One might think that a company that supplies the foodservice industry with fruits, vegetables and other food items might see a lot of downtime during the coronavirus pandemic, with restaurants and other operations closing or drastically reducing the scope of their operations.
That’s not the case at Little Canada, Minn.-based Bix Produce Co.
Bix Produce has swung into action not only to keep its customers well stocked, but to do whatever is necessary to help them adapt to new ways of doing business, said Alejandro Montoya, CEO and CFO.
“Our No. 1 objective throughout this entire time has been to make sure that we take care of our employees, our customers and our suppliers,” he said.
The most important thing the company needs to do is to “just take care of the basics,” he said.
The company’s business is predominantly foodservice, he said, and includes healthcare facilities, entertainment venues, sports arenas, cafeterias, airports and hotels.
Business may be down, but Montoya said Bix Produce is using this time to make its distribution model stronger.
The company is refreshing its fleet, incorporating voice technology into the picking process, strengthening its warehouse management system and re-slotting the warehouse, separating broken-box from full box orders.
“We’ve done a lot of things to strengthen how we take care of our customers,” Montoya said.
Montoya said in mid-August that he was within weeks of introducing some new products.
Bix Produce has thousands of stock-keeping units, he said, and a 30,000-square-foot modern production facility where products are transformed into cut fruit, cut lettuce, various mixes and salsas, fruit snacks and a variety of value-added offerings.
Last year it moved from a 70,000-square-foot plant in St. Paul to a 220,000 square-foot facility in Little Canada, a few miles north of St. Paul. P
Business has not been booming since the coronavirus pandemic hit.
“We suffered a significant reduction in revenue,” he said, but he added that sales are coming back.
Restaurants have dealt with the pandemic by focusing on pickup orders, simplifying their menus and investing in health precautions like barriers and cleaning operations, he said.
“It’s tough on them,” Montoya said. “That’s why we want to make sure we’re there for them.”
Montoya said he conducts an hour-long daily call with all the leaders of the company to discuss opportunities and operations.
“We have to feel what (customers) feel and understand what they’re dealing with so we can present them with solutions to help them,” he said.
“That’s the most important thing we have to do in the company.”
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