Today’s Post is by Eli Razov, Senior Account Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

Is the Mayo category on the rise? The mayonnaise production industry is a $2-billion a year industry that continues to grow in North America. The global mayonnaise market is a $9.9 billion industry. This global market is anticipated to reach a value of $12.5 billion by 2023. That being said, the number of businesses in the North American industry has grown roughly 2% since 2015, with the number of employees growing 2.7%. Mayonnaise is consumed by a considerable amount of customers and forms the highest consumed category of food dressing worldwide.

So what is mayonnaise? It is a thick and creamy dressing used as a condiment in various cuisines. The standard mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and either lemon juice or vinegar with many other herbs and spices. Egg-free alternatives are also available in market for vegans and those allergic to eggs. Contrary to popular belief, the fat present in mayo is unsaturated, or “good fat”, as the oils used come from plant sources which in turn are sources of antioxidants and vitamins. The rising demand of egg-free products among vegans has boosted the growth of the mayonnaise market, making manufacturers turn to egg alternatives. Additionally, a change of consumers towards plant-based products is adding fuel to the demand. This is setting the foodservice world ablaze adding new types and styles of mayonnaise and aioli.

As far as packaging goes, mayonnaise can be found in jars, single-serve packets (sachets), bottles and buckets (for larger foodservice needs). Sachets are expected to witness high growth over the next five years due to its availability in various sizes and convenient packaging. That being said, we have run many single serve, foodservice and large quantity RFQ’s for our clients with an average savings of 17%. Now is a great time to look into taking your mayonnaise needs to market. With an ever growing demand, and a low market price, now is the time to strike.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact SafeSourcing  we have an entire team waiting to assist you today.

Today’s post is by Alex Borbely, Vice President of Sales at SafeSourcing Inc.

SafeSourcing’s professional service offerings support our mission of providing information and services to our customers through e-procurement best practices that proactively support e-procurement events from category discovery to results analysis. As part of our full-service offerings, this also includes ROI delivery and focus on consumer safety and environmental standards in the global supply chain. Today, I would like to discuss a service of providing industry updates/news that may affect sourcing events on category spends.  We often play a role with our clients in keeping them abreast of changes in the marketplace and specifically what impact a commodity like corn can have on the pricing of items such as corrugated products.  Most items at your favorite supermarket, discount store, or shopping mall were safely delivered in boxes made of corrugated cardboard, and many are displayed in the same boxes, which were manufactured so they could be opened and used for this purpose. Other items may arrive in their own corrugated or alternative types of paperboard boxes. Because corrugated cardboard is such a versatile packaging material, millions of tons are used each year to protect and display products. Annually, more than 50 million tons of corrugated cardboard were produced in the United States. In addition, millions of tons of uncorrugated boxboard or paperboard are also produced for use in folding cartons.

Fast-growing pine trees provide the primary raw material used to make corrugated cardboard. The largest packaging companies own thousands of acres of land where trees are matured, harvested, and replaced with seedlings

At the corrugating plant, only a few other raw materials are needed to make a finished box. Corn starch glue is used to bond the corrugated medium to the liner sheets. Because so much glue is used, rail cars or large tanker trucks deliver it as a dry powder that will be stored in huge silos at the corrugating plant until it is needed. Drawn from the silo, the dry corn starch is mixed with water and other chemicals and pumped into the corrugator to be spread on the corrugated medium as the layers of liner are added.

When speaking with clients about corrugated spends it is important for the buyer to understand the components that go into the product and what impact those ingredients have with pricing such as corn.  There are a lot of factors that one needs to bear in mind such as the time of the year, supply and demand, hedgers/speculation traders, ethanol demand, and many other influencers that play a role in corn pricing and as a result the final product price of corrugated.

If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR and Administration at SafeSourcing, Inc.

Every year there are highly anticipated movies and televisions shows that many of us just can’t wait to see. Two shows that have been highly anticipated, the final Avengers movie and the final season of Game of Thrones, are both set to be released April, 2019.

Because these shows are so highly anticipated with large fan bases, security surrounding filming, scripts, plot-lines, effects, etc. has been tighter than ever before. Despite all the added security, much is known or speculated about what these fan favorites will bring. One thing we know about these is that filming has long been over. Game of Thrones filming ended in July, 2018, nine months before its release, while Avengers: Endgame finished in January, 2018, a full 15 months before its release. So, why such the long gap in between?

The reason for the long gaps after filming is to allow ample time for all the work that needs to be done behind the scenes. This is a key part in any production and is often the most overlooked by those not involved in the process. For filming, this could include video editing, sound editing, special effects, and many other final touches. While actors and directors often get the spotlight for their work on a film piece, there are many more people working just as hard to create the final successful film or show that we all see and enjoy.

The ways the work is set up in film brings the idea that there are many other industries where a significant amount of work is done behind the scenes – procurement being one of those industries. A procurement partner is someone who works with your organization to help you obtain the goods and services you need, but there is a lot of work that goes into the position that may not be known to most. While a company can enjoy the end result benefits of getting exactly what they need at a competitive price, the procurement partner has done a lot of behind the scenes work along the way, from spend analysis, market research, supplier research, data analysis, product details and specifications, to term details. Just like the behind the scenes team for television and movies, a procurement partner can help make your sourcing efforts as successful and enjoyable as possible.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help in your procurement efforts, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s Post is by Eli Razov, Senior Account Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

Did you know that tea is the second most widely consumed beverage worldwide? Global tea production exceeds $73-billion in sales and produces about 5.2 million metric tons of product a year.  About half of the world’s tea production comes from China, while India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia make up a large portion of the remaining tea market.  The tea market is broken into four segments: ready-to-drink tea (RTD), the traditional market; the specialty segment and the foodservice segment. So what does this have to do with us? Although coffee is often thought of as America’s preferred beverage, tea has quickly proven itself to be very popular in homes nationwide. A survey among U.S. consumers showed that 23 percent of participants drink tea every day, while only ten percent of consumers never drank tea at all. That is roughly 74,911,000 Americans whom drink tea every day! The majority of the tea consumed in America comes from the foodservice industry and ready to drink segments of the tea market. Most of this tea is purchased in gas stations, c-stores, and restaurants around the country. With that much consumption on a daily basis, the US tea market is a $7-billion industry.

We here at SafeSourcing have helped many of our clients run tea e-Procurement events, both separately and with other warm beverages together. With an average savings of 23%, we have helped clients save money on an ever growing market. A lot of foodservice companies sell tea and other beverages so it is easier to reach a higher spend when you combine the buying power of all your hot beverage needs. There are some instances where specialty companies need to be contacted for more particular blends of tea. That is where our vast database of suppliers and knowledge of the industry comes in. By working with SafeSourcing you can grow your pool of suppliers and save even more money on all of your tea needs!

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact SafeSourcing  we have an entire team waiting to assist you today.