The past two years of Covid have instilled in many a new understanding of hygiene and health and safety precautions. A new bar has been set when it comes to cleanliness, and the food service industry continues to meet this new standard through innovative products and by engaging with customers’ needs.
CFS Brands’ solution-oriented brand aims to be the one stop shop for all food service, healthcare, and hygiene solutions. Their new acquisition of Progressive Products’ WipesPlus offers clients a more comprehensive solution to their cleaning procedures and continues to make them a reputable brand.
Trent Freiberg, President and CEO of CFS Brands joined the Oklahoma-based company in 2012, when the company was known as Carlisle FoodService Products that later became CFS Brands. “We started partnering with smaller brands and have since expanded our line of products and currently operate Sparta, Dinex, San Jamar, El Castor, Piper, and AyrKing brands globally. You have to have distribution to be effective and with our own user development and heavily consultative team we provide smart solutions to our customers,” shared Freiberg. “Additionally, it’s about continuing to find ways to reduce costs in a competitive marketplace.”
As Freiberg approaches his 10th anniversary with the company, he reflected on changes in the marketplace: “The influence of e-commerce has undoubtedly helped the industry save time, as well as encouraged innovation in the workplace. However, the traditional distribution channels that continue to provide value to their end customers have also continued to thrive.”
In 2018 CFS Brands became a stand-alone company owned by The Jordan Company, a private equity firm, which has proved to be a very positive development for the company. “It’s rewarding having partners who know the industry well and are excited and supportive about our growth. We have closed on seven acquisitions since 2017 and by doing so have been able to offer our clients smarter solutions. We wanted to be more opportunistic and be able to effectively discuss operator efficiency.” The three segments of CFS Brands are made up of food service, healthcare, and hygiene and as new hygiene standards are put in place, this section of the company has grown tremendously. “The brushes and cleaning tools we offer with Sparta are our largest category, with our San Jamar towel, tissue, and soap dispensers right behind that.”
“WipesPlus initiated working with us, and we liked that they offered another solution to an end user that we don’t currently have to offer. WipesPlus manufactures FDA and EPA approved wet and dry wipes for foodservice spaces. They fulfill a need in the marketplace as businesses are fixated on meeting the new health and safety standards their clients want.” The wipes will remain a commercial product and serve as a stand-alone entity for the company.
“Wipes spiked at the beginning of 2020 and the product demand still remains higher than ever,” Freiberg pointed out. “We believe that this will continue to be a high growth category as the world pays a lot more attention to cleanliness and hygiene.”
CFS Brands looks to purposefully enhance their brands by becoming a dependable partner that aims to be consultative and provide end-user solutions. “We are constantly innovating and coming up with strategic answers that solve problems in the industry. We look at ourselves as a service business that can offer multiple solutions. We want to work with good companies that are led by strong management teams. Our acquisition of WipesPlus gives us the opportunity to help them with food service and aid them commercially more than anything,” Freiberg concluded.
To learn more about CFS Brands and WipesPlus, visit their website.
