Why should someone choose Pepper?

The other day, a sales rep in a competitive deal asked me, “If you had to sum up the 8-10 reasons that a prospect should go with Pepper… what would they be?”

It sounds like a simple question—but I found myself coming back to the question weeks later. While we like to proudly remind our customers and prospects that Pepper is the world’s #1 go-to-market platform for independent distributors, it’s fun to dig into the why behind what makes Pepper great.

What Benefits Does Pepper Deliver for Distributors?

Let’s start with what we know: 

Across 200+ Pepper powered platforms, our distributor clients are enjoying, on average:

• 23% basket size increase
• 10+ hours saved weekly per sales rep that can be repurposed for consultative selling
• 2 day reduction in DSO
• An unmatched ROI by unlocking new ad-based revenue streams

But how we deliver those results for our distributing and manufacturing partners is almost as interesting as what we deliver. Read along for a deep dive into what makes Pepper great, and why more distributors choose Pepper as their go-to-market platform than anyone else.

People

“When we chose Pepper, there was another company that we were looking at, as well. Ultimately, we felt that the people of Pepper are really what sets them apart. The people as well as the Pepper culture. The Pepper culture and the Pepper people really fit well into Flanagan's vision and mission. We really enjoy working with the people, and so far it's been great.”

–Jackie Oakes, Director of Marketing at Flanagan Foodservice

While we realize that the product and metrics are critical, you are ultimately choosing a partner to transform and accelerate your business. That’s why our strongest aspect is our people.

We’ve built a team containing both distribution experts that deeply understand your business, as well as the eCommerce gurus from Uber, Amazon, and Google that know how to make apps that people love to use. The Pepper Team is partnered with you not just at project kickoff, but for the entire lifecycle of the partnership, with a dedicated account team that helps with implementation, marketing, training and ongoing support. 

As for our product, we’ve gone beyond eCommerce to create an entire go-to-market platform that adds to nearly every aspect of your business. Here’s a few ways we’ve been able to cement ourselves as leaders for independent distributors:

Mobile First, Not Just Mobile Friendly 

“I have customers that buy from me, Sysco, and Gordon. These customers are buying more from me because they like our app better.” –- Mike B, Sales Rep at Food Supply

“I could give my nine-year-old the phone and ask them to order a case of iceberg lettuce. It’s really that simple,” – Alexis Voss, Loffredo Fresh Foods

Our team of design specialists have crafted a true mobile application that operators love to use. And with over 80% of orders come in from a mobile device, it’s critical that the mobile experience isn’t just sufficient for placing orders, but delights users and gets them to explore your item catalog and buy more. Here are a few ways that our mobile experience goes above and beyond for our customers:

• 70% of orders completed in under 5 mins: Our intuitive user interface and easy mobile experience (built by the same team that designed Uber Eats™) makes it simple and easy for operators to place orders
• Instant app-notifications for sales and promotions give marketing and revenue teams levers to increase purchases for key items. In fact, some customers get 3x sales using instant notifications for promotions
• Live ETA notifications for deliveries allow users to track where their items are right in their app 
• Real time chat between customers and their sales rep leaves everyone connected and allows DSRs reach out with offers or ‘heads up’ on inventory

Sales Reps Love Our Sales Engagement Tool, DSR Connect 

"Our reps have been really enjoying the prospect finder, especially our new ones. We just hired a couple the last three or four weeks and they've been using the prospect finder like crazy and they're really enjoying it."

-Sarah Bippen, Business Systems Analyst at Kuna Foodservice

With tools to help them penetrate current accounts and easily grow new business, DSR Connect helps reps make money. 

It’s not just an easier order taking tool. Price editing and cost management tools to keep profits consistent–like our price distribution and editing feature suite that allows DSRs to see what prices recent items have been going for and dial in the right pricing to win prospects and maintain business:

Map-based Prospect Finder & AI Generated Order Guides (powered by Yelp™) helps reps enter new accounts and upsell existing ones, and Casey, the AI Copilot generates insights and answers any question reps might have—saving hours of data analysis a week looking for accounts that should be visited.

Finally, we know that it’s all about giving reps the best opportunities to win business, so our AI-based alerts create a ‘daily task list’ for the rep by identifying purchase patterns that may lead to actionable outcomes for the buyer. Key alerts include:

• “Lost customers” that seem likely to churn
• “Lost items” that a customer used to love but have stopped ordering
• “Overdue payments”, or customers whose invoice date has passed

SALT: The Largest Product Content Library for Foodservice  

“It is amazing to pop into the app and see so many item pictures and detailed in app specs, even on items that we have yet to do the maintenance on internally. The time and money savings on this feature is huge for us. Our presence is elevated once again courtesy of Pepper.”

- Jennifer Everett, VP Food Supply

We’re proud of how we’ve assembled the world’s largest product content library by working directly with manufacturers themselves. Pepper’s Smart Attribute Library Taxonomy (SALT)  features:

• An easy for distributors to enrich product content, leading to a best-in-class shopping experience 
• GS1 compliant data available
• 90% coverage of items sold in the L90D 
• Improved GTIN acquisition 
• Enhanced eCommerce experience with images and nutritional coverage 
• Ongoing supplier outreach
• Ethically gathered data from verified sources

The Pepper Ads Network

“There are countless sales/data/digital platforms currently, but Pepper is foodservice and (they) are growing their footprint by leaps and bounds.

