Recently Springfield Business Journal named Banta Foods as one of the twelve fastest growing companies in the southwest Missouri area.  Once again honored by the SBJ 'Dynamic Dozen', as having record growth over the previous three years.

To see the full Springfield Business Journal Article click here.

 To see the SBJ “Dynamic Dozen” list click here.

 To see the SBJ “Dynamic Dozen”  Banta Foods profile click here.

FALLS CHURCH, VA — On July 25, 2005, the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) recognized 28 winning entries in the IFDA Value-Ad Marketing Competition during an afternoon session at the IFDA Sales & Marketing Conference in Pasadena, CA. During a dinner event that evening, the Best of Show winners from each of the competition’s three divisions were announced and representatives from these companies provided presentations on these top award-winning marketing campaigns. The competition includes distributor, buying group, and manufacturer divisions.

Complete details on the winners are available in the 2005 Value-Ad Winners Showcase. The report includes photos, campaign summaries, and judge commentary for all the winning entries.

The Best of Show winners include “The Affordable Alternative,” a video from Banta Foods, Inc. that is the centerpiece of the company’s new corporate identity program; Restaurant’s Pride “Beat This” Promotional Poster, one of a series of posters generated by F.A.B., Inc. in support of the buying group’s Restaurant’s Pride product line; and the “K-12 Head of the Class Program,” a marketing program from Kellogg’s Food Away-From-Home that assists school operators in menu planning, provides nutritional information, and more. Presentations on these respective campaigns were made by Charles Banta, president and CEO of Banta Foods, Abby Switzer, marketing manager of F.A.B., Inc., and Tyronna Johnson, customer marketing manager of Kellogg’s Food Away-From-Home.

Categories in the competition range from media advertising and food shows to general marketing programs and internal sales initiative programs. Of the 28 awards presented, 18 were Diamond Awards for 1st Place winners and 14 Merit Awards for other notable entries. Judges included Robert Lerch, president of Bob Lerch Associates, LLC and a former head of firm in the foodservice distribution industry; Dr. John Stanton and Dr. Richard George, both professors of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University; Caroline Perkins, principal of The Foodservice Content Company, and Monica Bussolati, creative director of Bussolati Associates, Inc.

“The IFDA Value-Ad competition identifies and showcases exceptional creative efforts at foodservice companies in their marketing and communications programs,” said Mark S. Allen, president and CEO of IFDA. “These winning programs address a variety of issues, from helping operators succeed in their market to building sales, relationships, and brands across the foodservice channel.”

Other winning companies include Appert’s Foodservice, Ben E. Keith Foods, Clark National, Inc., Countrywide Australasia Limited, Golbon, HFM/Morrad FoodService, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, Martin Brothers Distributing Co., Inc., McCormick Food Service, Performance Food Group, and Progressive Group Alliance.

For the second year, Banta Foods, Inc., was named to the ID Magazine annual Top 50 Broadline Distributors. In addition to being named the 35th in sales dollars, Banta Foods closed the year with over $100 million in sales.

To view IDFA Top 50 list click here.

Winners of the IFDA Value-Ad Marketing Competition were announced on November 17th, 2003 and Banta Foods Inc. has received the Diamond Award for best website.  This award is based on website appearance, user-friendliness and effectiveness.  Below is an excerpt of the comments maded by one of the judges in this competition, John Stanton, who is Professor of Food Marketing at St. Joseph's University:

"Web pages should be judged on how easy it is for users to navigate and how much information is available.  Banta did a great job of both.  Their web site was easy to use and provided all the information in a usable format that any user could want.  However, the judges urge you to get on the site and take a look."

For the full article, click here (page 14 - Distributor Category 7)

May 15, 2003

SPS Partner of the Year   
Banta Foods, Springfield, Missouri  

I looked up the word "partner" in the dictionary and the first definition was "one that shares".  Well that is sure appropriate in this case because we have shared a lot with this customer and they have shared a lot with us.  This customer is always one of the early adopters for our new solutions and has always been very proactive in providing us with suggestions and new ideas.  They exemplify the word partner because they are always willing to share their ideas and experiences and they have a long history of working with us to make our applications even better. We have this type of relationship with most of the people in this room and we are very proud of that. We think that it's this type of win/win relationship that has enabled SPS to be the leading provider of sales & marketing software in the foodservice industry for almost 15 years. This year we are very happy to announce our Development Partner of the Year is Banta Foods of Springfield, Missouri.

