# Wholesale grocery supplier?



## clovis

Does anyone know anything about finding a wholesale grocery supplier?

I would especially be interested in finding a wholesaler in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois or Ohio.

I would not be interested in salvage grocery, past dates, dents, damaged goods, etc. I am only interested in brand new, name brand items.

Anyone have experience with this????

Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!


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## mduncn52

I don't know of they would suit what you are looking for but my store uses H T Hackney (4th largest C-Store dist. in the world). Before them we used Spartan Grocery in Grand Rapids, MI. Or Possibly Ohio Farmers in Cleveland.


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## Bandit

I know of a wholesale candy dealer or two , the closest We ever got to food was a local wholesale Dealer that sold Sunny D orange drink about 30 days before the exp. date , depending on how much we picked up we paid $ 2 or $ 3 a case , and We sold it on ice at the Old Orchard Beach Maine flea market for $ 1.25 each .
Exactly what foods are You looking For ?
Bob


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## clovis

Bob~
I am wide open to products...I don't care what it is as long as it is new and good quality.
Thank you so much for your other PM's!!!!
Clove


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## Mickie3

What about Sysco? They service that area. They are more into restaurants, etc. but they do small grocers around here still.

http://sysco.com


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## Harry Chickpea

I think the chains made grocery wholesalers a thing of the past. The exception might be IGA, which is a loose grouping of grocery stores that use a common supplier. The Publix and other chain distribution centers are huge and the extra overhead of a wholesaler would mean lost profits. Costco and Sams are supposedly wholesale.


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## Ken Scharabok

E-mail me directly at [email protected] and I'll send you two articles I did up for Countryside magazine. One was on opening a salvage grocery and one on closing it.

One problem is folks think they should only be paying 10 cents on the dollar when it costs you more than 25 cents on the dollar to stock.

Now if you have a very large family and a low cost site avaialble, then it may be different. Salvage boxes come loosely full. I had a friend with one with a large family and he would fill a box to full with what he wanted and then sell it to himself at his cost of acquisition.

When these stores open, you can figure them lasting about a year before closing.

In order to purchase from my supplier (Silver Dollar Sales in Red Rock, AL) I had to present a TN Sales Tax exemption and a local business license. When I signed up to take what was then called foodstamps, I had to attend a class and then they sent out someone to take lots of pictures to prove groceries were over half my inventory. I was then subject to a twice a year unannounced inspection. Always got wirtten up for a can too badly dented and dust on inventory. Inspector said he had never turned in a 100% compliance inspection as it would look like he wasn't doing his job.

Received lots of cereal which I couldn't even resale for $1 box. Every two weeks one couple would come in and buy a dozen boxes of cereal. Since I was selling them at a loss, didn't help bottom line much.


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## Bandit

Hi Ken
Thanks for a couple of very well written articles , before I bothered You for a copy of themby E-Mail , I used My favorite friend and found a " Free Online Library " with a whole bunch of article's that You have written .
Bob


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## clovis

Thank you for the replies!!!!

I've not had much luck as of yet finding a supplier, at least locally. There are a few in major cities, but that would be a LONG drive for me. I still don't know their pricing either, so those may be out of the question too.


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## Micheal

Humm, just wondering you did check out the "yellow" pages, right? Under the heading(s) of food products/distrs or grocers/wholesale. 
I'd say if'n that doesn't pan out than ask your local restaurant, pizza place, or even the local drive-in on who they use for a supplier and start from there.


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## Ken Scharabok

The typical supermarket is supplied by several wholesales, such as for produce, general groceries, meats, eggs, milk, juices and such and some area are stocked/managed by the supplier, such as chips, bread and soft drinks.

The typical net operating profit of a supermarket is relatively low, something like 6% (Wal-mart is more like 3%), but they do it on volume and turnover. In a typical supermarket the meat area takes up only about 10% of the store's footprint, but accounts for about half of the retail sales. Supermarkets also rent shelf space to suppliers, with shelves at eye level going for higher or lower. Someone with a new product may have to pay the chain a substantial 'introduction' fee.

A banana box is 16" wide, 20" long and 10" high with a two part box. The banana box industry/wholesaler purchases already made up pallets from major retailers. They then resell the boxes, usually a pallet full at a time (i.e., do not sell individual boxes off of a pallet). Price varies with contents. For food it is something like 25% of former retail value. If you had a choice of say $10, $12.50 and $15 boxes the contents will be of better quality as the price goes up.

There are exceptions of course. I was told of one fleamarket somewhere in the South which displays individually priced open banana boxes.

A box of health and beauty aids would be more in the $40-50 range.

Filling the boxes is done at the chain's distribution point/central warehouse. Salvage items come back from individual stores and then are tossed (literally) into banana boxes to even out comtents some. Say the chain was working with a certain manufacturer (e.g., Kelloggs) to feature a certain item as an aisle end display for a specific period of time. When it is over, all remaining boxes are shipped back to a central point, where they end up in banana boxes. (And perhaps other end users, such as institutions and food banks.)

Same is done for seasonal merchandise. The Christmas candy you see at Wal-Mart will likely be out of the store within days after the event. Thus, in a couple of weeks, those buying pallets of former Wal-mart stuff are going to end up with a lot of Christmas candy.

Some places do sell surplus by the original box full. Typically you have to take a pallet at a time and there will be a computerized list of what is on that pallet.

It is my observation a salvage/bent & dent store usually stays open about a year.

