The ability to quickly establish personal connections is something of a superpower for food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, where word-of-mouth marketing and professional networks is still so often the name of the game.
Belinda Elysee-Collen, Vice President of the Food Canada Division at Dempsey Corporation, knows this as well as anyone. With nearly 30 years of industry experience, including five in her current leadership role at a major international food ingredients distributor, Belinda counts identifying and building new relationships with food manufacturers a challenging priority for her sales team. But this process is changing for the better thanks to YODL, CFIN’s member-exclusive platform that was created to drive innovation and collaboration in the food sector. Belinda and her team are leveraging YODL’s potential as a client acquisition channel to quickly build partnerships in a way that was scarcely possible just a few years ago.
The Missing Link: Connecting Food Distributors and Manufacturers
For ingredient distributors and food manufacturers alike, forming strong partnerships is often a complicated journey. Sales cycles can be long, and, in many instances, partnership development remains offline — initiated at industry trade shows or through professional introductions. With few comprehensive resources or directories available for distributors to connect with manufacturers (and vice-versa), the process of finding value- and process-aligned businesses ready for a mutually beneficial collaboration is time-consuming, often with limited outcomes.
“Connecting with new companies that are ready to engage meaningfully has always been a challenge,” explains Belinda. “We needed a way to reach manufacturers who understood the intricacies of working with ingredient distributors and were prepared to partner in a way that made sense for both parties.”
This disconnect between industry players is precisely the sort of gap that YODL was built to fill. By providing a dedicated community where food professionals can find each other and share insights, YODL has given companies like Dempsey a new way to discover reliable leads and collaborate on a deeper level. The discussion board facilitates chance encounters, and countless opportunities for casual introductions to transform into long-term partnerships.
YODL as a Business Development Tool
When Belinda and other Dempsey team members first joined YODL, they quickly discovered its potential as more than just a networking tool. It became a strategic asset — a direct line to a diverse, rapidly growing community of potential industry partners and customers.
“We’ve begun to recognize YODL as a fantastic resource for our sales team,” says Belinda. “Over the past nine months, we’ve acquired at least eight new leads and converted three of those into customers.” With YODL, brands now have a space to inquire about very specific operational needs, like a co-packer with allergen-free operations specializing in small order sizes, or a local distributor of niche ingredients. And they will get answers — both from service providers directly and from industry colleagues facing similar challenges who have recommendations of their own. For Dempsey, engaging on YODL by participating in discussions and connecting with businesses actively seeking partnerships has established a promising pipeline of qualified leads.
A Community-Driven Approach to Connection
Belinda identifies the community-building and knowledge-sharing elements of YODL within the food sector as equally important to the connections that it facilitates.
“One of YODL’s biggest advantages is how it bridges the gap between new and growing food manufacturers and ingredient distributors,” Belinda explains. “CFIN helps these companies gain the knowledge and maturity they need to ask the right questions and become good customers. The result is more productive and efficient partnerships.”
This “preparedness” factor has been critical to Dempsey’s success on the platform. By engaging with companies that are equipped to collaborate meaningfully, Dempsey is building efficient, enduring partnerships with clients who understand the complexities of ingredient sourcing and distribution.
Looking Ahead: The Future with YODL
Engaging on YODL has become a strategic investment in the future for Dempsey. With its growing user base and ever-expanding library of resources to support and educate new food brands, YODL has invigorated Belinda’s perspective on business development in the food industry.
“CFIN has played a key role in connecting us with innovative, fast-growing food manufacturers who are well-prepared to collaborate,” says Belinda. “We’re excited to see how this platform will continue to evolve and help us build even more productive relationships.”
As YODL grows, so too does Dempsey’s confidence in its ability to foster high-value partnerships that fuel ongoing success in the competitive and rapidly changing Canadian food sector.