For fresh-cut produce and prepackaged meals, every hour saved in transit directly enhances product quality, food safety and usable shelf life. By placing a new $55 million production campus in Chicago, FiveStar Gourmet Foods says it is establishing a strategic supply chain link between its coastal facilities.
In this executive Q&A, FiveStar CEO Tal Shoshan breaks down how advanced robotics protect delicate raw ingredients during cutting and mixing, how regional manufacturing grants vital extra days of shelf life to retail and foodservice operators and why remaining a family-owned business gives FiveStar the freedom to make bold investments ahead of customer demand.
The new Chicago campus will feature highly automated production capabilities. How will this automation specifically improve the consistency, volume and variety of fresh foods available to your foodservice partners?
Shoshan: Automation and advanced robotics allow us to deliver greater precision without compromising freshness. Every ingredient portion, cut, mix, seal and label is controlled with exceptional accuracy, resulting in consistent, high-quality products every day. Automation also significantly increases production capacity while reducing variability, enabling us to support national programs and seasonal demand with confidence.
Just as importantly, automation further strengthens our already robust food safety system. Greater process control, enhanced traceability, reduced manual handling and continuous monitoring help ensure every product consistently meets the highest standards of quality and food safety.
Advanced robotics also help us maintain the superior quality and best-in-class value proposition our customers have come to expect from FiveStar. By improving precision, reducing waste and increasing operational efficiency, we can continue delivering innovative, fresh products with exceptional consistency while providing outstanding value to our foodservice and retail partners.
How will adding Chicago as your fifth facility strategically reduce transit times and improve speed-to-market for your foodservice and retail partners?
Chicago is one of the nation’s premier logistics hubs, allowing us to serve both the Midwest and the East Coast more efficiently. Manufacturing closer to our foodservice and retail partners reduces transit times, increases remaining shelf life upon delivery and ensures fresher products reach customers faster.
It also enables quicker replenishment, lower transportation costs and greater supply chain resilience. The result is improved service levels, greater flexibility and the ability to respond more rapidly to changing consumer demand while consistently delivering fresh, high-quality products.
You highlighted the freedom of being a privately held company guided by a long-term vision rather than “quarterly earnings expectations.” How did this operational flexibility allow you to confidently commit to this $55 million investment?
Being privately held allows us to make decisions based on where we believe the industry is headed over the next decade, not just the next quarter. We can invest ahead of demand, build for the future and make strategic decisions that create lasting value for our customers, employees and business.
This $55 million investment reflects our confidence in the continued growth of fresh, convenient foods and our commitment to remaining the partner of choice for our customers. We view this facility not simply as additional capacity, but as an investment in innovation, food safety, operational excellence and the future of fresh food manufacturing in North America.
With this expansion scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2027, are there new product lines or custom foodservice solutions that this facility’s advanced manufacturing technologies will finally allow you to launch?
FiveStar is already one of the most capable fresh food manufacturers in the nation, serving some of the country’s most sophisticated foodservice and retail customers. Our customers are genuinely excited about this expansion because it reinforces our ability to support their long-term growth with additional capacity, greater flexibility and industry-leading service.
This new facility, like all of our facilities, will enable us to continue innovating and delivering the best-in-class freshness, quality and food safety our customers have come to expect from FiveStar. It strengthens our ability to develop customized solutions, bring new products to market faster and continue raising the bar for the fresh food industry.
Our commitment has always been simple: Invest ahead of our customers’ needs so we can continue exceeding their expectations for years to come.
