(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Unified has taken a significant first step toward replicating its successful Southern California dairy program in the Pacific Northwest.
On July 1, Unified inaugurated dairy products service to independent retail grocery stores by partnering with two regional dairies — WestFarm Foods and Mallories Dairy — each of which is delivering products to Unified members and customers located throughout Oregon and parts of Washington. Milk and dairy products distributed under the program carry the Darigold, Mallories and Western Family corporate brands.
On October 1, the next phase of the project will begin when all orders and invoicing, which presently are being handled by the dairies, move to an internal system handled by Unified.
A top priority project since the 1999 merger of Certified Grocers of California and United Grocers, the new program already is successful with more than 100 stores in the region signed-up for the program, including Ray's Food Place, Sentry and other area stores associated with Unified's ad groups.
"Our Board of Directors felt that we should be in the dairy business in the Pacific Northwest." “By consolidating the dairy purchases of members and customers in the Northwest, Unified is able to make larger, more efficient purchases from our new partner dairies,” said John Bedrosian, vice president, manufacturing operations. This helps drive down the cost of milk and other dairy products at participating retailers, which is why we expect this program to be extremely successful.
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to benefits expected to be derived from the proposed acquisition. There are a variety of factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements above. These factors are outlined in Unified's Form 10-Q and other interim reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, Unified undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.