We’ve seen a consistent uptick in stocking positions and slots and post-campaign, a 40% increase in weekly orders. Pepper is the ‘X-Factor’ for us in the independent distribution space.” 

–Quan Ngo, Division Vice President, Aspire Bakeries

Manufacturers depend on Pepper’s digital advertising network to broaden their audience and expand case growth through sponsored ad campaigns running within the Pepper app. By getting deeper exposure to products where the operator is already shopping, manufacturers gain buyers and promote stickiness to their brand.

Pepper Ads unlocks a new revenue stream and can minimize shrink for distributors. We’ve partnered with over 40 suppliers to ensure manufacturer items get stocked in national campaigns, and distributors can generate additional revenue by selling ad space to manufactures you already work with. Some Pepper customers even make more money on ads than they spend monthly on Pepper! 

{Ads Pictures?}

With ads, everyone wins:

• Distributors sell more and open up a new revenue stream with advertised products seeing up to a 20% growth in case value and every operator being worth $10-$20 per month in ad revenue
• Manufacturers get more eyes on products and see a natural lift in item sales, experiencing a 6-8x return on ad spend (ROAS) for each campaign

Drive Up Drop Sizes and Grow Market Share With Customized Promotions 

"Pepper’s promo tool drives more sales, creates an opportunity for more marketing money from vendors, and surfaces new items to our customers. The success of the campaign was an eye-opener to our team of the effectiveness of digital promotions over our traditional methods."

–Mary Laddusaw, Director of Sales for Henry’s Foods

Our promotions platform is one of my personal favorite parts of the platform, with the capabilities to offer any promotional capabilities you desire. In fact, Henry’s Foods saw a 3x increase in sales for promoted items and Loffredo Fresh Foods gained $100k in additional revenue a week.

While we have seen simplified promotions and ‘featured items’ give lift to item sales, our volume-based promotions and seasonal promotional capabilities are really what starts to move the needle for distributors. Pepper customers can run tailored promotions based on categories or subcategories within their ERP, food ingredients, supplier, or any other item qualities that make sense to your audience.

We’re Pushing the Industry Forward with Practical Uses of AI 

“Sales AI alerts are so easy, they’re practically dummy-proof” –DSR at S&L Produce

From item recommendations and optimized ad placements to order guide generation based on online menus and Smart Ordering, I’m proud of how our team is pushing the ball forward using these revolutionary tools.

Recommendations that Move Product

Our AI Item recommendations are an integral part of our platform, and are always running behind the scenes to recommend new products at the item, cart, and catalog level. 

Recommendations have been shown to boost basket size and keep items sticky and are one of the many ways Pepper utilizes AI throughout our platform. To learn about a few of the other ways that AI plays a role in retail foodservice, check out this article!

Casey, The AI Copilot Built for Distributors

Casey, the AI-powered Copilot powered by Pepper, makes uncovering insights as easy as asking a question. Loaded with all of the information reps might need when it comes to prospecting new accounts or calling on customers, Casey makes knowing who to call on and starting the conversation a pinch.

We’re Distributor First 

This should go without saying, but we have been built for the independent distributor since the day we first started. And while I could go on about the importance of being an independent distributor, our CEO Bowie Cheung sums it up nicely in his opinion piece: Independent Distributors, Now's Your Chance.

Ordering, Payments, and Credits all in One Platform 

"I had never considered how the app could improve our cash flow.  But our payments have been coming in much faster from Pepper users, even from those customers that have historically been slow to pay. And yes, it brings me joy when I see the emails come through that show we've received a Pepper payment!" –Marshall Spain, owner at Strickland Portion Pack

With invoice management, autopay, and fast payment processing, having an all-in-one payments platform lowers overhead for you and offers a superior experience for your customers. In fact, Pepper customers using our payments platform see, on average:

• A 2-day reduction in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), leading to payments much quicker than average
• 4 hour saved every week in invoicing and payments processing
• Fewer chargebacks and writebacks than using outside payment processors

Pepper Payments help distributors get their revenue faster and more reliably. Watch the webinar or read the summary here.

Why Now is the Right Time

With all of these reasons being said, I’m not ignorant of the fact that the decision to adopt a new go-to-market platform is never easy, and migration, implementation, and adoption of a new eCommerce solution can feel overwhelming at times. But independent distributors cannot afford to let old, outdated, and missing technology slow down their growth and add to the pockets of “The Big Three”.

When making the decision to invest in a platform, you want to know that you have chosen the partner that most understands your needs and is best-suited to accelerate your business - and if you’re in independent distribution, that means Pepper. If you’ve been considering upgrading your relationship with your operators but haven’t felt like “it’s the right time yet”, just consider the classic proverb:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”

If you’re ready to plant the seeds to grow your business, we’re here for you—get in touch here!