Southeastern Grocers Seeks Out More Local Suppliers

Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas and Harveys Supermarket, is launching a new supplier program meant to get more locally sourced products on store shelves.

The Local Supplier Connect program "will give local businesses within SEG’s five-state footprint the opportunity to showcase their products" for a chance to be featured by the company's banners, SEG said in a news release. The company is partnering with ECRM and RangeMe, which together have worked with Albertsons, Kroger, Hy-Vee, Meijer, Schnucks, Grocery Outlet and others, to source and connect suppliers with SEG's buyers. A Local Supplier Connect virtual event in spring 2022 will offer qualified local suppliers the chance to share their background, product information and plans with SEG merchants and category managers.

"Our communities are our heart and soul, and we are committed to helping them thrive," said Dewayne Rabon, SVP and chief merchant for SEG. "As a grocer in the Southeast, we are proud of our roots, and we strive to share and encourage the culture of our communities by highlighting local products in each of our stores." At SEG's supplier diversity conference in May, the company noted, SEG merchants met with 85 grocery and beauty/personal-care suppliers that were at least 51% owned, operated and managed by women; Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, LGBTQ People; military veterans or people with disabilities.

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Interested businesses with retail-ready products in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi can apply to participate in SEG’s Local Supplier Connect program at RangeMe's website through Monday, Dec. 6.