Jeremy Isenberg, President, Chex Finer Foods
While UNFI took a reported $400 million hit to its operation during this summer’s cyber-outage, Jeremy Isenberg, the third-generation owner of direct-store-delivery operation Chex Finer Foods, was growing in the other direction, attracting capital from big-check food chain investment firm Paine Schwartz Partners.
Is DSD more expensive than broadline distribution like KeHE or UNFI? Sure. But with brands still complaining about being nickel-and-dimed by the big wholesalers — and having trouble tracking their products as well — Isenberg is betting that the bespoke approach that Chex offers its suppliers will feel like a sound investment from the client’s perspective, as well as the fund’s.