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Posted on: June 9, 2021
ABOUT SUN PACIFIC ENERGYSpanning four generations, the Eerkes Family has provided quality fuel products and exemplary service to all their customers. Beginning in Yakima, Washington after WWI with a Richfield service station, they invested in their community of Tri-Cities, Washington by providing heating oil and lubricants, which was just the beginnings of Sun Pacific Energy. Convenience stores were the added in the 1980’s as well as acquisitions in Yakima and the Seattle area all to better serve their customers and communities. Sun Pacific currently operates 8 Sun Market stores, 4 Firehouse Sub restaurants and Golf Universe. They are expanding their footprint in Washington state with 4 more new locations over the next 2 years to include 3 more Sun Market stores and another Firehouse restaurant. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENTSun Pacific Energy is committed to support the communities in which they conduct business. Each year the “Eerkes Memorial Golf Classic for Kid” is hosted by the Eerkes family and sponsored by Sun Pacific Energy. This annual event brings together the community and provides annual financial operating support for both organizations.Sun Pacific Proudly Supports:•Eerkes Memorial Golf Classic for Kids•Boys & Girls Clubs of America•YoungLife ASSOCIATIONSSun Pacific Energy personnel take an active interest and leadership positions in associations which directly impact the fuel and convenience store industries. Annual visits to Washington D.C. to interact with legislators continues to be an important component to monitor industry regulations.Staying ahead of current legislation and best business practices give Sun Pacific the edge in ensuring the best possible outcomes for both company-op and dealer sites. SUN MARKETS & HARBOR WHOLESALESun Markets has been a Harbor Wholesale Customer for 8 years. The Sun Pacific Energy team continually strives to maintain an excellent reputation in the communities they serve. They are founded upon three simple principles:•Friendliness: Working together as an efficient team to provide a consistently friendly and positive atmosphere for their customers and employees.•Cleanliness: Maintaining a safe and clean environment that provides quality products that are well merchandised at fair prices.•Honesty: Striving to be recognized as a leader because of their loyalty and integrity toward each other, their customers, their communities, and thir company. Sun Markets are your convenient on the go stop. If you are looking for a quick market to pick up your morning hot cup of coffee or some fresh food for a quick break, Sun Market is your place to stop. They offer fast and friendly service to make your pit stop as enjoyable as possible. Harbor has been instrumental in setting up new locations or revamping existing locations. With Harbor’s expertise in merchandising and schematics they are confident that they are providing their customers the best experience with the best product offerings. Harbor has consistently helped them enhance their coffee and fresh food programs with innovative ideas and with new products to keep them relevant to customer buying habits. Harbor has been a great partner that truly invests the time and resources to create the professional look and feel of their Sun Market stores. Sun Markets enjoys working with another family run business that values their customers and keeps their commitments. Sun Pacific Energy was fortunate to keep all of our locations open throughout the pandemic. Every employee kept their job and they pulled together as a team to help each other and their community during this time. Sun Pacific donated over 4,000 meals to local schools with children in need. At the same time, Sun Pacific donated over 1,000 meals to First Responders and healthcare providers.
Posted on: May 14, 2021
Tillamook Country Smoker Meat Snacks deliver what salty snackers seek while attracting new consumers and offering a strong product affinity with “healthier” products and beverages. Typically on a budget and crunched for time while looking for a protein-packed snack, the c-store meat snack consumer finds exactly what they’re looking for on the fly with both traditional and better-for-you Tillamook Country Smoker meat snack options. With 25% of consumers saying they’re snacking more frequently these days,[1] Tillamook Country Smoker’s diverse portfolio sets store owners up for success in capturing a wide range of shopper snacking demand and maximizing sale potential. Perfect Portable Protein for On the Go Made with premium beef & pork real hardwood smoked to perfection, Tillamook Country Smoker Individually Wrapped Meat Sticks are the fastest growing in the channel and are gaining share.[2] Offered in top-selling flavors that meet consumer preferences, their 1.44oz Individually Wrapped Meat Sticks are also in the Top 10 unit movers in the category with their Pepperoni and Teriyaki sticks moving ~1.5x faster than the category Units/Store/Week average.