New York, N.Y.— Artisanal Brands, Inc., formerly known as American Home Foods Products, Inc., has modified its distribution agreement with KeHE Distributors to reflect an exclusive Marketing and Distribution agreement in the retail sector, subject to certain limitations. KeHE is the largest specialty and natural foods distributor to the retail sector in the United States.
Daniel W. Dowe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Artisanal stated, “Our decision to create a stronger relationship with KeHE was based on their commitment to work closely with us to rapidly expand Artisanal's retail business over the next few years. KeHE’s commitment includes the support of larger inventory levels and in-store events designed to drive sales of our brand. KeHE will also hire new personnel who will be singularly focused on expanding the Artisanal brand within KeHE’s network of 60,000 retail stores across the United States. As we increase the distribution of our 16-cheese Artisanal CheeseClock retail product line, we anticipate creating higher demand for our comprehensive line of over 200 handcrafted cheeses available to consumers through our multi-channel distribution network of e-commerce and the foodservice sector.”
Chris Meyers, Chief Financial Officer of KeHE, stated, ”Annually, we sell several million dollars worth of various cheeses and the selection of cheeses we are presented for distribution is ever-increasing. With Artisanal we saw a company with the finest line of cheeses with a differentiator in the Artisanal CheeseClock, a tool for buying and serving cheese that a consumer can relate to and remember. The Artisanal CheeseClock makes everyone an expert in selecting cheeses so that they can entertain and enjoy them at home with the same sophistication as being served in a fine dining establishment. One of the greatest issues consumers and store owners have with the cheese category is the confusion created by the extensive choices that are currently available. In our view, Artisanal has provided a solution to this problem and we believe that our physical distribution system and field marketing staff will complement the expansion of Artisanal’s proprietary position in the category. KeHE also has a stock option to become shareholders of Artisanal if we generate substantial sales volume, so we are clearly committed to the success of this venture as it means a lot to our employee-owned company to have a stake in such a promising company.”
About KeHE
KeHE Distributors, based in Romeoville, IL, provides Natural & Organic, Specialty & Gourmet, International & Multicultural and Fresh products to natural food stores, grocery stores, and other specialty product retailers throughout North America.
About Artisanal Premium Cheese
The company markets and distributes a line of specialty, artisanal and farmstead cheese products, as well as other related specialty food products under its own brand to food wholesalers and retailers, as well as directly to consumers through its catalogue and website. Artisanal Brands, Inc. is based in New York, New York.
SOURCE KeHE Distributors