The unexpected closure of a Whole Foods supplier of private label beans, grains, and rice has left the retailer scrambling to fill vacancies on its shelves, the company said.
The Austin, Texas-based retailer said it was seeking to bring in more branded items as soon as possible, but that it could take several months to find a new long-term supplier for the 365 Everyday Value products. The company did not identify the supplier or disclose a reason for its closure.
“We work hard in partnership with all of our suppliers to ensure that customers find the products they are looking for when shopping our stores,” a Whole Foods spokesperson told Specialty Food. “Unfortunately, weather and other supply factors outside of our control occasionally impact product availability. When this happens, we work as quickly as possible to find solutions and provide alternative options that meet our unparalleled quality standards.”
Complicating the company’s efforts are the fact that these items come from crops that are typically planted and harvested a year before they are offered in stores, the company said. In addition, Whole Foods’ high quality standards and volume requirements for these fast-moving items will add to the challenges it faces.
“They will overcome it, but they are challenged in the near term,” said Steven Hoffman, founder and managing director of Compass Marketing, a Boulder, Colo.-based communications and business development firm focused on the natural and organic industry. “If it’s a supplier that went out of business suddenly and they weren’t communicating with their customers, they are leaving Whole Foods a little flat-footed.”
He noted that at the scale at which Whole Foods is buying product, suppliers are growing these crops “to spec,” meaning that there may not be enough surplus available in the market to meet the retailer’s needs. It will create opportunities for other suppliers, however.
Hoffman said he was confident in Whole Foods’ ability to find alternative suppliers in the medium- to long-term, given the company’s veteran leadership and in-depth industry knowledge.
“They have done the best they could to create the natural foods market we have today,” he said of Whole Foods. “This is a hit for them, but I think it’s a short-term hit rather than a long-term hit.”
Whole Foods said it would continue to offer dry beans and grains in the bulk sections of its stores, as well as frozen and microwaveable 365 Everyday Value grains and rice products.
Although media reports about empty shelves at Whole Foods just began appearing a few days ago, some customers were reporting shortages of lentils on social media back in early December.
@WholeFoods Sad, empty shelves on a Sunday morning at Whole Foods Newtonville, MA. Time to shop somewhere else if I want to make lentil soup tonight. pic.twitter.com/dlYq4wlfG9
— Bill Doran (@billdoran) December 8, 2019
from Industry Operations https://ift.tt/2UrUqul
No comments: