be enlightened by our
Thought Leadership
The Pentallect partners’ personal executive experience, coupled with their reputation as provocative and outside-the-box thought leaders, have made their pragmatic advice, opinions and insights some of the most sought after in the food industry. The Pentallect team is honored to be regularly quoted in national and leading industry publications.
First Quarter Results of the “Big 3” Distributors: A Good Start to the Year
May 22, 2022 Like all other foodservice distributors, the “Big 3” broadliners - Performance Food Group, Sysco Corp. and US Foods - are facing a myriad of chronic and enduring challenges including record-high food cost inflation, product shortages, rising labor costs,...
Food Industry 2021 Results: Sales Recovering, Profits Lagging
April 20, 2022 The food industry generally performed well in 2021, as foodservice demand substantially improved, and industry participants took concrete actions to mitigate the serious headwinds affecting product and operating cost increases and a host...
Foodservice Distribution M&A
April 6, 2022 By: Gary Karp, Barry Friends, Bob Goldin and Rob Veidenheimer Situation 2022 foodservice distribution M&A has started with Ben E Keith acquiring Florida Foodservice and a merger of Troyer Foods and Stanz Foodservice. These come on the...
Foodservice Industry Rebounds: “Big 3” Distributors’ 2021 Fourth Quarter Results Reflect Improved Market Conditions
By: Bob Goldin | Barry Friends February 21, 2022 Despite a resurgence of COVID-19, ongoing access restrictions, severe labor and product shortages affecting all trading partners and rapidly escalating (and alarmingly high) menu prices, consumer...
Food Industry Supply Chain Recovery
Food Industry Supply Chain Recovery:Getting Back on Track By: Rob Veidenheimer, Bob Goldin and Gary Karp February 2, 2022 As has been reported extensively, supply chain disruptions have impacted almost all food industry organizations – from raw...
Foodservice Cost Inflation and Full Service Restaurants: A Hazardous Gap
By: Barry Friends | Bob Goldin December 13, 2021The “Big 3” distributors - Performance Food Group, Sysco, and US Foods -collectively reported 12% year-over-year (YOY) price inflation in their most recent quarterly results, a rate not seen since the early 1980s....
Outpacing the Market: “Big 3” Distributors’ 2021 Third Quarter Results Reflect Share Growth
By: Bob Goldin | Barry Friends November 15, 2021 The collectively impressive third quarter 2021 results of the “Big 3” foodservice distributors – Performance Food Group (PFG), Sysco US Foodservice and US Foods – are a clear indication of a sequentially...
Whole Foods Imposes $9.95 Delivery Fee: End of the “Free Lunch” Era?
By: Barry Friends and Bob Goldin September 29, 2021 Amazon’s announcement that they will add a $9.95 delivery fee to all Whole Foods grocery delivery orders is a sign that the e-commerce turned bricks-and-mortar giant has understandably lost its...
Second Quarter Results for the “Big 3” Foodservice Distributors: Riding the Wave
By: Barry Friends | Bob Goldin August 26, 2021 Paced by the restaurant segment, the foodservice industry is experiencing an unexpectedly strong recovery in the face of major labor and supply chain challenges, rising menu prices, and an unfortunate and...
Business Transformation Best Practices – Part 2
By: Chris K. Davis | Affiliate July 12, 2021 Taking Transformation to Operations Part 2 – The Messy Middle The first part of this paper covered foundational work done as the organization begins a Transformation Program. The executives (and strategy...
Business Transformation Best Practices – Part 1
By: Chris K. Davis | Affiliate June 22, 2021 Part 1 – Ambition and Enthusiasm Many businesses are engaged in some type of Transformation Program at the direction of their board or executive leadership with the expectation for huge synergies, a...
First Quarter 2021 Results for Big 3 Foodservice Distributors: Some Reasons for Optimism
By: Bob Goldin | Barry Friends May 17, 2021 To mitigate the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, foodservice distributors implemented a variety of critical initiatives with a true sense of urgency. To varying degrees, they engaged in serious...