Banta Foods was awarded the prestigious "Development Partner of the Year" award at the 2003 Sales Partner Systems (SPS) User Conference in Daytona Beach, FL.  SPS is the leading provider of sales & marketing software solutions for the foodservice industry. The theme for this years conference was "Bringing Together Great Technology and Marketing Solutions". This award is presented each year to recognize the company that has proven to be a leader in their markets through the effective use of technology and that has shown a true partnership with SPS by providing innovative ideas and a willingness to implement new solutions for their business. "Banta Foods is certainly a leader in their market and they continue to implement technology solutions that will benefit their customers and their employees. Their innovative approach to profitable growth through investing in technology makes them truly deserving of this award" said Ken Yontz, Executive Vice President for SPS.

"When companies develop a relationship like Banta Foods and SPS it is truly a winning combination". 

Congratulations and thanks again.
Ken Yontz

In an effort to become the lowest cost distributor Banta Foods, Inc., has implemented a very sophisticated Activity Based Costing software package. This package allows Banta to have up to date financial results and allows them to change service to reduce cost for their customers.

To read more about this package and the "Innovator of the Year Award" Click Here.

March 1, 2003

Missouri’s Largest independently owned Broadline Foodservice distributor
Releases new website functionality

Banta Foods, Inc., Springfield MO, a $100 Million dollar broadline distributor, debuted their new Website March 1, 2003. The site offers added functionality for Banta’s customers. The site has undergone a complete redesign and increased information available to customers. The redesign was handled by Absolutionz (Springfield, MO) and the order entry software provider is Sales Partner Systems (Ormond Beach, FL).

 This UniPro member has achieved rapid growth over the past two years and has added additional warehouse space to accommodate the growth. Chuck Banta, President of Banta Foods, noted, “We have seen our organization grow by over 25% each of the last two years. In addition to the exciting growth we just received a Vendor of the Year Award from one of our largest customers, which tells me that our team is focused on taking care of our customers even while we significantly grow the business.”

 The family-owned independent is now the largest independent in Missouri, so it is positioned well to fill the void created by consolidations in the industry. “We have a clear vision of who we are and what we have to offer restaurateurs in our geographic region. We can react quicker and provide more service than the corporate distributors” stated Banta.

 Rick Sweet, Vice President of Banta Foods, Inc., stated “We have chosen to enhance our information infrastructure and increase the services we provide our customers, by adding significant functionality to our website that will give our customers more information than others offer.”

 Banta Foods has enhanced its' online offerings to include: online order entry, online reporting, online order tracking, sales representative locator, recipe library, online tour of the warehouse and sales center, online supplies and equipment catalogs that offer over 15,000 items, market trends and many additional customer resources. “This is just one of the many ways we are continuing to DELIVER MORE TO THE TABLE” stated Sweet.

Three of the five industry awards that will be presented at ID Update 2003—Leadership Summit: Maximizing What’s Next, to be held June 2-3 at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Chicago— have been announced. The awards are:

• Innovator of the Year - Banta Foods, Inc., Springfield, MO,
Charles T. Banta, Jr., President

• Hall of Fame - Bill Mouskondis, President and CEO,
Nicholas & Co., Salt Lake City

• Trailblazer - Pat and John Tracy, President and CEO,
respectively, Dot Foods, Inc., Mount Sterling, IL

The winner of the Great Distributor Organization (GDO) is still to be announced while the name of the ID DSR of the Year won’t be revealed until the evening of the industry awards banquet Monday, June 2.

For the Full Article Click Here.. (Page 2 Industry awards)

ID Magazine Announced the Top 50 Distributors today as well as the top five in sales percentage increase. Banta Foods, Inc., has moved up the Top 50 list from number 48 last year to 36 this year.

