Casual Dining's Most Innovative Suppliers Recognized With Top Award
CHICAGO, May 20, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), today presented nine of its suppliers with the company's coveted William B. Darden Distinguished Vendor Award, one of the casual dining industry's top supplier honors. The award is named for Darden Restaurants' founder, whose vision helped establish the industry 35 years ago and created what is currently the world's largest casual dining restaurant company.
The 2003 Darden Distinguished Vendor winners are Anheuser-Busch, Aquabase, Inc., Cavit, Curly's/Smithfield, Heidi's Gourmet Desserts, Oneida, Ronald's Seafood, Unilever Bestfoods, and Zubi Advertising.
Darden, which owns and operates 1,250 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones and Seasons 52 restaurants, presents the Distinguished Vendor awards annually at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant Hotel/Motel Show to suppliers whose innovative solutions significantly contribute to Darden's growth.
"Bill Darden created standards in our industry for delicious food and welcoming hospitality," said Joe Lee, Darden Restaurants chairman and chief executive officer. "The nine companies winning this year's Distinguished Vendor Awards each remind me of Bill's innovative spirit in helping advance casual dining."
Darden's culinary, marketing, quality assurance, and purchasing teams selected the winners from the more than 2,000 suppliers Darden partnered with in fiscal 2003 (which ends May 31). Forty-eight suppliers were nominated for this year's awards. Each winning vendor was chosen for going beyond expectations in supporting Darden's restaurant companies and demonstrating a "strategic point of difference" in the areas of quality, service, innovation and value.
"The nine companies honored with this award provide diverse products and services for Darden's restaurants," said Barry Moullet, senior vice president of purchasing for Darden Restaurants. "We are proud to have such an outstanding list of companies that have demonstrated an understanding of our business goals, helping us deliver extraordinary dining experiences to our guests."
Darden 2003 Distinguished Vendor Award recipients are:
Anheuser-Busch. The St. Louis-based brewery worked with Smokey Bones, Darden's 38-unit barbeque restaurant company, to develop the company's first "table-top" menu and sponsored Smokey Bones' "Memphis In May" barbeque competition team. Darden also credits Anheuser-Busch with the continuing success of Bahama Breeze's signature micro-brew, Aruba Red. The company has supplied Darden restaurants for 35 years, making the premier brewer one of Darden's longest-term partners.
Aquabase, Inc. The New York-based seafood company is a world-leader in shrimp contract farming and provides superior quality shellfish for Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze. The company is helping position casual dining for growth by developing Middle East Deep Sea lobster resources, and in three years has increased its business with Darden from zero to become one of the company's largest shrimp suppliers.
Cavit. The Italy-based wine company successfully redeveloped Olive Garden's three signature Principato wines (Rosso, Rosato and Bianco) to enhance guests' genuine Italian dining experience. Darden said Cavit continues to be a creative problem-solver and partner. This year, the company redeveloped Principato labeling and packaging, reducing bottle breakage during distribution.
Curly's/Smithfield. The Smithfield, VA-based foodservice company supplies Smokey Bones' babyback and St. Louis-style ribs and Bahama Breeze's West Indies ribs. Curly's/Smithfield participates in Darden's Total Quality Management program, achieving some of the program's highest scores. The company's top quality ribs have helped Smokey Bones emerge as a leader in the growing casual dining barbeque segment.
Heidi's Gourmet Desserts. Based in Atlanta, this gourmet dessert company produces high-quality desserts to Darden restaurants nationwide through a new responsive production and distribution program. This year, Heidi's supported several important culinary initiatives for Darden, and continues to be "a committed long-term partner," the company said.
Oneida. The Oneida, NY, glassware, dinnerware and flatware company created custom products and worked with Darden chefs to deliver them quickly to restaurants after modifications. Oneida's employees have become an integral part of all of Darden's dinnerware initiatives, allowing the company to operate more efficiently, without sacrificing quality. Moreover, Oneida's involvement in Darden's vendor-managed inventory program will further streamline restaurants' dinnerware ordering.
Ronald's Seafood. A Bahamas-based shellfish supplier, Ronald's has consistently provided high quality rock lobster to Red Lobster for more than 16 years. Ronald's Seafood was Darden's first rock lobster supplier to implement an integrated quality assurance program.
Unilever Bestfoods. The Lisle, IL-based spice company has produced spices for Darden for seven years, demonstrating industry-leading quality control. Darden described Unilever's product development as "outstanding," and said the company has provided "above and beyond" support to the culinary teams at Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones.
Zubi Advertising. The Miami-based Hispanic advertising agency partnered with Olive Garden to create an industry-leading Hispanic-targeted marketing campaign. Zubi developed and produced Hispanic television and radio advertising and an efficient media plan, and came in under budget. The agency also created a comprehensive operations training program for Olive Garden.
Darden Restaurants, Inc., based in Orlando, FL, is the world's largest casual dining company with a 7 percent market share. The $4.4 billion company employs 138,000 people who serve five million meals a week. For more information, visit www.darden.com.
SOURCE Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Michael Gannet, ext. 233, or Rachel Stein, ext. 228, both of
Pierson Grant Public Relations, +1-954-776-1999, for Darden
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