Effective food distribution is essential to the success of any CPG business, particularly when milk and dairy products are involved.
A good food distributor will make sure that your products are delivered to the best food and drink retailers across the country — whether that’s supermarkets, restaurants, or school cafeterias.
When it comes to distributing milk and dairy items in Texas, it’s even more important that your products are distributed quickly and reliably. After all, you want your CPG products to be as fresh as possible when they reach the shop shelves.
If you’re a milk and dairy CPG company based in Texas, there are loads of great local food and drink distributors who can help build your brand.
Here are 5 of the best milk distributors in Texas, as well as an overview of the CPG market in The Lone Star State…
Migration and milk distribution in Texas
When it comes to deciding where to distribute your milk and dairy products in Texas, it’s important to understand which areas have the highest populations — and therefore more potential customers for your brand!
In Texas, the cities with the highest populations - as of 2021 - include:
- Houston (2,288,250 people)
- San Antonio (1,451,853 people)
- Dallas (1,451,853 people)
- Austin (964,177 people)
- Fort Worth (935,508 people)
These cities are highly populated, meaning there are lots of great opportunities to reach new consumers with your milk and dairy products.
In fact, Houston is the 4th largest city in the whole of the US. So you’ll never be short of potential customers for your brand in Texas!
But did you know that there are other areas of Texas which are growing quickly in population density?
Throughout the last decade, there’s been a trend in migration across The Lone Star State.
This has never been more apparent than over the last two years, where the COVID-19 pandemic drove people to reconsider their homes and, for many, move to a new area entirely.
Fulshear, a city in Fort Bend County, has seen huge migration over the last ten years. In fact, its population has exploded by more than 1,386.4%!
One of the main reasons for this was the installation of Cross Creek Ranch, a popular residential community that was established back in 2008.
Affordable housing and large amounts of available land were a massive draw for families. In 2022, 90% of people living in Fulshear own their own home — so it’s not hard to see why this area of Texas continues to explode in popularity.
Similarly, the suburb of Iowa Colony saw a population growth of 596.9% between 2010 and 2020.
Again, this is mainly because of suburban development in this region of Texas. An expansion of communities offering affordable housing has encouraged people to migrate to this area over the last decade.
But why does this matter?
Well, as the areas that people live in change, so do food distribution patterns.
Areas that once had fairly low population levels are now full to the brim with grocery stores — and potential consumers! So it’s really important that your product is available to purchase in these areas.
So, if you’re a Texas CPG company, it’s never been more important to work with a distributor that understands your needs and knows where your potential consumers are based.
Here are 4 of the top milk and dairy distributors in Texas…
4 top milk and dairy distributors in Texas
Buffalo Market
That’s us - Hello!
At Buffalo Market, we love working with CPG companies across Texas.
We specialize in food and beverage brands that are good for the earth and good for consumers, and we particularly love distributing organic, plant-based and eco-conscious foods!
If that’s you, we can help to distribute your milk and dairy products to the best mainstream and upstart retailers in your local area — and further afield.
And, if you have other CPG products to distribute, we can help with those too! We deliver premium frozen, refrigerated, and dry products to major retailers across the country up to 7 days a week.
Ultimately, we’ll work hard to get the job done, and will make sure that your products end up in the best possible retailers.
We are adding new brands to our truck every day, so request a distribution evaluation to find out how we can help your brand.
Food distribution regions: Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
Southwest Traders
Southwest Traders are a family-owned food distribution company.
They specialize in transporting frozen desserts, juices and smoothies to a range of retailers — so can definitely help with your milk and dairy product distribution needs!
In particular, they distribute to a range of quick serve restaurants, yogurt shops, ice cream shops, coffee shops, smoothie bars, schools, boba tea shops — so they have a great network of retailers who need milk and dairy products every single day!
Sysco
Sysco specializes in distributing food and non-food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, and lodging establishments around the world.
Their customers are based in 90 different countries around the world — so they have a great international network.
They can help with distribution of a wide range of CPG products. These include meat and poultry, seafood, dairy, and bakery products.
So, they can definitely help with distributing your milk and dairy products to the best retailers for your business.
