Legacy digital solutions failing to garner operator adoption

As the largest Canadian-owned foodservice distributor, Flanagan Foodservice operates in a highly competitive marketplace dominated by multinational broadliners. And while they had been investing in digital sales motions, they hadn’t seen the results they wanted across all segments of their customer base. While multi-unit customers had higher digital adoption, at the time only 29% of their independent operators/customers were placing orders online, leaving more than two-thirds dependent on manual processes. This created two major challenges:

1. Reps Spent too much time order-taking: Sales reps spent a disproportionate amount of time entering routine orders rather than focusing on consultative selling or identifying growth opportunities.
   
   
2. Competitive Pressure:  Without a modern eCommerce solution, Flanagan risked losing digital-first customers to competitors who already offered a seamless, mobile-first buying experience.
   

On top of the digital platform, Flanagan’s visual product strategy simply didn’t match their product offerings, with many of their products missing pictures, nutritional information, and other important details that convert buyers.

Jackie Oakes, the Director of Marketing at Flanagan Foodservice “While we felt as a group that we were doing well, we had a feeling that something was missing and knew that we can boost digital adoption - that’s when we found Pepper”

Investing company-wide in the Pepper platform, with 4 months to go-live

In 2024, Flanagan began their search for their digital growth partner to create an industry-best eCommerce and ordering experience - eventually partnering with Pepper. 

“When selecting a vendor, it wasn’t just the software - the team and culture at Pepper aligned with our values. With a support team located directly in Canada, we knew we could trust them as a long-term partner”

The project was strategically designed for speed, and the team successfully achieved a go-live timeline of just four months - a pace rarely seen in foodservice technology deployments.

Recognizing that the success of the platform depended on data quality, Flanagan simultaneously invested in a dedicated data team. This team was tasked with achieving complete image and data coverage for all catalog items, ensuring customers had accurate product visuals, pack size information, and descriptions. This investment transformed the digital catalog into a customer-friendly experience.

The launch was not the finish line, but the starting point. Ongoing development efforts were intentionally structured to strengthen data capabilities and reporting functionalities. Flanagan and Pepper worked side by side to evolve the platform through AI-powered features, price promotions, and pilot advertising programs. Together, these initiatives were designed to create a comprehensive digital ecosystem capable of driving sales growth, customer engagement, and new revenue streams.

Customer adoption, increased case volume, and a platform that reps love

The impact of the platform was immediate. Online ordering adoption leapt from 29% pre-launch to 62% post-launch, with a target of 80% adoption by year-end. This shift represents a fundamental change in customer behavior and positions Flanagan as a leader in digital ordering.

Customer satisfaction has also been notable. Many buyers now describe the platform as superior to competitors, citing intuitive navigation, and recommendation features as standout benefits. Early adopters demonstrated higher order volumes and lower churn, validating the investment in both technology and data accuracy.

Sales Growth & Sales Rep Efficiency

The benefits extended to Flanagan’s sales team, who could now shift focus away from manual order entry toward strategic selling. Data revealed a strong link between rep adoption rates and sales growth:

• Rep A: With 85% of customers ordering online, achieved 15% sales volume growth.
  
  
• Rep B: With 97% of customers online, realized 25% growth.
  

On average, reps with higher adoption rates also reported four additional line items per customer. This demonstrates that when routine order entry is automated, sales reps can dedicate more time to upselling, cross-selling, and relationship management.

Incremental Revenue from AI & Promotions

The AI-powered recommendation engine became a critical growth driver. By suggesting relevant add-on items, it influenced customer behavior and generated incremental sales, representing a 6% lift in new case volume. This highlighted the system’s ability to drive net-new growth rather than simply shifting volume between existing SKUs.

Complementing AI, Flanagan introduced targeted price promotions through the platform. These campaigns proved to be 10x as effective at converting new buyers as any of their previous efforts involving printed material or DSR-led programs, proving that digital promotions can effectively drive both account penetration and incremental volume.

New Revenue Stream from Advertising

Flanagan also piloted an in-platform advertising program built on three pillars:

1. Display ads – Enhancing visibility of promoted items.
   
   
2. Search placement – Ensuring strategic products surfaced at the right time.
   
   
3. Customer sampling – Encouraging trial and accelerating adoption.
   

Early results were promising: advertising efforts drove incremental sales and added new buyers to the advertised items. Beyond near-term revenue, this initiative laid the groundwork for a new revenue stream, enabling Flanagan to monetize supplier partnerships and expand its digital value proposition.

Alignment with Strategic Objectives

The digital transformation powered by Pepper was not just a technology upgrade—it aligned directly with Flanagan’s broader business goals:

• Diversifying revenue streams through advertising and digital promotions.
  
  
• Strengthening customer acquisition with a superior ordering experience.
  
  
• Scaling growth through digital platforms, ensuring competitiveness in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

The initiative has already delivered measurable results and created a foundation for sustained growth and profitability.

“What we are most excited about as we partner with Pepper isn’t only the results we are seeing today”, said Jackie, “but their vision for the future and the strategy behind their efforts to build out their growth platform make us hopeful that we’ll see even bigger returns in the next few years”.