CFP manufactures approximately 400,000 pounds of product daily. The company says regular contact and communication with suppliers is one of the ways it stays ahead of industry trends.

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Customizing ingredients for some of the country’s leading food manufacturers and foodservice chains is no easy feat – it involves in-depth understanding of different customer requirements. Fortunately, this is something that Custom Food Products (CFP) LLC specializes in. For 35 years, the Carson, Calif.-based firm has been manufacturing custom meat and poultry products for industrial and foodservice markets, as well as the retail sector. The company maintains facilities in California and Kentucky to ensure on-time product delivery.

Developing long-term relationships is one of Custom Food’s keys to success. In fact, the company has maintained a strong relationship with Arby’s Group since its inception. Its other clients include Subway, Nestle USA and ConAgra Foods. “We understand our customers’ needs and we try not to compete on price, but on knowing what drives value to their business,” President Jon Hickerson says.

He adds that its sales force is experienced both in operations and sales, which allows them to better understand its clients’ products. “Recently, we did a customer visit at a facility that specializes in high-speed assembly of meals,” he says. “They were taking one of our products and size-reducing it at their plant. We were able to spend about four hours with them, talking about the latest best practices in sanitation, maintenance and set up for their dicing operation. We helped them increase their yield by 6 percent.”  

Aside from being sensitive to its clients’ needs, Hickerson says CFP understands its market. “We have a purchasing group that understands the protein supply chain domestically and internationally,” he explains.

Ensuring Food Safety
CFP produces approximately 400,000 pounds of products daily. “First, customers have a concept and they ask us to develop a product based on that concept,” Hickerson notes. “Second, they come to us with a product and say, ‘We like this. Can you make it?’ Then, we figure out how to get it done.”
On the manufacturing side, all meats coming into the facility must meet quality specifications.

“Products are manufactured under a rigorous HACCP [hazard analysis and critical control point] program depending on a product – some are sold raw or cooked, it goes through final inspection and we make sure they meet all quality attributes before we release them for shipment,” Hickerson explains.

Vice President of Quality Assurance and Food Safety Jeanne Raede oversees food safety at Custom Food’s two facilities. “All plants have very rigorous food safety programs and are equipped with internal micro labs,” Hickerson states. “We also perform rigorous environmental testing – we do approximately 400 swabs each week at both facilities to check contact surfaces and equipment for any pathogens. Supplier prerequisite programs require all incoming meat items to be accompanied by a certificate of analysis to ensure it meets our quality standards.”

CFP watches trends in the domestic and national markets. Person-to-person contact is a must, according to Vice President of Purchasing Jeff Golangco. “We regularly meet with suppliers face-to-face and talk to them on the phone,” he states. “We also have services we subscribe to that are available as published information or on the Internet. However, those are secondary. The primary source of information comes from [maintaining a] regular communication with suppliers.”

The company also visits its suppliers’ plants at least once a year. “We pride ourselves on constantly traveling to our suppliers whether it’s domestic or international,” Golangco says. “We maintain a healthy network by connecting with our suppliers and everyone in between – customers and distributors – so we can be afforded with feedback that helps CFP implement best practices.”

Meeting Challenges
One constant in the industry today is price volatility, Golangco observes. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of volatility in the last 12 months, which is driven by a number of factors – one of which is the lack of consistent demand from consumers,” he says. “This inconsistency drives procurement decisions that impact the market. For example, procurement managers who, in the past, would purchase raw materials consistently are instead making less frequent, but larger purchases.”