The Top 5 distributors by growth percentage were announced as follows:

Growth    Top 50
Ranking   Ranking
# 1            #12       Metropolitan Provisions, City of Industry, CA, 31.3%
                                  UniPro Foodservice Member

# 2            #36       Banta Foods, Inc., Springfield, MO, 26.3%
                                   UniPro Foodservice Member

# 3             #3       Performance Food Group,  25.1%

# 4             #4      Gordon Food Service, 20%

# 5            #33      Zanios Foods, Inc., Albuquerque, NM, 19.4%
                                 UniPro Foodservice Member

Banta Foods, Inc., has moved up in the percentage of growth ranking from 5th place last year to 2nd place this year.

When Chuck Banta, Jr., President, was asked about the significant improvement Banta Foods, Inc. has made in the industry rankings this year, he stated, “We have assembled an incredible team of employees at Banta Foods, Inc. who are focused on Delivering More to the Table  for our valued customers. Both of these ranking improvements are a testimony of our customer’s support.”

To view the complete article Click Here..  (Page 4 Industry at a glance)

Click Here to see the complete top 50 listing.

February 6th, 2003
Orlando - FL

Panera Bread Awards Banta Foods, Inc. Vendor of the Year Award

Today, Banta Foods, Inc., announced that it received the Vendor of the Year Award for 2002 from Panera Bread Inc.

 Panera Bread held their annual Family Reunion and Vendor Show in Orlando during February 2003. During the show, Panera Bread presented annual awards to it's vendor community, as well as its bakery-cafes, and franchise partners.

 Panera Bread chose Banta Foods, Inc., from a community of over 400 vendors. During the Thursday night, vendor appreciation reception, Bill Moreton, Executive Vice President Chief Finance and Administration Officer presented the award to Chuck Banta, President of Banta Foods, Inc. During the presentation it was noted that Banta Foods not only met the expectations established for vendors, but well exceeded those expectations.

 Chuck Banta, President of Banta Foods, Inc., stated “I am incredibly honored to receive this award from such a distinguished organization; we value our partnership with Panera Bread and look forward to a long mutually beneficial partnership. Our team is dedicated to quality service and customer satisfaction and this award confirms that dedication.”

2002 Member Awards – Marketing (February 21, 2003)

The 2003 Sales & Marketing Conference was the platform to recognize and award those UniPro members who have exhibited outstanding support and utilization of UniPro’s marketing programs and services. The Sales & Marketing Conference was held in St. Augustine, Florida. In addition to guest speakers and member panel discussions, the coveted “Member Marketing Awards” were presented.

On the final evening of the conference, an Awards Banquet was held to announce the 2002 award winners. These awards were presented to UniPro members as the reward for a year-long competition between members. The “Member Marketing Awards” measure participation as a percent of programs available. Members achieving this honor have exhibited outstanding participation and support of the UniPro Marketing Programs and Services.

The culmination of the Awards Banquet was the presentation of the Member Marketing Awards. This award honors the #1 achiever as a percent of participation in UniPro marketing programs versus the total number of applicable marketing programs. Four award categories, based on total sales volume ranges, are recognized.

The winners of the 2002 Member Marketing Awards were:
$0 - 25.0M:    Andrews Foodservice
$25.1 - 50.0M:   EG Forrest
$50.1 - 100.0M:    Banta Foods Inc.
$100.1M +:   Cash-Wa Distributing

October 24, 2002

Applebee's International, Inc., Overland Park, KS has reduced product cost by 1%, at the same time it has doubled its category management staff, thanks to Efficient Foodservice Response (EFR) strategies adopted in the last 2 1/2 years, says David Parsley, Senior Vice President, Purchasing and Distribution.

Applebee's identified four primary initiatives: strategic distribution, strategic sourcing, contract management and compliance; and spec alignment.

Strategic distribution, through a good distributor network, is the foundation to all the rest, Parsley said.

