Bay Food Brokerage has provided retail food brokerage services to Tillamook County Creamery Association (Tillamook) since late 2017. Over the past few years, we’re proud to have made great strides in helping West Coast-based Tillamook expand into the Southeast. And, we’re especially grateful to Tillamook’s Director of Sales focused on the Eastern U.S., Stephanie Carson, for sharing her perspective on our partnership in this blog post.
About Tillamook
Tillamook is a farmer-owned dairy co-operative based in Tillamook, Oregon. Established over 110 years ago, the brand is committed to producing delicious, high-quality dairy products and operates in six categories:
- Cheese
- Ice cream
- Butter
- Sour cream
- Yogurt
- Cream cheese spread
“We believe that everyone should have access to real food with simple ingredients,” Stephanie said.
The Opportunity: East Coast Expansion
In 2017, Tillamook leadership decided to embark on a national expansion.
“Up until this time, we were previously known only in the Western United States in any meaningful way,” Stephanie said. “We were looking for how we were going to sell in the East and decided to utilize brokers to tackle that part of country.”
The Solution: A Regional Food Brokerage Services Partner
“From our first call with Cammie and Chris, it was clear they had the expertise, the access, the passion and the relationships with the customers that we were targeting,” Stephanie said. “Hiring Bay Food Brokerage was just a no-brainer.”
As a result, Tillamook engaged Bay Food Brokerage to provide food brokerage services for their cheese, ice cream and cream cheese spread categories. Sales efforts would focus on the Southeastern U.S.
The Results: Products in Major Retailers
“Our first major achievement with Bay Food was them launching two cheese snacking items with Publix in 2018,” Stephanie said. “Fast-forward to today, and we now have 40 SKUs in Publix. And, we’ve penetrated other large Southeastern retailers through their representation, as well.”
Thanks in part to our food brokerage services, Tillamook now sells products in Publix, Winn-Dixie and Earth Fare throughout the Southeast.
The Experience: A True Partner
According to Stephanie, there are key traits that set Bay Food Brokerage apart from other companies offering retail food brokerage services. For example, our team immerses themselves in the business of our manufacturers.
“I believe they truly embody the Tillamook story and understand what we’re trying to achieve,” Stephanie said. “As a result, they are a natural extension of Tillamook. I think that’s very rare.”
In addition, Stephanie said our follow-through is impeccable and that our staff works very well with Tillamook’s team.
“They’re the prime example of what a regional broker can do and offer,” Stephanie said. “It’s been an incredibly wonderful journey.”
