3PL – The Fix for Holiday Food & Beverage Supply Chain Issues

If you have recently visited any stores that sell décor, home goods, or crafts, you have probably noticed an influx of orange and yellow, and even green and red items lining the shelves.  While most of us are still trying to soak up as much sunshine and pool time as we can, the supply chain industry is already in full holiday mode. While Christmas shopping may still be far from the minds of consumers, the job of the logistics industry is to prepare for consumer trends long before the season begins.  

The same applies to the food and beverage industry. While pumpkin just started hitting menus around the country, the preparation of identifying flavor trends, producing seasonal products, shipping ingredients, planning fall menus, and so much more have been in full swing for months, and now the peak of holiday shipping season for the food and beverage industry is here.   

If you are a shipper, supplier, end user, or in any way involved in the holiday food and beverage supply chain, grab yourself a pumpkin latte, and let’s talk about the holidays’ challenges of food and beverage logistics, along with five tips for shipping freight around the holidays.  

Know Your Food & Beverage Holiday Trends 

Before we get into the details, we would be remiss not to first define what holidays are most significant for the food and beverage industry. While some of them seem obvious like Christmas and Thanksgiving, there are a few less known holidays that have been gaining popularity and hold a large opportunity for the food and beverage industry. 

Fall Flavors Start Trending Early 

While we recognize that fall is a season not a holiday, in the food and beverage industry, the beginning of fall is definitely something to celebrate and a flavor trend you don’t want to miss.  

Fall brings the start of pumpkin everything, from ravioli to soup to cold brew. In fact, Datassential reported 144 new limited time offers that featured pumpkin on major restaurant menus in 2023 alone.  

It’s not just pumpkin, though. Cinnamon, salted caramel, and candy apple are all fall flavors that have seen an uptick in popularity this year.  

What does that mean for food and beverage suppliers and shippers? Give the people what they want! Incorporate fall flavors in your products and prepare for an influx of seasonal items that need to be part of your logistics plan.   

What does that mean for food and beverage distributors? Your end users will be on the hunt for unique fall products and flavors. Make sure you add these unique season items to your next Honor Foods order. See Honor Foods Product Catalog. 

Prepare Now for Halloween Candy & Pizza Demand 

Halloween isn’t just about candy, though it’s definitely important. In fact, 65 percent of consumers say they participate in the festivities, and 95 percent of those participants purchase candy.  While this is not shocking, what may be more of a surprise is that the most popular dinner on Halloween is pizza, according to Grubhub. Consumers looking for a quick meal before heading out for an endless sugar rush tend to lean toward a delivery staple.  

What does that mean for food and beverage suppliers and shippers? Get that candy ready! A quarter of all the candy sold annually comes from Halloween sales, so shippers need to prepare for an influx of candy shipments needing to make their way to stores. 

What does that mean for food and beverage distributors? It’s not a good time to let your end users run out of pizza supplies! Encourage your end users to market this trend and make sure you stock them up with the suppliers to have a successful pizza night. 

Dia de Los Muertos Popularity Grows: Stock Popular Flavors Early 

Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is less known than some other fall holidays but is worth noting. Ten percent of consumers celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, a number that continues to increase. Most notable for those in the food and beverage industry are the specific food traditions associated with the holiday. For example, Pan de Muerto is a traditional sweet bread that is essential to the celebration. 

What does that mean for food and beverage suppliers and shippers? With the popularity of this holiday growing, there is a wonderful opportunity for suppliers and shippers in the food and beverage industry to offer traditional food items for the holidays. If you are looking to expand your product offerings to incorporate this holiday, make sure you expand your logistics plan too! If you need help increasing your shipping capacity, Trinity Logistics can help. 

What does that mean for food and beverage distributors? Determine if any of your end users need additional items for a holiday-specific menu, and make sure to plan ahead! Talk to your Honor Foods representative about adding seasonal flavors to your next Honor Foods order. 

More Than Turkey: Mind the Sides for Meeting Thanksgiving Food & Beverage Needs 

Thanksgiving remains the most popular holiday, with 83 percent of Americans celebrating the tradition. The most popular food item at holiday feasts comes as no surprise, with 46 million turkeys consumed each year. Turkeys are not the only food and beverage item to consider, though. Other staple dishes include cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin and apple pies.  

What does that mean for food and beverage suppliers and shippers? Prepare ahead! Because of the need for increased capacity, there is a great likelihood to see shipping supply chain challenges around holidays. To help manage capacity, work with a 3pl like Trinity for holiday food shipping solutions. 

What does that mean for food and beverage distributors? 23 percent of consumers will purchase their Thanksgiving meal from restaurants and another 22 percent will purchase elements of their meal from restaurants. In addition, many end users will have a special Thanksgiving menu meaning they will need to purchase items not typically needed. Food distributors can work with Honor Foods to offer a wide variety of seasonal items to their end users without the need for increased warehousing space.  