[3] With 17% of consumers buying more larger sized packages,[4] Tillamook Country Smoker’s 4oz, 10oz & 12oz Smoked Sausages in a Bag also offer a convenient, shareable snacking solution for those seeking more than just 1 meat stick to refuel. The Category Leader in Zero Sugar Innovation Taking a protein-packed approach to convenient, better-for-you snacking, Tillamook Country Smoker Zero Sugar Beef Jerky & Smoked Sausages attract new c-store consumers and drive frequency. With zero sugar, zero carbs, 9-14g of protein per serving, and no MSG, added nitrites, gluten or artificial ingredients, they’re the ideal snack for consumers looking to cut back on sugar consumption without compromising on flavor. Tillamook Country Smoker’s newest addition to their Zero Sugar line-up includes a spicy yet balanced Zero Sugar Hot & Spicy Jerky powered by premium habaneros and available in convenient, resealable bags in small (2.2oz) and big (6.5oz) sizes. Increasing Category Velocity Average with Bulk Meat Snacks The #1 manufacturer of bulk meat snacks for 10+ years, Tillamook Country Smoker raises the Meats Snacks Category Velocity in national chains with its bulk product by 10%.[5] In 2020, Tillamook Country Smoker introduced a new COVID-friendly, “deli-style” wrapped jerky & smoked sausages line. Responding to shifting shopper behavior and preferences that are likely to stick around beyond the pandemic, the individually vacuum-packed nature of these meat sticks locks in freshness and increases shelf life with a packaging design that evokes both small-batch quality and value. The product targets both previous bulk customers and new customers, offering a solution for a $5 snack pack at an accessible, impulse-buy price point that helps increase basket size. Designed for the ultimate merchandising versatility in-store, Tillamook Country Smoker also offers eye-catching, customizable display racks, caddies, and clip strips to make it easy for bulk meat snack fans to stock up. [1] IRI 2021 Snacking Survey % of Consumers [2] IRI L26 12.27.20 Total US Convenience [3] IRI L13 WE 4.18.21 Total US Convenience, IW Traditional Sticks ACV >6.0 [4] IRI 2021 Snacking Survey % of Consumers [5] IRI L26 WE 1.24.21 Total US Convenience
Posted on: May 12, 2021
Have you ever wondered what went into your order or who all touched your order? We have come a long way from using paper and pen to pick customer orders. After Harbor receives items from the manufacturer, they are staged in excess locations. Our warehouse management system or WMS directs users where to place pallets in overstock and when to pull them down to fulfill orders. Our warehouse operation is always looking for new ways to be more efficient and innovative. From tools for order selection to ways to give order selectors instant achievements and gratification. The order selection department primarily operates Sunday through Thursday and starts picking orders at 2 PM. Orders that are being picked are put on trucks that night and delivered to the customer the next day. Almost as soon as an order is entered, we are printing tags and distributing them to their departments. Order selectors predominately use a voice picking system. Order selectors train their voice unit with a list of commands. They can then interact via a headset and confirm the correct item, quantity, and verify route information. This gives the team member an overall hands-free experience. Any each-picking is done as a team and picked into a tote. Team members work together to finish routes in tandem to keep the flow of the warehouse smooth and efficient. Totes are worked on together and sent to an automated sorting system where totes can be organized by pallet and route. We call this area of the warehouse the merge. They are then sent to our consolidation department where they scan and verify correct totes are being put on the correct pallet. Case picking is when a customer orders a full case of an item rather than a partial. These departments use a riding pallet jack to complete a pallet at a time. An order selector in the department will start an order with an empty pallet. It is their responsibility to make sure that it is built in a way to make our transportation team efficient as well. The order selector must consider weight of the item, stop on the route, food safety requirements, as well as where they are placing the picking tag. This is all done while still being accurate and efficient. After pallets are completed and wrapped, they are put onto Harbor dedicated trailers for our motivated and friendly transportation team to deliver to our customers. Order selectors are one of the key roles at Harbor and are essential in getting items to our trusted customers. This position has been a gateway for a lot of Harbor team members that have been promoted into customer service, IT, purchasing, and beyond.
