A Message from Our CEO

To our customers,

As we approach the end of summer, I want to say how much we at Roland Foods appreciate your business. To strengthen our partnership, we continuously seek new ways to increase our overall performance and deliver more value to you and your organization. We are elevating our commitment to innovation to support your efforts to differentiate and provide solutions to today’s market challenges. We are also investing heavily to rapidly improve our fill rates, and with the breadth of our high-quality assortment, it’s our goal to help simplify your supply chain through purchase consolidation in the fragmented import category.

Despite inflation and recession fears, imports continue to boom. In fact, June of this year was the United States’ best-ever June in terms of containerized imports _[1]. However, current labor disputes and rail congestion caused by this influx of goods are exacerbating existing supply chain challenges. Staff shortages and potential though unlikely labor strikes reduce the likelihood of product moving efficiently. In response, the government formed an arbitration board, which is set to come to a new labor contract agreement by mid-September _[2]. However, the ports will continue to feel the strain. In response, and to limit container dwell times, the Port of New York and New Jersey will begin to charge fees for lingering containers in mid-September _[3].

Although product is flowing into the country at record rates, crop shortages persist across the world, mainly due to climate and drought conditions, as well as continuing supply chain issues, labor shortages and geopolitical events such as the war in Ukraine. Tomatoes and pepperoncini are currently in-season, and we are seeing a severe impact to both crops globally.

In response to these challenges, we want to highlight Roland Foods’ strategic day-to-day business operations that have been crucial in staying ahead of the curve in an uncertain market:

1. Frequent and Proactive Supplier Communication – Roland Foods’ dedicated supply chain team is in constant contact with our trusted partners, which gives us early intel into future crop shortages and other potential product issues. Because of this open communication, we have been able to secure sufficient volume of supply to keep up with demand despite global supply challenges.

2. Strategic Inventory and Logistics Decisions – Several internal teams at Roland Foods – from supply chain to logistics – work cross-functionally to ensure we are taking steps necessary to streamline operations, maintain supply, and deliver product. In response to new procedures at the ports, we’ve secured more logistics partners to ensure containers are being picked up on time so we can keep our warehouses well-stocked.

To stay abreast of the most up-to-date and in-depth details regarding supply chain, freight, and crop updates please read our Market Updates provided below. And as always, thank you for your continued business and for keeping Roland Foods as your trusted partner.

Sincerely,

Keith Dougherty

CEO of Roland Foods