The frequency of family meals prepared at home was on a steady decline until emergence of the COVID- 19 pandemic, then preparing and sharing meals at home came back to being the norm and consumers started shopping differently . For example, over two-thirds of millennials and members of Gen Z have purchased or used new brands since the start of the pandemic, many of those making their first-ever purchase in at least one category. These shifts in customer habits has many brand owners trying to identify what “new” value means to customers as well as ways to expand their brands availability. The Military Resale System, albeit cumbersome, is a viable option for expansion and a Military Food Broker is where these brands should start.
There are several Military Resale Organizations within the Military Resale System. The biggest are Commissaries and Exchanges. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), headquartered at Fort Lee Virginia, operates a worldwide chain of commissaries (grocery stores). Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5–percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. Shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices. These savings are an important Benefit, or non-pay element, of military compensation. An Exchange is a department store on military bases. It provides a full range of quality merchandise and services at uniformly low prices to the military community regardless of where they are stationed throughout the world.
If you have commodity foods, brand-name foods or non-food grocery stores items and want to sell them to the government at a Commissary or Exchange enlisting the help of a Military Food Broker is the best first step. Military Food Brokers differ in size and approach; however, all work to grow a brands sales. Military Food Brokers act as the front line of defense to represent and market products to the Commissary and Exchange. In particular, selling to the Commissary can be difficult without the help of a Military Food Broker due to the complexity of accounting systems and distribution of goods for the Commissary System.
Alder Foods is a leader in the Military Food Broker space with over 50 years of experience servicing the military class of trade. We proudly offer sales, marketing and distribution services on behalf of our supplier partners and take ownership of every brand we represent. Alder makes it simple to reach U.S. Military Customers worldwide though unparalleled channel expertise that is solely focused on U.S. Military. Alder delivers end to end services to grow brands in military channels, driven by our proven buy-sell service model.
Brand owners have enough on their plates these days. Choosing the right Military Food Broker, such as Alder Foods, can allow them to focus on brand expansion and sales growth within the military channel without the headache by making the logistics simple.
