The past two decades have seen exceptional growth for C&C Produce. Sales have risen every year they have been in business, and the customer base has spread across the Great Plains and Midwest to meet the needs of retailers and food service outlets. But it is the sister company, Cool Creations, that has defied expectations, dramatically expanding its line of value-added products in only a year’s time.
Produksi C&C
The C&C Produce story dates back to 1992 when the doors opened as a produce wholesaler in Kansas City. Growth has been steady during the past 20 years.
"Bisnis kita terus berkembang, lan kita wis tambah kaping pindho saben taun kanthi menehi layanan lan kualitas pelanggan sing luar biasa," ujare Nick Conforti, co-owner lan wakil presiden C&C Produce.
Perusahaan serves pelanggan ing radius 750-mil watara Kansas City sing dowo tengen Missouri lan Kansas, kidul menyang Oklahoma lan Texas lan lor menyang Nebraska lan Minnesota. Perusahaan iki ngoperasikake fasilitas 200,000 kaki persegi, ngirim produk liwat armada truk kulkas dhewe. C&C Produce sumber macem-macem prodhuk saka petani lan packers independen, kalebu gedhang, jeruk, apel, kentang, kentang manis, bawang, wortel lan prodhuksi rwaning.
Nanging umume saham C&C Produce isih seger, mula ora nganti nggawe Cool Creations wiwit pindhah menyang produk kanthi nilai tambah, nawakake cara anyar kanggo nglayani pelanggan ritel, uga konsumen.
"We felt kaya ana perlu ing Midwest, utamané ing Kansas City, kanggo opsi seger-Cut, nanging kita ora mikir ana wong njupuk care saka mburi toko,"Sa Conforti. "Kita pengin njaluk mentalitas pengecer babagan woh potong."
Taun kepungkur wis sukses banget, luwih akeh tinimbang sing diantisipasi perusahaan.
"Iku wis luwih apik saka kita samesthine - kita samesthine iku kanggo tuwuh banget cepet, nanging cantik akeh tikel pangarepan kita,"Conforti ngandika.
C&C Produce tekan Bob Carl, sing wis 36 taun ing bisnis prodhuksi, kanggo ngatur perusahaan anyar. Perusahaan uga nggawa Tess Brensing, lulusan anyar saka Kansas State University ing ilmu pangan lan industri, kanggo jaminan kualitas lan safety pangan. Sanadyan C&C Produce lan Cool Creations nuduhake properti sing padha lan akeh pelanggan sing padha, nanging ora ana fasilitas sing bebas saka saben liyane.
Fresh-Cuts
Woh-wohan lan sayuran sing tambah nilai minangka produk inti sing diproses dening Cool Creations, ditawakake ing pilihan irisan lan diced lan kasedhiya ing pirang-pirang ukuran wadah. Sayuran kalebu brokoli, wortel, kembang kol, seledri, timun, kubis, selada, bawang, mrico, kentang, lobak lan tomat, dene woh-wohan luwih winates ing melon, nanas, semangka lan stroberi. Pico de gallo, ubi, labu kuning, zucchini lan campuran isi uga kasedhiya ing ukuran winates.
But Cool Creations has found innovative ways to differentiate itself from competitors that goes beyond fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. The company offers a variety of party platters tailor-made for celebrations, like tailgate parties, that include fruit trays and pizzas, apple and cheese trays and bean dips, along with standard vegetable trays. Yogurt parfaits are available in a variety of flavors, including strawberry and granola mixed with blueberries, raspberries or mango. Cool Creations also offers stuffing kits and soups kits, like beef stew, offering consumers more value through convenience.
"Tinimbang konsumen khas tuku tas 10-pound saka kentang, padha bisa dening kit meal karo kabeh úa ing,"Carl ngandika. "Pelanggan ritel sampeyan bisa mlebu, njupuk (kit), uncalan ing panci lan masak."
Keamanan Pangan
Keamanan pangan minangka konsep sing ditindakake dening C&C Produce lan Cool Creations. Dheweke kerja bareng karo auditor pihak katelu kanggo ngonfirmasi kepatuhan karo peraturan keamanan pangan, lan saben perusahaan uga aktif melu praktik keamanan panganan lan program pencegahan penyakit. Saben perusahaan ngresiki lan ngresiki kamar lan peralatan pangolahan, bebarengan karo post-testing kanggo nemtokake karesikan sawise proses rampung. Prodhuk mentahan lan produk rampung dikirim kanggo testing mikroba tambahan, khusus nggoleki listeria, salmonella, E. coli, ragi lan jamur.
Ana uga rencana kelingan keamanan pangan kanggo skenario paling ala.
"Kita duwe sistem komputer sing ngawasi kabeh barang lan pametumu lan ing ngendi kita ngirim, dadi yen ana perlu kanggo ngelingi, kita bisa nglacak," ujare Brensing.
Wutah mbesuk
Nalika perusahaan ngalami wutah luwih lanjut, ngarep-arep bisa pindhah menyang arah anyar. Iki kalebu nambahake luwih akeh pelanggan layanan panganan menyang dhaptar panuku sing saya tambah akeh lan nambah kehadiran ing pirang-pirang toko eceran, khususe kanthi nambah penawaran bar salad ing departemen prodhuksi toko Grosir kanggo nambah nilai lan pilihan sing gampang kanggo konsumen.
Nanging fokus utama bakal tetep ing pelanggan eceran, sing wis nulungi perusahaan ing arah anyar liwat kekarepan kanggo nyoba produk anyar, uga menehi ide produk potensial sing bisa narik kawigaten para konsumen.
"We have rapport apik karo (pengecer kita), lan padha teka kanggo kita karo gagasan anyar lan beda padha arep nyoba,"Sa Conforti. "Sawetara barang sing ora sukses, nanging barang sing sukses, kita terusake."
Sanajan perusahaan terus berkembang, staf kasebut ngati-ati supaya ora tuwuh kanthi cepet. Perusahaan kasebut kudu terus nglayani para pelanggan eceran sanajan wis tekan pelanggan anyar, ujare Carl.
"Mratelakake panemume pribadi sampeyan kudu ngontrol wutah - sampeyan kudu njaga kualitas lan layanan ing tingkat sing dhuwur," ujare Carl.
Minangka kanggo fokus ing pengecer, iku ndadekake pangertèn kanggo perusahaan - pengecer tansah sukses paling gedhe.
"Iki minangka kelanjutan saka industri ritel. Awake dhewe wis ana ing toko kelontong karo woh-wohan sing dipotong, mula wis ana, ”ujare Carl.