Honor Foods recently returned from the Fall UniPro Foodservice conference held at the Gaylord Opryland located in Nashville, Tennessee. The event brought together over 1,500 suppliers and members. We were very fortunate to have a large Team presence throughout the conference, both at the booth and on the show floor, including Representatives from our Honor Foods Philadelphia location, and our R.W. Zant facility in Los Angeles, CA.
As always, we enjoyed meeting with various food vendors to learn what is new in the marketplace. Many shared updates on supply chain challenges, inventory concerns, and new product innovations emerging across foodservice.
On the distributor side, our Sales Team had an opportunity to talk with customers about where Honor Foods can help them fill gaps in their business—whether through product sourcing, market trends, or redistribution opportunities. We also had meaningful conversations with potential new customers exploring redistribution options for the first time.
While every UniPro event is valuable, this one stood out for its insights. The discussions primarily focused on the economic challenges currently facing the industry and the creative strategies needed to navigate them. Many UniPro members observed that consumers are re-evaluating their discretionary spending, leading to an adjustment period for both suppliers and distributors. These conversations reinforced our commitment to helping our Partners with flexibility, just-in-time inventory replenishment, and tools to manage cash flow without requiring large capital investments.
All in all, this year’s Fall UniPro conference was definitely a success. Just in case you missed it, or we didn’t get a chance to catch up at the conference, here are 14 of the most frequently asked questions our food vendor and food distribution Partners discussed with us at the event (and the answer to the questions too, of course!)
What’s New at Honor Foods?
This show’s most commonly asked question – “What’s new at Honor Foods?” – had several very exciting answers!
Southeast & Orlando Expansion
We are continuing to grow our presence in the Southeast, especially through recent opening of our new Orlando facility. While we have historically focused on dairy products, our Southeast network is now expanding to include storage for frozen categories, with more categories planned for the coming months. Our footprint in Florida, combined with our expanding product portfolio, enables us to better support UniPro members and operators in high-growth markets.
R.W. Zant Adds New Product Categories in the West Coast
R.W. Zant has continued to grow and now also offers dairy products in addition to some additional broadline products. R.W. Zant is a great option for distributors on the West Coast looking to fill in dairy needs, add dairy to their product offerings, or who are in need of a new place to buy dairy products.
Protein Solutions & COP Program Growth
Our Protein Solutions category—boxed beef, pork, and chicken—continues to gain momentum. In partnership with UniPro members, this offering is expanding both geographically and in product range, supporting distributors who want to enter or grow their protein category with low risk.
A Stronger Coast-to-Coast Redistribution Partner
With the support of our sister company Trinity Logistics, Honor Foods continues to strengthen its coast-to-coast coverage. We now reach more states than ever before, ensuring smooth movement of goods between facilities and to customer locations with speed and reliability. Whether in the Northeast, Southeast, West Coast, or anywhere in between, our expanding logistics network is helping distributors stay agile in a changing economy.
Tell Me about Your UniPro COP Titled “Sales Through Honor Foods”
We are excited to share continued growth in the UniPro COP Sales Through Honor Foods program.
Since the last UniPro conference, we have:
Added new categories within our boxed beef, pork, and chicken
Increased SKU count and expanded program volume
Grown participation among UniPro members
Added support through expanded distribution facilities and better national reach
This ongoing growth ensures Honor Foods continues to be a low-risk, high-impact way for distributors to step into or expand their protein offerings.
What are the benefits of Your UniPro COP Titled “Sales Through Honor Foods”?
There are many benefits to participating in the UniPro COP Titles Sales Program through Honor Foods. Here are five of them:
You are participating in a volume leveraged, central buy that offers you a lower cost of goods
It helps manage risk, reduce volatility and anticipate market direction
You gain additional resources with customized procurement support
We help you prepare for the market instead of reacting to it
We offer the same program but at lower minimums
During the Fall 2025 UniPro Show, Several Recurring Questions and Themes Surfaced
How many states does Honor Foods cover now?
We currently cover 39 states, and our footprint continues to grow—particularly in the Southeast and on the West Coast—enabling us to reach new territories every month.
How can Honor Foods help distributors during challenging economic times?
Honor Foods plays a crucial role in optimizing supply chain efficiency for food distributors and manufacturers. We often hear the challenges these businesses face, and our solutions are designed to address them effectively.
One of the key ways Honor Foods supports distributors is through just-in-time inventory replenishment. This approach minimizes the need for large, cash-intensive purchases, allowing businesses to manage their resources more efficiently. By aligning deliveries with demand, we help ensure that operators have the right stock on hand without overcommitting their finances.
