Pepper vs. GrubMarket

Choosing a technology partner is an important step for independent distributors.

Pepper encourages shopping behaviour for your customers so you can increase order size and saves more time for busy sales reps than any other provider in the space.

Here are just a few of the reasons that we believe Pepper is a better alternative to GrubMarket for independent distributors.

The largest network of independent food distributors use Pepper to boost basket size and strengthen customer relationships.

Business Model Alignment

Your technology partner should build your business, not compete with it.

Pepper

Pepper is 100% focused on empowering independent distributors to strengthen customer relationships and grow revenue.

GrubMarket

GrubMarket operates both as a software platform and a marketplace, which can overlap with how independent distributors serve customers. The company also pursues growth through acquisitions, including distribution businesses and other software providers.

Ease of Use

A well-designed app with order guides and powerful search capabilities

Pepper

Modern, intuitive app designed for distributors and operators alike. Over 70% of Pepper orders are completed in under 5 minutes.

GrubMarket

A functional platform for marketplace buying and selling, with workflows designed more for produce buyers. It doesn’t prioritize distributor-led order management.

Integration

Successful ordering has to work with many systems

Pepper

Pepper has integrated with over 50 ERP systems, with over a dozen successful installations of Thyme, Produce Pro, PICS, AS400, Freshbyte, and many other operations.

GrubMarket

ERP integration is limited - GrubMarket emphasizes its own supply chain network over deep connections with distributor systems, and integrations are typically stronger with software the company has acquired.

Promotion & Advertising Capacities

Campaigns that boost basket size.

Pepper

Advanced promotional suite with digital ads, promo badging, rebates, and supplier-funded campaigns to increase order size.

GrubMarket

GrubMarket offers marketplace catalog browsing and basic promotions, but does not provide structured tools for distributors to run their own campaigns.

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AI Tools for Sales Reps

Your go-to-market platform should empower your sales team

Pepper

DSR Connect equips reps with price editing, prospecting, reporting, alerts, and AI co-pilot support to grow accounts while Pepper’s AI-assisted ordering turns text and calls into orders, so you don't have to.

GrubMarket

Grubmarket has GrubAssist, a mobile and voice-enabled AI assistant for creating orders, pulling reports, and analyzing cash flow or performance. Its focus is on business analysis and operations rather than distributor sales growth.

Product Content

Buyers want products with pictures and descriptions

Pepper

SALT is a dedicated product library with over 18 million attributes, supported by a team that work on product content, brand outreach & AI catalog mapping for dynamic content. This is a free tool embedded in Pepper’s AI functionality.

GrubMarket

Product listings are managed by marketplace sellers, giving distributors less flexibility to curate or customize their catalogs in GrubMarket.

Growth Enablement

Digital tools make planogram execution simple and profitable.

Pepper

Pepper gives distributors advanced growth tools like digital promotions, AI-powered cross-sell and upsell alerts, churn prevention, and vendor-funded advertising modules - all designed to increase order size and unlock new revenue streams.

GrubMarket

GrubMarket offers reliable ordering with a simple setup but fewer options for customization, ERP integrations, and long-term scalability. It is primarily geared toward produce buyers and growers.

Customer Support

When trouble arises, you’ll want someone you trust.

Pepper

Pepper offers a personalized support team for each customer, exclusively focused on meeting your unique business needs and challenges.

GrubMarket

GrubMarket offers standard support and implementation resources, with a leaner service model.

Your Growth is Our Priority

Pepper has the tools, features, and integrations you need to be successful

Volume based promotions and pricing

Holistic sampling qualifications and ad process

Peak price protection

Product segment based filtering (e.g. Tobacco, Candy, Beverages, General Merchandise, etc.)

Cross-sell/Upsell alerts

Rebate/Promo badging

Customer churn alerts

Item churn alerts

AI powered Chatbot

Yelp integration (Prospect Finding)

Planogram Support

AI-based order automation

Offline mode

Keyboard shortcuts

Price visualizations

GP% calculations

Essential items workflow

Credit/Overdue payment tracking

Meal ticket integration

Barcode scanning

Honeywell/Cipherlab Integration

Batch tag printing

The largest network of independent food distributors use Pepper to boost basket size and strengthen customer relationships.

“To this day - I have had not one complaint about our app. I hear our customers say that it's better than Sysco and some of the other big broad-liners. It's a testament to you guys on how well your product is - I love Pepper.”

Scott Davis, COO Mr. Greens

“Pepper’s promo tool drives more sales, creates an opportunity for more marketing money from vendors, and surfaces new items to our customers. The success of the campaign was an eye-opener to the effectiveness of digital promotions over our traditional methods.”

Mary Laddusaw, Director of Sales for Henry’s Foods

“It is truly refreshing to find a product that is actually designed for our line of business, that does everything we could have wished for, is user friendly, and isn’t just patchwork over an existing ERP that was designed for a different business need and somehow made to work.”

Aaron Bloom, Bermuda General Agency

Get in touch with our team and get a demo today!

Come see why hundreds of independent food distributors have chosen Pepper to automate their order desks.

Image Recognition

Text-to-Order

Inventory Integration

High Accuracy