2026 FEDA Annual Executive Leadership Conference FEATURED SUPPLIER PRESENTATION
Through acquisitions, innovation, and collaboration with distributors, CFS Brands is helping operators tackle increasingly complex challenges.
CFS Brands has expanded its portfolio with fi ve acquisitions since 2021. How does CFS believe its expanding scale is creating momentum, not just for the company but the wider foodservice equipment and supplies industry? Trent Freiberg, CEO: Our growth has been driven by a simple objective: helping distributors and operators solve more challenges through a single trusted partner. Each acquisition has expanded our ability to bring together specialized brands and capabilities across foodservice, healthcare meal delivery, sanitation, facilities management, and equipment performance. For distributors, that scale creates meaningful advantages. They can simplify sourcing, reduce supplier complexity, consolidate shipments, and provide more complete solutions to their customers. Rather than managing dozens of vendors across multiple
categories, they can work with a partner that helps them serve more of the operation and strengthen customer relationships.
TRENT FREIBERG CEO
CFS BRANDS SESSION INFORMATION
Opening General Session Featured Supplier Presentation CFS Brands
Sept. 17, 9:00-9:05 a.m. 38 FEDA News & Views
How does CFS Brands’ wide range of products translate into real advantages for your distribution partners and their customers? Operators don’t experience challenges one product category at a time. They’re managing labor shortages, rising costs, food safety requirements, and customer expectations across the entire operation. That’s why we focus on helping solve operational challenges, not simply supplying products. Across our portfolio of brands, we support every stage of the operation. For example, a bar operator can source coordinated solutions for beverage service, tabletop presentation, food safety, and back-of-house operations from brands within the CFS family. Similarly, healthcare operators can implement meal delivery solutions designed to improve temperature retention, patient satisfaction, and operational effi ciency. For distributors, this creates opportunities to bring more strategic solutions to customers rather than individual products. For operators, it means fewer operational gaps, greater consistency, and solutions that work together to help improve performance, reduce costs, and create better experiences for the people they serve.
How does CFS structure its rela- tionships with distributors to go
beyond a transactional dynamic? By equipping distributor partners with a deeper understanding of operator workfl ows and challenges, we help them have more consultative conversations that focus on solving problems rather
than simply quoting products. We succeed when our distributor partners succeed, which is why we invest in helping them grow their business and strengthen their customer relationships. One of CFS’s strongest and fastest-
growing capabilities is custom product development. We are increasingly chosen by not only operators, but also distributors helping customers solve complex challenges that cannot be addressed with off-the-shelf products. With seven CFS manufacturing plants, an extensive global factory network, and dozens of industrial designers, product designers, and engineers across multiple disciplines, we can solve almost any aesthetic or operational challenge. Recent examples include custom serving and display solutions incorporating porcelain, wood, and ironwork, as well as beverage dispensing systems designed to deliver both portion consistency and speed of service. We serve as an extension of our distribution partners.
As you look at the industry’s direction, what types of innovation do you believe will have the greatest impact on effi ciency, food safety,
and the guest experience? Operators are being asked to do more with fewer resources while maintaining higher standards for safety, consistency, and service. The innovations that will have the greatest impact are those that simplify operations, reduce complexity, and help teams work more effi ciently without compromising quality. At CFS Brands, innovation starts with understanding how work gets done across the operation and identifying opportunities to solve real-world challenges. A recent example is the Dinex ClearAire™ Insulated Dome, which was developed to help healthcare operators maintain food temperature and quality while enhancing presentation. Made from transparent, BPA-free material, it allows guests to see the meal before service while helping preserve heat and food integrity. It’s a simple but meaningful innovation that supports both operational performance and the overall dining experience.
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