During the last 2 1/2 years, Applebee's has pared this network from 11 distributors with 31 distribution centers to nine operating companies with 26 centers. They include national, regional and local distributors. Among them are U.S. Foodservice, Sysco's Sygma systems, FSA, Maines Paper and foodservice, Banta Foods, Inc., Reinhart Foodservice and Lincoln Poultry.

July 29, 2002

Some businesses make a sudden impact on communities. Others, like Banta Foods, Inc., have helped strengthen the local economy by maintaining a steady growth pattern over a long period.

This fourth-generation, family-owned company, was founded in 1895 by W.H. Jezzard. As different members of the family took over the business, the company's name changed from Stewart Produce Co. to Jezzard Fruit Co. to Jezzard-Banta Fruit Co. and then Banta Fruit Co. In the early 1980's, the name was changed to Banta Foods, Inc. to reflect the company's mission of providing a wide range of items to businesses in the rapidly expanding foodservice industry.

President Chuck Banta currently oversees 175 employees and a 14,000-plus-item foodservice business that serves customers in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Illinois. In fiscal year 2002, the company posted revenues in excess of $77 million, and expects this fiscal year to near $100 million, according to Banta.

Banta Foods provides the foodservice supplies used at several area restaurant chains, and Banta attributes some of the company's growth to the expansion of these chains.

"We've been growing right along with many of our multi-unit accounts," he said.

Last year, Banta began leasing a new 30,000-square foot warehouse, which has 5,000 square feet of office space, in north-central Springfield.

The company has continued to expand this year by purchasing 13 acres just north of Banta Foods headquarters at 1620 N. Packer Road. The additional land will provide the necessary space to expand facilities in the future.

Recently, the company began using a new software program called Acorn, which does activity-base costing. Banta said the program will help the company grow in future years by providing valuable information about what products and product lines generate the most business.

Banta Foods also supports the local community by contributing to charitable organizations, including the local chapter of the American Heart Association and the United Way.

March 2002

Banta Foods, Inc., was named to the ID Magazine annual Top 50 Broadline Distributors. In addition to being named the 48th in sales dollars, Banta Foods was named the 5th largest in sales increase percent. This was Banta Foods first appearance in the Top 50. Chuck Banta attributes the appearance in the Top 50 to hard work and good employees as well as new customers.
Banta closed the year with $76 million in sales.

May 12, 2002

SPS Partner of the Year   
Banta Foods, Springfield, Missouri  

I looked up the word "partner" in the dictionary and the first definition was "one that shares".  Well that is sure appropriate in this case because we have shared a lot with this customer and they have shared a lot with us.  This customer is always one of the early adopters for our new solutions and has always been very proactive in providing us with suggestions and new ideas.  They exemplify the word partner because they are always willing to share their ideas and experiences and they have a long history of working with us to make our applications even better. We have this type of relationship with most of the people in this room and we are very proud of that. We think that it's this type of win/win relationship that has enabled SPS to be the leading provider of sales & marketing software in the foodservice industry for almost 15 years. This year we are very happy to announce our Partner of the Year is Banta Foods of Springfield, Missouri.

Banta Foods was awarded the prestigious "Partner of the Year" award at the 2002 Sales Partner Systems (SPS) User Conference in Daytona Beach, FL.  SPS is the leading provider of sales & marketing software solutions for the foodservice industry. The theme for this years conference was "Solutions for Profitable Growth". This award is presented each year to recognize the company that has proven to be a leader in their markets through the effective use of technology and that has shown a true partnership with SPS by providing innovative ideas and a willingness to implement new solutions for their business. "Banta Foods is certainly a leader in their market and they continue to implement technology solutions that will benefit their customers and their employees. Their innovative approach to profitable growth through investing in technology makes them truly deserving of this award" said Ken Yontz, Executive Vice President for SPS.

"When companies develop a relationship like Banta Foods and SPS it is truly a winning combination". 

Congratulations and thanks again.
Ken Yontz

January 2005

Banta Foods has long been a family oriented business. Several of our employees have been with us for many years. We would like to take this opportunity to recognize these individuals who will have been with the company for ten years or more as of December 31, 2005.  Together, these 34 employees represent 695 years of service with Banta Foods.