2019 Supplier of the Year Awards

This year, we recognized Shamrock Foods supplier partners’ excellence at the 2019 Supplier of the Year Awards, presented during our annual Supplier Summit.

The event was also an opportunity for us to give back, with a check presentation for $5,000 to benefit the One Revolution Foundation.

“Strong partnerships are the foundation of our success, and we pride ourselves on collaborating with the industry’s best suppliers to provide the right products at the right price for our foodservice customers. We’re thrilled to honor them with these annual awards,” said Austin Martin, Vice President of Category Management for Shamrock Foods.

The supplier awards are based on criteria including growth, profitability, service level, marketing support and compliance to industry standards such as GS1 – a data and communication tool used for supply chain efficiency.

In all, 6 supplier partners were recognized in seven categories including the overarching Supplier of the Year. The big winner was Aqua Star, renowned for its premium, deliciously pure seafood.

The 2019 Supplier Awards winners are as follows:

Center of the Plate Category

Aqua Star (winner)

Runners-up: JBS Foods and Beaver Street Fisheries

Frozen Grocery Category

Ajinomoto Foods North America (winner)

Runners-up: Alpha Baking and Lamb Weston

Dairy/Imports Category

Michael Foods (winner)

Runners-up: REMA Foods and Franklin Foods

Dry Grocery Category

Sugar Foods (winner)

Runners-up: Ken’s Foods and Vanee Foods Co.

Disposables Category

Global Import Solutions (winner)

Runners-up: R3 and ProClean

Shamrock Foodservice Warehouse

R3 (winner)

Runners-up: GOJO Industries and A. Zerega’s

Supplier of the Year

Aqua Star

- - -

Supplier partners were also recognized with the Best EXPO Experience awards. The Shamrock Foods EXPO is the largest customer event of the year. In 2018, over 12,000 customers attended the events hosted in Phoenix, Denver, Albuquerque and San Diego. This year’s winners are:

Center of the Plate Category

Perdue Foods

Frozen Grocery Category

Ajinomoto Foods North America

Dairy/Imports Category

White Toque

Dry Grocery Category

Ken’s Foods

Non-Foods Category

ProClean

- - -

“Strong engagement, messaging, and support from our supplier partners at all of the Shamrock Foods EXPOs are imperative to the foundation for our customers to have a great experience.  We’re thrilled to honor them with these annual awards,” said Mike Duran, Senior Director – Broadline Marketing for Shamrock Foods.

Shamrock Foods recognized recipients during an awards banquet at Shamrock Foods’ annual Supplier Summit, which took place in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The awards ceremony kicked off with remarks from Chris Waddell, founder of One Revolution Foundation, who accepted the $5,000 donation in person.

Shamrock Foods selected One Revolution Foundation as its Supplier Summit charitable partner based on Waddell’s powerful story and message that in life “It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with what happens to you.” His and the organization’s mission is to shift perspective to help individuals see their world differently. Both a public speaker and inspiring author, Waddell is a 13x Paralympic Medalist in the winter and summer games, and the first paraplegic to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro on a hand cycle.

“This donation will go a long way in helping One Revolution Foundation turn the perception of disability upside down. We want to create a world where individuals with disabilities are seen for their potential instead of their limitations, and we appreciate Shamrock Foods’ support,” said Waddell.