A Quest for Quality - Byron Theodore - Grounded Podcast: Leaders in Produce, Food Service & Restaurant Supply Chain
Please welcome today’s guest, Byron Theodore, Vice President and Quality Assurance at Inspire Brands! Byron engages with Lauren Mitchell as they discuss the principles that have made him, and the entire team at Inspire Brands so successful and positioned for growth! Byron also shares insights on prioritizing supplier collaboration and the importance of quality standards. Don't miss out on the inspiring conversation!
Takeaways:
- Inspire Brands focuses on a preferred supplier list when thinking about future prospects. This allows the company to collaborate closely with suppliers for specific metrics, development, and testing. This ensures all ingredients meet regulatory standards.
- Launches can take six to nine months, but Inspire Brands will aim for quicker turnarounds to generate more excitement. For this to happen, they coordinate as a team to meet tight deadlines to align with the brand’s expectations and deliver products swiftly.
- Much of the new product development is guided by consumer trends and insights. Ideas are generated through the company, but mostly rely on data to make informed decisions. This ensures products won’t launch with no market demand.
- Byron fully believes in the principle that what gets measured, gets done - the company ensures their suppliers meet strict criteria for quality and safety. With continual measurement of performance, they are guaranteed both high-quality and safe products for their consumers.
- When creating Inspire QA, Byron prioritized scalability to accommodate for future growth. He established category managers for different food product categories, each responsible for a specific set of suppliers they regularly visit.
- Byron’s key tool is a process-oriented program centered around great partnerships with suppliers. Aligning on each step and assessing risks allow for early control establishment upstream. This approach is crucial for ensuring food safety and quality downstream.
- Inspire Brands conducts quality checks before shipping to ensure the best products reach their restaurants. They rely on their partners to act as an extension of their team, proactively holding products that don't meet specifications. If it's poor quality, it shouldn't be shipped.
Quote of the Show:
- “What gets measured, gets done.” - Byron Theodore
Links:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byrontheodore/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/InspireBrands
- Company website: https://stories.inspirebrands.com/
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Creators and Guests
Host
Lauren Mitchell
Lauren Mitchell is the Director of National Accounts and Custom Distribution at Produce Alliance, LLC. She is a dedicated fresh produce spend & spec maximizer for multi-unit national restaurant chains & groups. She gets to know your brand and infuses your expectation for quality, consistency and transparency to create more reliability in your produce category.
