Choco at Dot Innovations 2025
Choco in the Mile High City: How AI and Omnichannel Ordering Are Transforming Food Distribution
We were delighted to join Dot Foods Innovations 2025 in Denver in April — and the energy was electric. A huge thank you to the Tracy family and the Dot team for creating the perfect space to explore what’s next in foodservice.
We came with a clear goal: to show how Choco’s AI and eCommerce platform is helping distributors thrive, no matter how their customers place orders, how tech-savvy their reps are or how many systems they’re already using.
Jeff Tynes – SGC, Springfield Grocers
Use Case: Empowering a 60-person sales team with time, clarity, and confidence
“If our DSRs can get out of the transaction, they can focus on what matters: customer success.”
Jeff leads one of the largest sales teams, with over 60 distributor sales reps (DSRs) in the field. His reps aren’t just order-takers — they’re trusted advisors. But manual order entry was holding them back.
A significant portion of orders still came in via unstructured formats:
• Photos of napkins
• Emails with vague product names
• Voicemails during on and off-hours
• Handwritten notes
“It’s real-world stuff — text messages, coffee-stained notes, and all kinds of messy inputs.”
Choco OrderAI automates those orders across every channel, cleaning and converting them into structured ERP-ready data, no human effort required.
DSRs no longer spend evenings transcribing notes or cleaning up mistakes. That time is reclaimed.
“We give reps back 10 to 15 percent of their week. That’s time they can spend in front of customers.”
But this isn’t just about productivity. It’s about improving the role of the sales rep entirely.
SalesHub shows reps which accounts are healthy, which are at risk, and what trends to act on so they can be proactive, not reactive.
Reps now focus on consultative selling, upselling, and retention — not chasing SKUs.
Bottom line: Choco turns sales reps into relationship builders again, not just button-pushers.
“If AI had been here three years ago, we’d have stronger customer relationships and more growth.”
Ed Mayburn – Cotati, California
Use Case: Serving tech-savvy and traditional customers alike
“Customers don’t want to change. They want to write notes and send texts. Choco was the best solution — tech for those ready, AI for those who aren’t.”
Ed’s team uses Choco to offer both modern and classic experiences:
• White-label ordering app for mobile-first customers — branded, searchable, and fully integrated
• Text and email ordering for everyone else — processed automatically by Choco’s OrderAI
What surprised Ed most? The speed and ease of implementation, even without existing APIs. Choco has a flexible architecture designed to work with all major ERPs, including Dot partners using NECS Entree.
“Choco gets everything ready so quickly. I wish my team moved that fast.”
Joey Barbagallo – Colony Foods, Boston
Use Case: Leveling the playing field with AI-powered reps
Joey didn’t come to Choco looking for AI. He was just trying to find a good eCommerce solution. But once he saw the AI capabilities built into the platform, everything changed.
In a market dominated by corporate giants, Joey knew his family-run business needed a digital edge to stay competitive. Joey sees Choco as more than a platform. It’s a chance to run his business like the big players, without losing the human touch.
“For my family business to keep going, we have to adapt.”
Choco AI OrderAgent handles unstructured voice, photo, text, and email orders, so reps don’t have to.
SalesHub tracks lead pipelines, customer engagement, and at-risk accounts, helping reps focus where it counts. The result? More time for selling, less time wasted on typing in SKUs.
“They’re not in their cars punching in orders anymore. Choco’s doing the work for them.”
“We’re not paying reps to enter orders. We pay them to build relationships.”
“AI isn’t replacing people. It’s replacing the bad decisions.”
The impact is clear: more efficient reps, stronger relationships, and better margins.
When asked what might’ve happened if they’d adopted sooner, Joey didn’t hesitate:
“We’d be growing like crazy if we had this three years ago.”
“I wasn’t looking for AI order entry. I just wanted an eCommerce app. But Choco turned out to be a much greater tool to make people more efficient.”
Ready to See What Choco Can Do for You?
Free your sales reps from manual work and help them focus on what truly drives growth: building relationships and closing deals.