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Every Piece Matters, with Kristi Kingery of Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Grounded Podcast - Episode # 002

/ 43:38/E2
Welcome to the recent 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 guest, Kristi Kingery! Kristi Kingery is the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Kristi is an ambitious leader who constantly strives to make a difference by inspiring others and developing creative solutions to complex challenges.

 
Takeaways:
  • Kristi started her food service career as a fashion designer. She graduated from college with a fashion design and marketing degree. Kristi met a great team over at ARCOP, the supply chain for Arby’s, which brought her into the organization as a buyer, which resulted in starting a great career path for her. 
  • Two things Kristi believes are the greatest improvement within the supply chain or food service industry:
    • Kristi thinks that it is a huge advancement as an industry that people know and can identify what a supply chain is. A supply chain is a connected system of organizations, information, and resources designed to source, produce and move goods from one place to another.
    • Lastly, she believes that the accessibility of data, the evolution of analytics, and the visibility that her company can get of what's inside of its supply chain has made a difference.
  • Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s supply chain is two-part when it comes to produce: fresh produce supply chain, and the frozen produce supply chain. When it comes to fresh produce, the timing window is critical. 
  • Three winning recipes for Tropical Smoothie Cafe:
    • They have franchisees who care about their company and guests. It makes it simple for Kristi’s company to get its franchise on board with different programs such as the Fresh Produce Program through Produce Alliance.
    • Tropical Smoothie has an outstanding field team. Their field team understands the importance of the Fresh Produce Program. The field team stays consistent across the system in terms of bringing great products for their guests.  
    • Tropical Smoothie’s supply chain collaborates closely with Produce Alliance. They work together weekly to figure out compliance, find out which branch is not purchasing within their supply chain, and remind them of the benefits. 
  • Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s core value is “relationships rule”. This core value applies to their relationships internally, and externally with their vendors, between franchisees, and with Tropical Smoothie’s support center. Consistently doing new and incremental things that add to that experience.
  • Tropical Smoothie Cafe manages a lot of different priorities within its supply chain like, food safety and the quality of its produce. It is their goal to reduce any risk associated with food safety and quality in order to give their guests a great and fun experience.
  • Tropical Smoothie Cafe prioritizes the people that work externally and internally within their company. They always have time for people in the workplace, fields, and franchisees. Tropical Smoothie wants to hear about what they are experiencing and to utilize their feedback on the products. 
  • Two key focuses that Tropical Smoothie Cafe prioritizes:
    • Tropical Smoothie’s commitment to its franchisees is to help drive profitability. They help with internal initiatives, reducing costs, managing waste, and increasing their profits. 
    • Lastly, Tropical Smoothie focuses on the speed of service. They want their guests to have a rememberable experience at their cafes. With 158 new cafes opening, Tropical Smoothie wants to become that beloved smoothie chain that everyone will visit.


Quote of the Show:
  • “All those experiences build to make you who you are.” Kristi Kingery


Kristi’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.
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Every Piece Matters, with Kristi Kingery of Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Grounded Podcast - Episode # 002

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