(March 15, 2012 - IFDA)—South Korean food distribution companies are being offered membership in the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) through a partnership with Songhwa Yang of CY Partners, South Korea. The effort, under the name IFDA Korea, seeks to provide opportunities for interaction between distributors in South Korea where no trade group exists for this industry.
Hyundai GreenFood, established in 1973 in South Korea, has joined as the first IFDA Korea member. The company’s business areas include institutional foodservice, restaurants, retail, and distribution and the company’s customer base includes 450 clients in foodservice, 100 clients for food supply service, and 370 clients in retail. The company has 3,800 employees, including 450 nutritionists and 550 cooks. The company’s annual sales for distribution business are approximately $70 million (U.S.) out of company’s total sales of $900 million (US). To visit the company’s website, click here.
In addition to efforts by Yang for interaction among distributors in Korea, IFDA Korea will also have access to appropriate information and research currently conducted through IFDA. A delegation of Korean distributors may also participate in the 2012 Distribution Solutions Conference. Visits with IFDA members in the U.S. have also been discussed. In January, Yang began supplying a monthly newsletter to IFDA Korea member executives based upon the IFDA Daily Update.
“The goal of IFDA Korea is to provide some of the same opportunities that IFDA members benefit from in the U.S. and elsewhere,” said Mark Allen, president and CEO of IFDA. “Those opportunities include being part a community of distributors who are consistently looking to improve their companies. That can be through peer interaction, participation in benchmarking, or access to information that provides insights that can help them be more competitive. We are also hoping that members of IFDA Korea and IFDA might find business opportunities through contact.”
Yang has expressed an interest by Korean distributors for dialogue with distributors or manufacturers who would like to enter into the Korean market, and about import and export opportunities. There is also a strong desire to learn about distributor practices in the U.S., from the relationship between distribution centers and cash and carry to operational issues.
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