In 1986, when John Gates started delivering fruits, vegetables and fresh-cut products with his brother Dave, he never dreamed the weekend venture would evolve into a major wholesale distributor and fresh-cut processing company.
But the president and co-founder of Jessup, Md.-based Lancaster Foods LLC said it didn’t take long until the part-time effort grew into a 24/7 operation and moved into a 120,000-square-foot facility. In 2008, the company relocated to a 220,000 square-foot site a few blocks away in the heart of the Maryland Produce Zone.
The company offers a full line of top-quality fruits and vegetables — including organic and fresh-cut items.
The firm got a boost two years ago when it was acquired by Houston-based FreshPoint Inc., which bills itself as “North America’s largest wholly owned produce distributor.”
The acquisition gave Lancaster Foods additional capabilities, like expanded distribution throughout the country, Gates said.
“It gave us some scale,” he said.
Today, the company has nearly 700 employees and offers next-day or even same-day delivery to nearly any customer on the Atlantic seaboard from its location off I-95 in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, he said.
“It’s a great location,” Gates said. “We cover the whole eastern U.S.”
Lancaster Foods has more than 100 company-owned vehicles that run every day from North Carolina to New England.
Product offerings include locally grown produce, organic items, ethnic products and specialty fruits and vegetables. Items are processed in-house, and food safety is of prime concern, Gates said.
The company has its own food safety department, and there’s also corporate oversight from FreshPoint.
“We have different layers,” Gates said.
There’s also a retail merchandising team that works closely with customers to help with product resets, grand openings and merchandising new products effectively, he said.
And Lancaster Foods can provide customers with a full line of private-label items with packaging designed to meet their specifications.
Packaging can be a somewhat contentious issue, Gates said.
“Packaging adds cost, but some people want it for convenience, and some people want it for food safety reasons,” he said.
Packaged produce can be advantageous for sellers, since consumers sometimes buy more fruits and vegetables if they’re packaged than they would if they’re merchandised in a bulk display, Gates said.
Packaging also may help retailers control shrink.
“Best quality, fastest service” is the company’s slogan, and Gates said the firm tries to provide the highest-quality produce at the best prices.
“Availability of product, service and quantity sets Lancaster Foods apart from its competitors, he said.
Gates said the company carries a large inventory and provides repacking as well as fresh-cut processing.
“We do everything from breaking products down to making specialty packs,” Gates said.
Sustainability also plays a big role at Lancaster Foods.
“Sustainability is a hot-button issue right now,” Gates said. “We have a team that works on sustainability to make sure we’re not wasting anything, and we’re trying to be good for the environment.”