Food distribution regions: All over the world!
Vistar
Vistar is the only national food distributor for the vending and micro market industries.
This means they can distribute your CPG products to retailers in the following industries, among others:
- Vending machines. If your company produces CPG products that would fit right in inside a vending machine, Vistar can help you get them there.
- Theater and concessions. Whether it’s savory snacks, popcorn, candy, frozen foods, or non-food items like cups and tubs, Vistar can help your product reach the best theatre and concessions retailers.
- Hospitality. Vistar are able to deliver your CPG products to hotels and other hospitality venues. So, whether you’ve got ice cream, pastries, teas or juices that need distributing to retailers, Vistar can help you achieve this.
- Travel. Retailers in the travel industry need CPG products that offer convenience. If this is something your company offers, Vistar can help you get your products into the hands of travellers!
Food distribution regions: All over the country. Vistar have 20 distribution centers across the US.
How we want to shift food distribution in Texas
Here at Buffalo Market, we want to make a shift to the food distribution industry in Texas.
We’re changing the game for mission-driven brands who want their milk and dairy products to reach the best retailers across the Lone Star State — and further afield!
So, how are we doing that?
Well, we operate differently. Our model moves away from the traditional centralized model of food distribution, where retailers have to ship their products to each retailer’s distribution center.
In this model, once the products have reached a central warehouse, the retailer takes all responsibility for transporting products into their stores.
This is generally thought of as a cost-effective distribution method — but it does have its drawbacks.
And that’s why we want to do things differently!
Here at Buffalo Market, we operate a direct store delivery model. This means that we can collect products from your CPG company, and transport them directly to retailers across the country.
Ultimately, this results in cutting out a section of the supply chain.
That means your products get to your customers lots faster than they would if they had to go to a centralized warehouse first — so they’ll be much fresher on the shop shelves!
Here are just a few other benefits of our direct store delivery model:
It saves time
Direct store delivery means that products can be delivered to retailers whenever the demand is there.
So, if a store sells out of your product and wants to quickly replenish their stock, this model cuts out an extra step in the process and therefore saves tons of time.
And that can only be a good thing when it comes to building great working relationships with retailers!
It cuts down on food miles
Food miles are becoming increasingly important to eco-conscious consumers.
If you have to send your products to a centralized warehouse before they even start to make their journey to food retailers, your products will be racking up lots of unnecessary food miles.
On the other hand, if your products are transported directly from your CPG company to your chosen retailers, you’ll be seriously cutting down on this mileage.
And don’t forget, you might even be based in the same area as some of the best food retailers. Why send your products on an unnecessary journey to a warehouse when they could simply be dropped to a grocery store around the corner from your factory?
Your products are handled carefully
Products can easily be damaged in transit — and long, unnecessary journeys to a warehouse maximize the chance of this happening.
This is particularly likely when transporting fragile items like milk and dairy products.
Using a trusted distributor, who will transport your food products with care, is a great way to make sure your milk and dairy produce reaches retailers in the best possible condition.
You have more control
Our direct store delivery model gives you much more control over your milk and dairy products.
Rather than loading them onto a truck and hoping they reach the warehouse, and then the retailers, on time and in a good condition, working with a good distributor gives you more control over the whole process.
Ultimately, you’ll know where your products are, and when — giving you much more peace of mind in the long run.
It’s easier for retailers
Normally, retailers are left with the responsibility of unloading stock, as well as keeping track of inventory, forecasting and ordering.
Food distributors can help to remove some of this workload from the grocery stores themselves. This leaves the retailers feeling happy, and will help your CPG brand to develop great long-term relationships with them.
We can help your CPG company distribute milk products across Texas
At Buffalo Market, we’re committed to helping you distribute your milk and dairy products to the best food and drink retailers across Texas.
We deliver premium products to major retailers across the country up to 7 days a week — and we’re adding new brands to our trucks every single day!
If you’re looking to work with a food distribution company who specialize in foods that are good for consumers, and good for the Earth, then look no further! We can help.
Request a distribution evaluation today to find out how we can support your CPG brand to distribute milk and dairy products across Texas.
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