Regulations will vary from state to state, but expect to have to have a insect and rodent proof structure with at least one functional bathroom with hot water and a self-closing door. Some may require a separate wet mop utility room.

This is an old list and likely outdated:

Banana Box Sellers: (Name/Phone/FOB Points)

Silver Dollar Sales, 662-454-9279, Golden, MS*
Lavern&#8217;s Specialties, 606-787-6376, Phil, KY*
Affordable Closeouts, 866-229-1570, GA, MN, PA, OH, CA & more
Liquidation Sales Co., 937-299-5737, Dayton, OH
Liquidation Wholesalers, 205-913-0477, Pleasant Grove, AL
Southern American Marketing, 800-261-9150, Bay Minette, AL (in original boxes)
Premier International, 800-992-8261, Cleveland, OH
The Bargain Warehouse, 843-651-0179, Murrells, SC
Closeout Concepts, 800-279-8660, Wellington, FL (IN, IL & CA)
Building Five & Associates, 423-348-7520, Fall Branch, TN
RJ&#8217;s Discount Sales, 800-597-2522, IN, IL, TX & NC
(Unknown), 724-658-3058, New Castle, PA
North Shore Distributors, 216-696-6655, Cleveland, OH (Candy, Gum, Snacks)
Anything-N-Everything, 203-265-9771, Wallington, CT
Excel Unlimited, 910-799-5333, Wilmington, DE
E&J Garland, 843-761-8929, Moncks Corner, SC (Reno, NV)
Buy-Rite Liquidators, 610-926-4444, Allentown, PA
AmeriSurplus Corporation, 803-643-0606, Atkins, SC
(Unknown), 334-493-9760, Mobile, AL
(Unknown, 580-889-5400, Lawton, OK
D&D Surplus, 765-759-5411, Lafayette, IN
Bananabox Grocery Loads, 866-205-8693 (GA)

*Only ones I have personally purchased from.


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## texican

Clovis, are you looking to provision your family, or start a business? From reading Ken's experiences, I'd really question the viability of such an endeavor.

Provisioning a small horde of young un's, or a survivalist compound, in a heartbeat. Opening a store, with all the regulations.........


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## clovis

texican said:


> Clovis, are you looking to provision your family, or start a business? From reading Ken's experiences, I'd really question the viability of such an endeavor.
> 
> Provisioning a small horde of young un's, or a survivalist compound, in a heartbeat. Opening a store, with all the regulations.........


Just looking to make a few extra bucks on a very small scale.

I've enjoyed this thread and have learned a lot.


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## Pony

There's an Amish family up across the border in IA that sells liquidation-type groceries. We can get good coffee, cereals, baking goods, sundries, pet food, and toiletries there. Sometimes, things are a little past their prime, but sugar never goes bad, and there are other foodstuffs and staples that I don't mind using past code.

They've been there for at least 5 years.


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## Ken Scharabok

OK, I'll make an exception for the Amish/Mennonites. They like to support each other.

An expiration date is different than a best-if-used-by (BIUB) date. An expiration date is one in which the product cannot be retailed past. Examples are some over-the-counter medications and baby formulas. BIUB date is a guess as to when the product will start losing its maximum nutritional value. Items may be wholesome long past the BIFU date. Personally I think it is intentionally set early by manufacturers to move slow moving items off the shelf one way or another.

One thing I got with banana boxes was lots of protein/energy bars. I was the first on eBay with them and sold quite a few at near retail when shipping was considered. Then the price plummeted as more were listed. One time I was in a bent & dent store and they had a whole grocery cart full for a whopping $5.

Did the same with hearing aid batteries, retractable dog leases and pet flea collars. All are dirty cheap on eBay now.


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## ufo_chris

I thought he said 'would NOT be interested in salvage & out of date stuff" ?
Anyways, our small store in Ohio uses Albert Guarnieri (I think that is how it's spelled) but the groceries aren't exactly cheap. 
They do deliver it ,but I'm not sure what the minimum amount is. 
I know it gets cheaper if you order more cases of the same thing.
Can get you their ph. no if you cant find it.
Chris


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## clovis

ufo_chris said:


> I thought he said 'would NOT be interested in salvage & out of date stuff" ?


Chris, that is true. I'm not really interested in salvage grocery at all.

Then again, Ken is an AWESOME source of information. He owned a salvage grocery for a while. 

Even though salvage grocery isn't for me, I've learned a whole new aspect about banana boxes, and am thankful for the input!!!!

Thanks again, everyone!!!!


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## Ken Scharabok

I need to amend my statement above about retail selling of items past their best if used by date. It varies from state to state. For example, it is legal in TN. The state to state rules are why eBay won't allow an item to be listed with an past best if used by date.


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## JIL

look at azurestandard foods most is organic and come in bulk. Not far from me is a store that you can go in and buy stuff by the pound it's a neat store kind of like an old fashioned health food store but not all healthy type foods, they have their stuff in bins and you measure out what you want or buy in bulk or some they have pre measured and bagged. I buy from azure for my personal use it's good quailty and affordable. Good luck!


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## sunflower-n-ks

I don't know if this is relevant or not. There is a local food wholesaler that sells to schools, churches, food venders, etc. I have seen their web site and they have a large list of foods, fresh, frozen, caned/boxed, etc. Also a lot of food related supplies, containers, service needs, etc. A tax number is required. But that might be another avenue to look at.


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