In a strategic move to empower independent food distributors and revolutionize digital advertising in the foodservice industry, Pepper is thrilled to announce the expansion of Smart Solutions – a groundbreaking digital advertising and promotion platform. By harnessing a network that represents over $20 billion in distributor sales, Smart Solutions offers powerful digital advertising opportunities for manufacturers, providing a reach to more than 25,000 operators.
“Manufacturers have been telling us that they’re ready for digital advertising,” according to Bowie Cheung, CEO at Pepper. “Smart Solutions is a platform that enables digital ads and promotions in a way that allows manufacturers to drive measurable sales growth for the independents.”
Smart Solutions, integrated within the Pepper app, offers manufacturers several modules to advertise with, including native banner ads, sponsored search keywords and lead generation through sample requests. Campaign results are monitored and reported back to participating suppliers, maintaining transparency into campaign effectiveness. Early campaign results have shown an average of 8x return on ad sales (ROAS), while certain campaigns have seen as much as 15x return on investment.
Distributors who pioneered Smart Solutions in partnership with Pepper have expressed excitement about the expansion, as evidenced by the President of Schenck Foods, Cassie Verdecchia, who said “I love the idea of these manufacturers being able to advertise on the app. It brings a lot of success from top to bottom.”
Meanwhile, manufacturers gain an unprecedented advantage with Smart Solutions by digitally promoting their offerings, expanding brand reach exponentially, and reducing the amount of human capital it traditionally takes to promote items in the foodservice arena.
“Pepper and Smart Solutions are the ‘X-Factor’ for us in the independent distribution space,” says Quan Ngo, Division Vice President at Aspire Bakeries.
Pepper is excited to continue expanding adoption of Smart Solutions, continuing to fuel the growth engine for independent food distributors.
