CONCORD, N.C. -- McDonald's USA LLC, a division of McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., recently honored S&D Coffee Inc. as its 2007 Supplier of the Year. S&D Coffee is the largest supplier of coffee and only supplier of tea to McDonalds USA. The coffee company rolled out the red carpet for the fast-food chain's president, Don Thompson, and COO, Jan Fields, last week.
S&D Coffee set up a tent in a parking lot and invited its guests to dine with 400 local S&D employees, reported The Charlotte Business Journal. The visit comes as local franchise restaurants [image-nocss] roll out the McCafe line of mochas, lattes and ice coffees. It is McDonalds' effort to get a larger share of the $60 billion domestic beverage market, Fields said.
"We still feel like a big family," said Ron Hinson, S&D Coffee's president and CEO.
At its U.S Supplier Summit in March, an annual gathering of key U.S. McDonald's suppliers held at its Oak Brook, Ill., headquarters, J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez, McDonald's senior vice president of supply chain for McDonald's North America, said, "S&D Coffee has been a great supplier partner for 30 years and continues to bring tremendous benefit to the McDonald's system. Their expertise and insight combined with their energy and willingness to collaborate, has helped us to make great strides in our overall coffee and U.S. beverage strategy. The introduction of our Premium Roast drip coffee, Iced Coffee and Sweet Iced Tea at McDonald's has been an instant success."
The McDonald's U.S. Supplier of the Year Award is presented annually to the food, paper or product supplier that makes the most significant impact on, and contribution to, McDonald's U.S. business results from the previous year. The award recognizes criteria including commitment to quality and food safety, product, equipment and process innovation and exemplary customer service and value.
"I am honored that we have been recognized as their top supplier for 2007," Ron Hinson, S&D Coffee president and CEO, said in March. "We are also justifiably proud of our hard-working sales team that makes all this possible."
According to Bill Wolf, senior vice president of S&D Coffee's national accounts, face-to-face interaction with McDonald's company employees, franchisees and restaurant managers and crew is a key factor in getting new products, like Sweet Iced Tea and Iced Coffee, into the hands of customers.
Based in Concord, N.C., S&D Coffee is a national manufacturer of coffee, iced and hot tea products for the foodservice, quick-service, hospitality and convenience store industries. It serves more than 70,000 commercial customers throughout the country
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