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If you want to enhance your stores' competitive position by adding manufactured fresh-chilled prepared food items, you may have your work cut out for you.
To truly stand out from the crowd, you need to find suppliers who can produce signature ready-to-heat, ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook items for you.
Dr. Marcia Schurer, president, Culinary Connections, a Boulder, Colo., consulting firm, says you have several options. You may be able to source the product completely prepared, value-added or as components requiring additional store-level preparation.
"All else being equal, the closer the supplier is, the better," Schurer says. "You can get product into stores in the shortest period of time, so it is at its freshest. Local suppliers are also more likely to understand your market trading area better."
But there can be difficulty in finding adequate...