Despite the frigid grip winter has held on the country over the last few months, Gordon Food Service Ontario has enjoyed steady growth. New customer acquisition and greater penetration with existing customers has led to the recent expansion of its Milton, ON, facility. The new facility is 170,000 square feet and includes a state-of-the-art test kitchen in the customer resource center, as well as meeting rooms.

According to Business Development Specialist Steve Crawford, “We’re going to continue to grow and bring in some new business.”

The company has been just as forward looking with its website, recognizing the growing power of online marketing. “There are a lot more people doing online ordering,” said Crawford, noting it helps the whole system when customers have all the tools in front of them to put in orders. “In today’s market place, there’s a lot more accessibility to what the products are all about and what they’re ordering.“

GFS ’s focus on digital tools extends to its business practices. “We’re trying to do a lot of different things even in our warehouse for selection and utilizing technology to help with efficiencies,” said Crawford.   Two recent examples would be Scanpick, which automated the cases selected in the warehouse to perfectly match the order and Roadnet, which maximises the efficiency of the routing the GFS trucks to minimize fuel usage.

While recognizing the power of technology, the company also values the personal touch. GFS has been working with the Greenbelt Fund, an Ontario not-for-profit organization, to promote the consumption of local produce throughout Ontario. The company has a strong presence at industry tradeshows and also works to promote the consumption of local produce.

“We’re hoping we can help create a demand in getting people to ask for local product in their facilities and restaurants. In this industry, we can buy a lot of local things, but we need the demand. We’re trying to work with our customers and growers to help cause that demand where we can. We are requesting a lot from our vendor community as well to see what they can bring to the table with local items,” said Crawford.

The company’s biggest marketing push comes from trade shows like the Canadian Restaurants and Food Services Association (newly rebranded as Restaurants Canada) show, its own Spring 2014 Food Show, and the CPMA convention in April.

“That’s a big marketing piece for us, to get all our customers into one area and show them some of the new items that are out there,” Crawford noted. “Every week we’re adding new product, so with having close to 18,000 items, it keeps our reps and our customers looking at new things pretty regularly.”

Crawford is the Food Service Committee liaison for the April CPMA convention in Vancouver, a position which helps him spotlight the value of the food service industry. Convention delegates will be able to take advantage of seminars to get a better understanding of the foodservice sector. “The CPMA has been known over the years to be more retail focused. I’ve been working with Ron Lemaire and his team to try to bring food service more to the forefront because I feel there is a large growth opportunity for a lot of the vendors.”

Crawford feels GFS Ontario has a clear idea of what constitutes value. “Our focus is to deliver what’s expected for our customers and put a lot of time and effort into doing that.”