Pod Foods Expands Flowspace Collab for National Logistics Reach

As part of effort, grocery B2B platform rolls out facilities in Atlanta, Denver and Sacramento

8/16/2023

Pod Foods is creating an alternative model to incumbent wholesale distribution, allowing brands and retailers to transact directly, transparently and affordably, thanks to full-service logistics and analytics.

Pod Foods, a grocery B2B marketplace forum, has formed a national partnership with software platform and distribution network Flowspace to power logistics and fulfillment orchestration for grocery retailers and brands. The move enables Pod Foods to leverage Flowspace’s software and expansive network to better serve retailers of all sizes and formats across the United States not only in the area of ambient fulfillment, but also cold chain, enabling Pod Foods to connect retailers with a greater number emerging, local and innovative CPG brands, including those that require refrigeration.

Pod Foods, which revealed a nationwide expansion with Sprouts Farmers Market in the second half of 2022, as well as the appointment of Mike Schall as president this past April, is creating an alternative model to incumbent wholesale distribution, allowing brands and retailers to transact directly, transparently and affordably, thanks to full-service logistics and analytics.

Flowspace maintains a flexible, asset-light network of 150-plus locations across the country, including temperature-controlled facilities operated by Coral Gables, Fla.-based Fresh Del Monte. Powered by warehouse and inventory management software, Flowspace enables centralized facility management and fulfillment orchestration for suppliers and operators.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our national strategic partnership with Flowspace,” said Peter Gialantzis, SVP of sales and operations at Austin, Texas-based Pod Foods. “With our accelerating growth from coast to coast, we need a partner with the best warehousing capabilities in the most sought-after retail grocery markets in the United States.”

The Pod Foods-Flowspace collaboration began in 2022 with an initial location in Ocala, Fla., and has now expanded to include facilities in Atlanta, Denver, and Sacramento, Calif. Additional locations are planned in tandem with new account expansion plans.

“Pod Foods is a like-minded strategic partner looking to enable customer growth with logistics,” noted Ben Eachus, CEO of Los Angeles-based Flowspace. “Our flexible distributed network model gives Pod Foods the flexibility needed to keep up with growth as distribution scales both locally and nationwide.

This logistics optimization has enabled Pod Foods to deliver products to retailers nationally in an expedited fashion – under than four weeks in one instance.

“The openings of the Denver, Atlanta and Sacramento warehouses this summer are just the beginning,” added Gialantzis. “With this flexible capacity, we are able to expand our distribution footprint into key new geographies to keep pace with all of the new brands and retailers joining the Pod Foods supply chain.”

To help its suppliers access these new facilities affordably, Pod Foods has implemented an inbound freight program for qualified brands, known as Pod Freight, along with a working-capital embedded lending solution, Pod Capital, for an end-to-end solution.

Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market employs about 31,000 associates and operates almost 400 stores in 23 states nationwide. The company is No. 51 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.