In the world of protein and food distribution, networking plays a crucial role in establishing and strengthening business relationships. The National Protein and Food Distributors Association (NPFDA) convention is held every winter at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, bringing together over 900 attendees from across the country. NPFDA provides a unique platform for industry players to connect, collaborate, and explore new opportunities.

The convention offers many networking events, from casual collaborative sessions to structured business meetings. Informal gatherings, such as networking dinners and cocktail receptions, allowed for more personal interactions, building on relationships that might only be face-to-face once a year.

Our sales team has been lucky enough to attend the NPFDA convention for the last 30 years. One of the highlights for Eastern Quality Foods (EQF) was our Meet and Greet halfway through the week. Conference attendees had the chance to join the team in our hospitality suite. Over hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, we enjoyed meeting new members of the industry as well as seeing many familiar faces.

Brandon Reid, Isis De Alba, Grant Conway, Jon Poole, Nick Abeyta, and Rob Eshelman enjoying dinner as team.

As EQF grows, our sales team has spread across the country with over 12 locations from the corporate office in Ponte Vedra Beach to sales offices in Mexico City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. NPFDA provides an outlet for Eastern traders to gather in the same city and spend time team building. We even had the chance to showcase our retail brands, Nature’s Best Seafood™, Paradise Kitchens™, and Tiantang Asian Cuisine™, and share about their products.

Giveaway items at our Meet and Greet.

Every year, NPFDA serves as a catalyst for the company’s growth organizing events such as the NPFDA Protein Supplier Showcase and the chance to hear from Tyler Harper, the Georgia Agricultural Commissioner. We are looking forward to 2024 to further develop the relationships that began at NPFDA and grow existing ones. See you next year!

Eastern Quality Foods is excited to disclose that it has significantly expanded its beef trading operations with the assumption of the ASC-Meyners business operation. ASC-Meyners has operated under the same management for the past fifty years with its headquarters located nearby in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The management teams of both Eastern and ASC-Meyners have known each other and worked together for over ten years. ASC-Meyners maintains decades of successful international beef importing experience and expertise, complementing Eastern’s diverse wholesale protein distribution business. The newly formed “ASC-Meyners” division of Eastern Quality Foods includes key long term ASC-Meyners employees who will continue to provide the same valued importing and customer service experience. Eastern looks forward to expanding the distribution capabilities of this division with additional customer relationships and capital resources.

Eastern Quality Foods is a privately held wholesale distributor of protein including poultry, beef, seafood, eggs, and pork with fourteen sales offices throughout the United States and Mexico. The company, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, has operated since 1954.

Eastern Quality Foods (“Eastern”) is pleased to announce it is expanding its frozen seafood offering by acquiring the Glenn Sales Company (“Glenn Sales”). This acquisition, completed on January 10, 2020, represents a consolidation of expertise and resources that will allow Eastern to significantly increase its seafood trading operations. Leveraging strong product knowledge and deep supplier relationships, Glenn Sales has grown over the last sixty years to be a leading wholesale distributor of frozen seafood in the United States, including the distribution of its High Tide branded seafood.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to join Eastern Quality Foods. We have a great relationship with the leadership team and look forward to expanding our distribution capabilities with the capital and customer resources that Eastern provides,” said Bruce Pearlman, former president of Glenn Sales Company. “We remain committed to our valued supplier and customer relationships and to maintaining the individual service and attention that has made us successful. Eastern brings a wealth of wholesale distribution knowledge to complement our business model, along with the values of a family business that are so important to all of us at Glenn Sales.”

“We are pleased to welcome the Glenn Sales Company to the Eastern family. We share their long-standing commitment to quality products and excellent customer service,” said Ted Rueger, president & CEO of Eastern Quality Foods. “We look forward to working together with the Glenn Sales team and are excited about our shared future.”

In operation for more than sixty years, Glenn Sales is a successful wholesale distributor of frozen seafood located in Atlanta, Georgia. The newly formed “Glenn Sales Company” division of Eastern will retain all employees and office locations, with Bruce Pearlman, former president of Glenn Sales Company, managing the seafood division out of its current Atlanta office facility. Eastern Quality Foods (www.easternqualityfoods.com) is a privately held wholesale distributor of protein including poultry, beef, seafood, eggs and pork with fourteen sales offices throughout the United States and Mexico. The company, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, has operated since 1954.

Eastern Poultry Distributors, Inc. dba Eastern Quality Foods announced the appointment of Fernando Momente as the General Manager of the company’s new Orlando, Florida sales & distribution office. In his new role, Mr. Momente will oversee the sales and local distribution of beef and other proteins to the Orlando marketplace. He comes to Eastern with a wealth of experience in protein production, sales, and distribution, most recently serving as the President of Private Brands Global Sourcing (PBGS). Prior to PBGS, Mr. Momente served in various sales, trading, and sales management roles with Marfrig, the second-largest Brazilian food processing company. Mr. Momente was born and raised in Brazil and has lived and worked in the United States since 2011. Over the course of his career, Mr. Momente has developed key relationships with both US and Brazilian protein suppliers and has recently developed a valuable foodservice customer base in the Orlando metropolitan area.

“We feel very fortunate to be welcoming Fernando to the Eastern family,” said Ted Rueger, Eastern’s President & CEO. “He brings a proven track record of selling and servicing customer relationships. We believe there is a significant opportunity to further penetrate the Orlando market considering Eastern’s access to products coupled with Fernando’s growing customer base. This exciting hire continues our effort to diversify and grow our distribution footprint in Florida.”

Mr. Momente maintains twenty years of experience in the protein industry and lives in Orlando with his wife and two young children.

Eastern Quality Foods specializes in the wholesale distribution of poultry, beef, seafood, pork, eggs, and other proteins. Eastern’s client base includes processing and manufacturing plants, food service institutions, retailers, restaurants, schools, universities, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations. The company was founded in 1954 and has grown to approximately $300 million in annualized revenue. Eastern maintains twelve office locations across the continental United States and Mexico with its headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.