Pod Foods Expands Partnership with Central Market Stores, Brings Mochidoki to Texas
Pod Foods, offering a full-service wholesale B2B marketplace with built-in logistics, has expanded its partnership with Central Market, kicking off with the distribution of premium ice cream brand Mochidoki in nine stores across Texas, making it Mochidoki’s first brick-and-mortar grocery partner and supplementing its popularity in local NYC stores and online. The partnership reinforces Pod Foods’ mission to give emerging food brands a chance to shine on grocery shelves, while allowing retailers to avoid supply chain snafus and give customers the in-demand brands they crave.
Mochidoki first appeared on menus at notable restaurants like Nobu and Tao prior to launching their e-commerce site and two brick-and-mortar stores in Manhattan. The brand continues to generate buzz with imaginative Japanese-inspired desserts, offering both classic and unique mochi ice cream flavors such as Matcha, Purple Sweet Potato, Cake Batter and more.
It’s a perfect fit for Central Market, famous for its large-scale storefronts that focus on unique brands with high-quality ingredients over conventional packaged goods. Pod Foods will provide regional areas in Texas with immediate access to Mochidoki products through its virtual warehouse of emerging CPG brands. The company’s tech-enabled, data-driven full-service distribution solution delivers an optimized logistics network, data analytics and an intuitive recommendation engine that enables brands to increase margins and retailers to easily fill shelves in real-time to meet customer needs.
“This is what Pod Foods is all about – disrupting the status quo in the grocery world to bring together incredible, premium brands like Mochidoki and forward-thinking retail chains like Central Market to create a win-win for both sides – and for the everyday consumer, who can walk right into their favorite store and find the trendy, high-quality products they want right on the shelf,” said Larissa Russell, co-founder and CEO of Pod Foods.
The one-stop distribution service Pod Foods created has given control back to the brands, enabling them to connect with local and national retailers, while simultaneously building out a logistics plan to enable distribution. In the past, traditional distributors locked emerging brands out of top-tier retailer relationships due to order fills not reaching a minimum volume. Pod Foods solves this issue by packaging multiple brands together in each order, so brands get the exposure they deserve while retailers can maintain their usual flow of product.
“We’re excited to partner with Pod Foods and Central Market, who recognize the need for premium mochi ice cream options in grocery stores and appreciate Mochidoki’s innovation – from our flavors and ingredients, to our patent-pending packaging. As the first and only premium mochi ice cream brand, we’re proud to introduce the imaginative world of Mochidoki to Texans, who can now experience our passion for delicious, bite-sized snacking and the joy of mochi ice cream,” said Mochidoki President and CEO Claudio LoCascio.
Retailers that have expanded access to Pod Food’s infinite warehouse, receive recommendations in real-time to expand inventory and bring customers fresh brands they’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Pod Foods offers retailers an additional competitive advantage with an industry-breaking distribution model that can support an endless array of trending brands. The infinite “virtualized warehouse” model enables retailers to meet the demand of consumers by resetting and expanding their inventory down to the local store level. Retailers on the Pod Foods network are effectively immune to supply chain disruptions with the platform delivering alternative local suggestions to retail customers at a speed that traditional distributors can’t compete with.
As part of the expansion, Pod Foods will service retailers across Texas with its warehouse in Austin. The company has additional distribution centers across the country, positioned strategically to service all regions including New England, the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, the West Coast and the Southeast.