Food
Turning imperfect produce into perfect opportunities
Building supplier partnerships which drive innovation and quality for clients
Innovating for 30 years
Working collaboratively with Keany drives strategy and innovation, ensuring high-quality produce for our customers and strengthening our commitment to community and environmental goals.
Today, Keany Produce, led by CEO Ted Keany, is a key supplier to Sodexo across the US. It’s a partnership that not only thrives on a common ‘family-led’ background, but that enjoys shared values, commitment to quality, modernization and strategic vision.
Over three decades, Keany has developed a partnership with Sodexo that has allowed us to grow while staying true to our signature family culture and personal service roots,” says Ted. “It’s helped to empower the company to grow its footprint across the US, while also allowing Keany to stay focussed on local, sustainable produce – supporting independent local farmers and organic growers to deliver high-quality produce at scale.
Shared strategies for mutual growth
From one unit contract near Dulles Airport in the mid-1990s, the relationship has grown exponentially over the decades. Keany now supplies 248 Sodexo locations across the US, bringing the highest-quality fresh produce, proteins, dairy and gourmet items to contracts ranging from offices to hospitals.
The relationship grew quickly because of Sodexo’s strong commitment to food services and community impact,” says Ted. “As it’s grown, it’s no longer simply a supplier-client contract to provide fresh produce. It’s a partnership that is focussed on building strategies together that drive mutual growth.
Ted Keany, CEO Keany Produce
Units were using multiple varieties, grades and quality of fruit and Sodexo wanted to try and define a closer spec for their teams,” recalls Ted. “We tested picking a ‘usual’ order with 60 different SKUs against our new model of 27 SKUs. We found incredible efficiencies to be gained. For us, it was a true model of partnership that we had never seen before, and an example of partnering with your best customers to find mutually beneficial results.
Additionally, Keany has created opportunities for our culinary teams to engage directly with its local farm partners, through tours and product sourcing experiences. “It’s a great way of strengthening the connection between growers and chefs,” says Ted.
Keany Produce also actively encourages employees to volunteer, organizing volunteer days where people can help projects in their local communities.
Long term focus on innovation
“Our partnership with Sodexo has strengthened the way we approach all aspects of our business,” says Ted. “Operations, customer relationships, environmental impact and community goals: it’s given us the credibility and reach to compete more effectively in the marketplace while also reinforcing our values and commitment to service and reliability.”
We’ll continue to look ahead, to expand our product lines and geographical reach. There are endless opportunities to support Sodexo’s growth – and our own – and that’s what makes the future so exciting. The openness to innovate, collaborate and continually improve has made the partnership strong for decades, and there’s tremendous potential to build on what is already a strong foundation.
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