are skittish about buying products with a short window on the “best use by” dates. Likewise, retailers grow nervous by the day and week as inventory sits, doesn’t move as planned, and those red-line dates seem to tick down faster and faster. By the day, products become less desirable and less valuable.
Food retailers sitting with an inventory of rapidly approaching “best use by” dates is concerning and problematic, not just because of lost profits but also because of the hassle and cost of labor, storage, and even disposal of products that are not selling or consumers won’t buy, weary of the short dates.
The Solution – Food Brokers
A good food broker will have buyers for short-coded or products with a best-use-by date that is rapidly approaching. What constitutes a good food broker? A good food brokerage company is one that has an extensive network of buyers, or other outlets, for a wide range of products where “short-coded” or “best-use-by” dates aren’t so much of a problem.
A good food broker’s value, simply put, is in their “network” of buyers. Good food brokers develop their networks through years of experience, cultivating contacts in a wide range of food products and categories so they can quickly perform their service. Time is of the essence when dealing with problem products and stagnant inventory, so using a food broker who is well connected, and well established, who can move your problem goods and rapidly depreciating stock value fast is essential.
What is Short Coded Food?
Short coded food refers to food products that are perfectly fine to consume. Still, their expiration dates are considered too soon by retailers. Businesses lose money on short-dated food every day. Over time, this can add to a significant profit loss, especially when taking into account other factors that will lead to previously salable products that will need to be pulled from the shelves. This could include products undergoing packaging changes, seasonal products and even excess goods. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, losses attributed to some of these circumstances added up to $162 billion in 2010—and accounted for 31% of the available food supply. This equates to an inordinate amount of losses and wasted food. A [good] food broker can mitigate much of this.
The Good News About Short-Coded or Best Use By Date Food: Marvell Foods to the Rescue
Marvell Foods has earned a national reputation specializing in selling short-coded or fast approaching ‘best use-by” dated food products; this includes canned goods to grocery, shelf-stable – drinks, water, energy drinks, pasta, rice, and scores of different products and product categories. Marvell Foods has developed a highly specialized, unique niche in moving hard-to-sell products.
We have cultivated an extraordinary network of buyers for virtually ANY type of food product. Our buyers include secondary tier outlets, across the country, for retail items. Our extensive network, cultivated over more than thirty years in the business, includes food banks, prisons, commissaries, and literally scores of other buyers not just nationally but internationally. We have buyers of products in Mexico and Canada; we also export our off-shore buyers such as Puerto Rico and the Islands.
Regardless of the products you have that you need to sell, irrespective of size and weight, from one truckload to dozens of truckloads, Marvell Foods can help. Call today if you have food products and inventory you would like to sell.