Additionally, as restaurant operator menus evolve and trends shift, flexibility becomes essential. Honor Foods provides the adaptability that distributors need, enabling them to stay responsive to changing operator requirements. Our support extends to redistribution efforts, which play a vital role in maintaining healthy cash flow for our distributor customers. By facilitating the movement of products where they are needed most, we help distributors operate smoothly, even amid fluctuations in demand.
Overall, Honor Foods is dedicated to empowering distributors with the tools and support necessary for success in a dynamic marketplace. We heard this frequently at the Unipro show.
Honor Foods can help by:
Supporting just-in-time inventory replenishment
Reducing the need for large cash-intensive buys
Helping distributors stay flexible as operator menus shift
Offering redistribution support that helps maintain cash flow
What Does Operational Consistency Look Like Between Honor Foods on the East Coast and R.W. Zant on the West Coast?
Right now, our R.W. Zant location is operating independently on the West Coast due to the geographical separation between the two facilities and their focus on protein. However, we have a wonderful relationship with the R.W. Zant Team and have collaborated to help customers where it makes sense.
Why Do I Need a Regional Redistributor in the Northeast If My Products are Also Available at a National Redistributor?
The simple answer is that regional redistributors can often penetrate markets that national redistribution companies don’t do as well. National redistribution companies are very good at what they do, but their policies, minimums, turn times, and regulations often limit who can buy from them, in addition to what areas their trucks will physically deliver to. Regional redistribution companies like Honor Foods excel at this market segment, ultimately offering food suppliers a larger pool of distributors and, ultimately, end users to get their products to.
How High Do You Store Products on Racks?
We recognize that capacity is a huge concern for food vendors looking to Partner with us or any foodservice redistributor because a large capacity means the ability to have greater SKU count depth and the ability to order larger quantities. We are very fortunate to have a beautiful, large facility in Philadelphia that is 250,000 square feet with 115k sq. ft. of Frozen space, 75k sq. ft. of Cooler space, 60k sq. ft. of Dry storage space, often racked six high, offering 20,000+ pallet positions with the ability to expand. This has resulted in us offering 8,000 SKUs from over 400 vendors.
How Many Sales Team Members Do You Have in Total?
In total, we have 52 Sales Team Members. This includes 27 at Honor Foods in Philadelphia, 18 at R.W. Zant, and 8 at Sunny Morning. These Team Members work as an extension of the manufacturer’s sales Team to promote products to foodservice distributors. Our outside sales Team Members visit foodservice distributors on location to share what is new at Honor, what new products are available, do demonstrations, share trends in the industry, and more. Our inside sales Team Members are the foodservice distributors’ direct point of contact when they place orders, and work with them to identify products that may interest them.
Do You Do Imports and Exports?
Yes, we do import and export. We understand that the ability to export products specifically to the Caribbean market offers enormous growth potential for our Vendor Partners, and we do export to these regions. In addition, the worldwide economy in the foodservice industry has created a need for the import market to fill the gap between the demand the US foodservice industry creates in categories like fries and frozen vegetables and the capacity we can produce. Therefore, we have a strong import presence in those categories, ensuring we always have good quality products available at a competitive price.
What Are the Minimums for Your Customers?
Minimums vary by service area. Any product order from Honor Foods contributes to the minimum requirement and can be comprised of items from as many different manufacturers as you would like. In addition, our trucks are multi-temp, meaning your order can be comprised of dry, refrigerated, and frozen goods. Reach Out to Our Sales Team to learn more about the minimum requirements for your geographical area. Generally, our minimums are less than the larger national broadline redistributors.
Can I See Your Product Offerings on Your Website?
Yes, you can see our new product offerings on our website. We also spotlight some of these items on social media. Here is a great place to see all of our new product offerings. https://www.honorfoods.com/products/product-catalog/
What Are Your Lead Times?
Lead times can vary based on pick-up or delivery, location, order availability, and more, but often, in the Northeast, orders placed by 3 p.m. can be delivered or picked up the next morning. In the Southeast, orders from Sunny Morning are typically delivered within the next day or, if coming from our Philadelphia location, to our Southeast location in 2-3 business days.
What Does Freight Cost?
While freight costs can vary, one advantage of working with Honor Foods is that our parent company, Burris Logistics, is a logistics company. They also have Trinity Logistics, which is freight brokerage. Because of this, our freight costs are minimal.
Conclusion
We always enjoy attending the UniPro Foodservice Conference—both Spring and Fall. This year’s Fall event was particularly meaningful as we listened to both suppliers and distributors discuss economic pressures, shifting consumer behaviors, and the new opportunities emerging across foodservice. We appreciate every Partner who took the time to meet with us, and we look forward to continuing these conversations at the Spring 2026 Conference in Orlando, Florida.
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.
