Navigating a Tough Foodservice Market: Key Takeaways from the UniPro 2026 Spring Conference
One of our favorite parts of the UniPro Conference is connecting directly with our customers and partners to hear their feedback. We love the opportunity to connect, learn about the challenges they are facing, and staying updated on the news and trends in the foodservice industry. Although the conference is over and our time walking the showroom floor in Orlando has passed, the lessons we learned there from our customers and partners are still at the forefront of our minds and business decisions. Let’s take a quick look at some of the trending topics we discussed at this year’s UniPro Spring Conference.
Foodservice Supply Chain Solutions for 2026
The Price of Diesel & How Redistribution Helps Offset Rising Diesel Costs
When we talk about the challenges facing the foodservice industry, the price of diesel continues to top the list of most discussed topics. The foodservice industry relies heavily on logistics, meaning the rising cost of diesel is affecting every segment and raising operating costs for both foodservice suppliers and distributors.
A Tough Economy
The foodservice industry is facing a tough economy, partially due to the increased fuel prices. As fuel prices rise, it leads to rises in pricing, which increases the impact of inflation on food items, and can erode consumer spending in foodservice.
Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
How do we grow in a tough economy?
While the current economy can be tough in the foodservice industry, many foodservice suppliers and foodservice distributors are still looking for opportunities to grow and look ahead. While this can look different for everyone, leaning into redistribution can help! By nature, redistribution excels in just-in-time inventory, saving distributors money on warehouse costs, and allowing them to have less capitol tied up in inventory. On the supplier side, finding easy and cost-efficient ways to penetrate new markets can open the door to new opportunities, like the rapidly growing southeast market. For both foodservice suppliers and foodservice distributors, consolidation on the transportation side can help lower costs, which is another area where redistribution can help.
How do we offset the increased cost of diesel?
One way is to optimize delivery routes and look for efficiencies. Redistribution can help! By buying products in bulk from suppliers and selling in smaller quantities with multiple items on one delivery to customer, it allows both foodservice suppliers and foodservice distributors to use truckload quantities and save on LTL costs, as well as decreasing the number of routes needed.
How Honor Foods Can Help
Redistribution can offer great benefits to both foodservice suppliers and foodservice distributors and be a huge asset to navigating a tough economy. From offering operation and transportation efficiencies to providing just-in-time inventory, working with a redistributor like Honor Foods can be a huge asset. At Honor Foods, our capabilities have grown and can even help suppliers grow in new markets like the Southeast and offer new redistribution options to southeast distributors. Our facility in Kissimmee, Florida, expands product portfolio options to Sunny Morning customers and other Southeast distributors and improves delivery service on a wider variety of frozen, dry, and cooler items.
Looking Ahead
As we look at what’s ahead for the foodservice industry, there is still a lot to be excited about even though the industry is still facing strong headwinds. While external factors such as geopolitics and diesel prices lead to price increases and inflation on food items and impact customers spending in foodservice which presents real challenges, we are also entering the summer months which usually brings family vacations, warm weather, and busier restaurants.
With the Spring UniPro conference in Orlando, Florida now just a distant happy memory in our mind, we are looking forward to navigating all the challenges facing the foodservice industry together with our foodservice customers and partners. Here’s to a successful summer season in the foodservice industry, and we can’t wait to see everyone in Dallas in the fall for the next UniPro show!
Conclusion
If you’re looking for ways to navigate rising costs and improve efficiency in your supply chain, Honor Foods is here to help. Connect with our Team to learn how redistribution can support your growth and simplify your operations.
Honor Foods, a Burris Logistics Company, was founded in 1949 as a pick-up only, broadline redistributor. Since then, Honor Foods has grown into the Mid-Atlantic region’s premier provider of frozen, refrigerated, dry, protein, and dairy products, representing
more than 800 brand-name food suppliers and carrying more than 7,000 in-stock items. Honor Foods brands R.W. Zant and Sunny Morning provide additional protein and dairy expertise on the West Coast and in the Southeast. In addition, our exclusive house brands — Colony Lane,Valley Fresh, Sommer Maid, and Sunny Morning have a well-earned reputation for top quality and value at competitive prices.
Great products and prices are just part of the Honor Foods value-add. We pride ourselves in having a Team of dedicated professionals who manage each partnership. Our commitment to your business needs is what makes us unique.