Avoid Last Minute Christmas & New Years Logistics and Work with a Trusted 3PL to Meet Demand 

Because of their proximity on the calendar, we will lump Christmas and New Year’s together since shipping and planning happen simultaneously in the supply chain industry. Both Christmas and New Year are among the most common holidays for consumers to eat in restaurants. Other staples include candy canes, eggnog, champagne, and, of course, baked goods.  

What does that mean for food and beverage suppliers and shippers? Plan ahead. These holidays cause great shipping supply chain challenges. In addition to an increased need for shipping in the industry, you also have an uptick in shipping, as well as less capacity as supply chain workers look to be home for the holidays. Working with 3PL during holidays can help you to manage your supply chain effectively and not miss a chance for an increase in sales.  

What does that mean for food and beverage distributors? With Christmas and New Years being two of the most popular holidays for consumers to eat in restaurants, it becomes imperative to keep up your supply with seasonal items and commonly used items such as eggs.  Working with a redistributor like Honor Foods is a terrific way to have a large supply of food and beverage items available to keep your end users away from the 86’d list. 

4 Shipping Supply Chain Challenges Around the Holidays 

If you have read up until now, you have noticed that food and beverage shippers have 6 holidays with unique food and beverage trends to plan and ship for in a matter of four months.  This creates four unique shipping supply chain challenges around holidays that food and beverage shippers need to know how to navigate. 

1. Higher Demand 
   The first shipping supply chain challenge around the holidays is the increased demand. Simply put, more people are shipping and all have a similar deadline. Higher demand is not unique to the food and beverage industry. Ecommerce sales are expected to reach a record-breaking $271.58 billion according to CNBC’s supply chain survey, a 9.5 percent increase from last year. All these items require logistics to get them where they need to go, and everyone is vying for the same capacity. 
   
   
2. Less Capacity
   On top of an increased demand during the holiday season, there is also less capacity. Many truck drivers aim to be home for the holidays, meaning there is less equipment available for use. In addition, there is still a truck driver shortage throughout the world. This comes at a time where the need for truck drivers has increased, creating a challenge for shippers and carriers alike. 
   
3. Tighter Deadlines
   This year, because of how the calendar falls, there is time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, causing supply chains to be extra chaotic. In addition, a built-in shipping supply chain challenge around the holidays is the tight deadlines. Because of the time sensitivity, there is an increased push for prompt delivery. The season is short and offers businesses such a large percentage of sales that they don’t want to be out of stock of a popular item, even for a day. Everyone in the supply chain industry is in a rush when it comes to shipping freight during the holidays, often creating more delays if you haven’t properly prepared.  
   
4. Increased Need for Specialized Equipment
   The increased need for specialized equipment goes hand in hand with the overall less capacity.  A large majority of shippers in the food and beverage industry require specialized equipment such as temperature-controlled trailers. This type of equipment is more limited in supply in general, and because of the increased shipping demand in this industry during the holidays, temperature-controlled equipment becomes even more difficult to come by during the holiday season, an innate holiday challenge of food and beverage shipping. 
    

5 Tips for Overcoming the Shipping Supply Chain Challenges Around the Holidays for Trinity Logistics 

Trinity Logistics, a Burris Logistics Company is a People-Centric freight broker that specializes in helping the food and beverage industry, among others. With the historical experience of Burris Logistics in the temperature-controlled warehouse and ecommerce space, along with the extensive relationships Trinity has in terms of temperature-controlled Carriers, you can consider them the perfect 3PL Partner for holiday food shipping solutions.  

Here are five tips from Trinity Logistics for shipping food and beverage freight for the holiday season. 

1. Keep inventory stocked
2. Have backup shipping plans ready 
3. Do you see what I see? Visibility is a key to holiday shipping success
4. Communicate and collaborate
5. Work with a 3PL during the holidays 

Learn more about these tips in this article from Trinity Logistics.  

Conclusion 

The holiday season offers a huge opportunity to businesses in the food and beverage industry, from food and beverage e-commerce companies to food suppliers and shippers, to restaurants and beyond. However, shipping freight around the holidays also puts a lot of pressure on a company’s supply chain to operate smoothly and effectively, which is always difficult when it comes to logistics. To prepare for the holiday season, it is important to prepare for the inevitable shipping supply chain challenges around holidays. 

Burris Logistics can help with your distribution and logistics needs. 

• Trinity Logistics, a Burris Logistics Company, offers freight brokerage and has expertise in cold chain logistics to help keep your holiday freight on the move. 
  
• Honor Foods, a Burris Logistics Company, is a premiere redistributor supplying distributors to keep their end users fully stocked with much needed seasonal items. 

If you are shipping freight around the holidays, make sure your company’s holiday logistics plan is something to celebrate with Burris.