E FOODS
Where customers become friends
When you think of the term “broker,” you might think of a
real estate broker or an auto broker. Central
Florida’s E Foods Inc. is a broker of a different
sort.
“We are unusual in that we don’t just find customers for
growers, we take financial responsibility,” said E Foods’
Jeannie Smith, the company’s self-proclaimed ‘get-it-done
girl.’ “We buy the commodities and sell them to our
customer. That’s worked
well for us over the years because our customers know we are responsible
for good service. We represent the farmer better than if we were simply
moving product for a fee,” said Smith. “We’ve been
resilient because we act and work as a wholesale dealer. This ensures that we will safeguard the
quality of our product. We’ve seen so much attrition in this
industry, yet we’ve been here 29 years and going
strong.”
E Foods, named after founder and president Emerson Elliott, provides
all necessary services for its growers. Those include inspection of
crops in the field and at the packinghouse and all transportation
logistics over highways, railroads, air and sea for shipping across the
United States,
Canada, Puerto Rico and other destinations.
 |
Emerson Elliott founded
E Foods Inc. in 1980.
|
E Foods has a nice international flair with its employees as well. Its
market specialist is from Britain; the bookkeeper is from
India; two salesmen
are from Puerto Rico and the other employees hail from various parts of
the United
States. This allows the company to
have a unique perspective in many areas.
E Foods works with the seasons, procuring produce from Florida in the
winter and from other areas at different times of the year. They’re busy year-round and are
known for working even during vacations. “We have longstanding
relationships with farmers all over the country,” said Smith.
“We talk to the farmers all the time. We call in the morning to
see what they have and at what price they’re selling.
We receive price sheets from various farming companies. We also
have very good relationships with truckers and shippers.”
 |
“We are unusual in that we
don’t just find customers for
growers, we take financial
responsibility,” says E Foods'
Jeannie Smith.
|
Most of those relationships go back decades. “We were at a
Pennsylvania customer’s
daughter’s wedding recently,” said Smith. “The line is
really blurred between customers and friends. You don’t have a
30-year relationship and just keep it all business.”
E Foods offers myriad fresh fruits and vegetables, but it has no
plans to expand into fresh-cut products. “It’s not that I
would find the food safety requirements overwhelming,” said
Elliott. “We promote the food safety requirements that the
certifying companies like Primus have, and we try to be closely aligned
with the people who promote and ensure the food safety regulations. I
just like what we’re doing, and I’d like to
continue.”
Elliott believes in contributing to the industry and is active in
several produce groups. His company has been a member of FFVA for
“at least 25 years.”
Contact E Foods via email at sales@efoodsinc.com or by
phone at (407) 830-9498. The company’s address is 445 Osceola Street
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701.
Photo at top: Left to right front row: Jay Patel, Jeannie
Smith
Left to right back row: Adrian George, Elliott Altman, Tom Busch,
Emerson Elliott, Manuel Fernandez, Carlos Ramirez
