Dot Foods and Choco Announce Strategic Partnership
DENVER, CO (April 22, 2024) Choco, the leading global digital ordering platform for the food industry, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Dot Foods, the largest food industry redistributor in North America. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in both companies' efforts to provide cutting-edge digital tools to food distributors and, ultimately, streamline the food supply chain.
The two companies announced the partnership at Dot’s Innovations event, the annual trade show that brings Dot Foods’ distributor customers, national account operators, and suppliers together. As a result of the partnership, Choco’s AI-powered ecommerce and order management platform, Choco AI, will be the preferred AI solution for Dot Foods’ distributor customers looking to improve and expand the ordering options they offer their own customers, which encompasses more than 4,000 companies in the U.S.
“Since our company was founded in 1960, Dot’s goal has been to help solve problems for our customers and business partners,” said Dick Tracy, CEO of Dot Foods. “We are committed to providing innovative solutions and helping our partners grow while enhancing choice for everyone. Our partnership with Choco helps us accomplish all those aims by giving our customers access to the tools needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.”
In recent years, the food industry has struggled with labor shortages, competition from ecommerce marketplaces, and inefficient, outdated order processes. Many distributors still rely on manual methods like phone calls and handwritten notes, leading to errors and restricted order times. These inefficiencies and errors result in lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, and food waste. Distributors also struggle to provide the seamless online ordering their customers expect.
The partnership announced today empowers Dot’s distributor customers to easily launch a digital storefront under their brand and personalized to their business. This means they will be able to offer the operators they serve a modern, digital customer experience for placing orders and discovering new products. In addition, Choco AI offers solutions to automate manual orders and help distributor sales representatives more effectively support their customers.
Choco AI is a revolutionary solution designed to automate and streamline order management between restaurants and distributors, mitigating the challenges of manual processes. Choco AI auto-captures voicemail and email orders around the clock, translates them into a standardized digital format, and integrates them into the distributor’s ERP system in real time. With Choco AI, businesses reach 100% digitalization in two weeks and process 100 times more orders, empowering them to grow and become more competitive without the need for additional staff or resources.
“The food supply chain is both highly complex and highly fragmented and has historically operated with a very low level of digitalization relative to other industries,” said Choco CEO and Co-Founder Daniel Khachab. “AI is poised to change all of that, and we couldn’t be more excited to empower Dot Foods’ customers to tap into this transformative technology in order to grow their businesses, become more efficient, and ultimately thrive in today’s competitive market.”
With a shared vision of driving innovation in the food industry and empowering distributors, Dot Foods and Choco are well-positioned to reshape the competitive landscape of the North American food distribution market. The alliance – between one of the most trusted names in the food industry and a market leader in innovative digital ordering solutions – has the potential to have a significant and positive impact on food distributors across the U.S. It will also allow Choco to expand rapidly in the U.S. and cement its position as a market leader in the U.S. Dot Foods customers will receive priority access to the Choco solution during Dot’s Innovations trade show.
About Choco
Choco is a leading AI-powered platform revolutionizing the food supply chain by connecting restaurateurs with suppliers. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, Choco simplifies ordering processes, making them as intuitive and immediate as sending a chat message. Our AI tools help customers maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize food waste. Choco was founded by serial entrepreneurs Daniel Khachab and Julian Hammer. Since its founding in 2018, the company has grown rapidly and is now active in markets such as the U.S., Germany, France, Spain, UK, Austria and Belgium. In February 2022, the total value of goods traded through Choco exceeded $1.2 billion.
About Dot Foods and Dot Transportation
Dot Foods, Inc. carries 123,000 products from 1,500 food industry manufacturers making it the largest food industry redistributor in North America. Through Dot Transportation, Inc., an affiliate of Dot Foods, the company distributes foodservice, convenience, retail, and vending products to distributors in all 50 states and more than 50 countries. Dot Foods operates 13 U.S. distribution centers, which are located in Bullhead City, Arizona; Modesto, California; Bear, Delaware; Vidalia, Georgia; Burley, Idaho; Mt. Sterling, Illinois; University Park, Illinois; Cambridge City, Indiana; Williamsport, Maryland; Liverpool, New York; Ardmore, Oklahoma; Dyersburg, Tennessee; and Manchester, Tennessee. Dot Foods’ Canadian operations are located in Ingersoll, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta. For information, visit DotFoods.com.
Dot Foods and Dot Transportation are both looking to fill several positions for full and part-time drivers and warehouse personnel at all U.S. locations. To learn more about careers at Dot Foods visit Careers.DotFoods.com and follow @DotFoodsCareers. For more on opportunities available with Dot Transportation, visit DriveForDTI.com.