Grounded

menu close

Asking the Right Questions, with Josh Hoyt of Salata - Grounded Podcast - Episode # 001

/ 59:34/E1
Welcome to the first episode of Grounded! Join us as we hear from top-tier producers in the food service industry to hear their perspectives from all links throughout the supply chain. Each guest will discuss their brand development, company culture, global supply chain strategy, culinary innovation, and leadership. Please welcome our first guest, Josh Hoyt! 

Josh Hoyt is the Director of Procurement at Salata Salad Kitchen. Hoyt manages the supply chain for Salata's 93 restaurants across five states, which includes contracts for all food, non-food catering supplies, and produce, as well as managing the distribution of all major categories that support the restaurants.


Takeaways:
  • For supply categories that have large purchase volumes, it’s beneficial to partner with a national company to leverage your volume into lower prices. 
  • Consistency is key. Knowing that a vendor partner can hit delivery windows is important.
  • Consultative selling is important. Show you know the operation and understand what the customer offers and is trying to accomplish. Good vendors do business reviews covering wins, losses, and performance. They bring up trends and new ideas to their customers. 
  • Knowing your operation from the inside is important. When you come into a new role or company go through the same training every employee goes through. Understand what the role is doing and how that translates down to the actual customer Look at what each function does as well as the products that they're using to do that role. 
  • Relationships are critical in this industry. Go to shows and events. Meet people. Shake hands, ask questions, and learn about people’s businesses. Sharing knowledge and passing it on is important in our industry. 
  • There are two schools of thought regarding purchasing. Play market, don't contract. You may win some, you may lose some. The second thought is to contract. You may pay a little more in the long run, but you know you’re going to have the product because it's contracted and you'll have a consistent price.
  • Reviewing reports daily is important so you can be both proactive and reactive to supply chain challenges. Josh sets aside time every morning to review and respond to reporting. 
  • There are three key principles that Josh uses to drive his decision-making and procurement. One is finding a quality product. The second is availability and the third is price.
    • Quality is first and foremost. Salata is a quality brand, putting out a quality product, and that’s why we’ve seen growth. 
    • Second, having a great product with zero availability does you no good. When sourcing for a new product, it needs to be available and easy to get in the distribution chain.
    • Price is further down the line. If we can improve quality and maintain the current price that's a win and worth considering.


Quote of the Show:
  • “Knowing your operation from the inside is important. Understand what each function does as well as the products that they're using to do that role.” - Josh Hoyt


Josh’s Links:


Ways to Tune In:

Grounded is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

Creators and Guests

Lauren Mitchell
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.
X LinkedIn Instagram Website Link
Asking the Right Questions, with Josh Hoyt of Salata - Grounded Podcast - Episode # 001

headphones Listen Anywhere

More Options »
Broadcast by