Posted on: March 11, 2021
A Shift in Shopping If there is one key trend to come out of the convenience channel through the COVID-19 crisis, it is that consumers are seeking out more take-home options than ever. This is a significant shift from the trends we have seen over the past five years. Where retailers had been focused on reducing the size of their grocery sets and number of large pack options in favor of a broader assortment of single serve snacking and grab-and-go options, we are now seeing space intentionally set aside for take home sizes. Retailers who had been growing their foodservice offerings are now challenged to offer meal solutions in ways that are compatible with carry-out, curbside pickup, or delivery services. Safety Found in Convenience But why exactly are we seeing this shift in consumer habits? Convenience stores by nature are set up for speed. It is easy to get in an out quickly without coming into close contact with other customers. In the current climate this means safety. Many consumers feel that fill-in trips to their local corner store or gas station are a safer choice than venturing to the ever-busy grocery store. Those looking to cut down the number of overall trips are opting for larger pack sizes to get them through. Similarly, consumers are finding solace in preparing meals in the safety and comfort of their own homes. However, busy lifestyles have prevailed through the pandemic causing consumers to continue to seek out time-saving solutions at mealtime. As a result, easy, prepackaged, and prepared options are more important than ever. Convenience stores are primed to be the perfect solution for many consumers by offering the fill-in trip essentials and grab-and-go meal solutions in one location. Mountain Fresh Delivers The Mountain Fresh Brand has always been focused on providing fresh, quality products made with ingredients you love for people on the go. We’re made for adventure, but sometimes navigating that busy pandemic lifestyle is more of an adventure than your favorite weekend hike. Either way, we’ve got you covered. We’re excited to introduce two new product lines designed to fit the needs of today’s c-store consumer. Better for you Snacks in Sharing Sizes We’ve taken six top selling varieties of our Mountain Fresh Snacks and packaged them in resealable stand-up pouches. With twice the product as our car cups consumers can eat a little now and a little later or pass the pouch to the kids in the backseat of the car. Take N’ Bake Pizzas The perfect mealtime solution for busy families on the go, our Mountain Fresh Pizzas never sacrifice quality for convenience. Made with all natural, fresh dough and premium meats, cheeses and vegetables we pack on the ingredients you love. While designed to provide an easy grab-and-go meal solution, retailers can also bake any unsold pizzas in-store to sell by the slice. With three classic varieties – Pepperoni, Cheese, and Supreme – there’s something for everyone. The Mountain Fresh brand is owned and distributed exclusively by Harbor Wholesale
Posted on: February 12, 2021
With this weekends snowfall throughout the NW, Harbor wants to make sure all CDL drivers out there are safe.  #wegotyourback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD-DbjZWYGU&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: February 11, 2021
This year has been extremely challenging with the pandemic and hurdles that it has created. A big percentage of the Northern sales team success is Canadian traffic, colleges, and seasonal vacationing in the northern Seattle area. The borders have been shut down, college campuses closed, and ferries empty which has created a big challenge for the team. The LDC-North team worked hard with their accounts on Harbor’s initiatives that were created to help out customers in every way possible to get through these uncharted waters. They maximized on the following initiatives during Covid the lockdowns: CSI (Customer Support Initiative)The team helped educate stores on curbside pick up, call in ordering and creating social media pages for their locations. This was proven to be very successful for the northern territories. Clean Store InitiativeThey helped provide cleaning products, tools, advertising, and education to their customers to help promote a clean and safe shopping experience for the consumers. Teresa Nixon got up early every day, checking what was in stock to let her customers know what options were hard to get items. She also focused on Harbor’s social media initiative, assisting customers in getting pages created so they could reach their customers through social media and their websites. She sent customers images of Harbor’s coffee programs and Mountain Fresh products so customers had content to post. She has worked hard to make suggestions for stores so they can be more COVID-19 compliant and supplied cleaning products to help stores follow through on the clean store initiative. John Gasche helped customers put together curb side pickup programs. He also helped his customers get on social media to advertise their businesses, and new programs. This also helped customers alert consumers when hard to get items were in stock. He brought a sense of normalcy to his customers during a very difficult time, always bringing a positive attitude to work each day. Dan Rochon worked with his customers to find replacements for items that were out of stock, ensuring that customers could continue through foodservice programs through the pandemic. Jennifer Radvanyi also worked on getting substitute products to her customers. She stayed in close contact socially with all her accounts during the lockdown to provide support and service where possible. Matthew Childs saw how people can come together in hard times, and always reminded customers we will get through this. Each store had different protocols that aligned with state mandates, and he worked with each of his customers to ensure all precautions were being taken. Thank you to the LDC-North Sales Team for ensuring our customers are taken care of each and every day! *Please note some photos were taken pre-covid.
Posted on: January 29, 2021
The Northwest’s top two independent convenience distributors are exploring a merger between their successful family-owned companies.  Justin Erickson, CEO of Harbor Foods Group states, “After several discussions with Robert Krupp (Chairman at Rich & Rhine), we realized that our vision for the convenience industry and strong values-based leadership were well aligned towards common future goals and opportunities.  We share a common passion for building an organization where our team members can be successful while being 100% focused on our customers’ success.”  Harbor Wholesale operates distribution centers in Lacey, WA and Roseburg, OR.  The partnership with Rich & Rhine would provide Harbor with an opportunity to establish a Portland, OR “hub” to service the more densely populated markets in NW Oregon and SW Washington.  Robert Krupp states, “As we continued down the path of successfully growing our business, we realized that substantial capital investment would be necessary to support our customers’ expansion into foodservice, fresh foods, branded programs, and new technologies.  Our partnership with Harbor would allow us to accomplish these goals by leveraging Harbor’s existing infrastructure in a number of these areas.”  Rich & Rhine and Harbor would conduct business as usual with Rich & Rhine operated independently and led by the current leadership team, including Ron Squires as President.  Erickson states, “In our 98 years of doing business, we’ve found only one true competitive advantage in this industry: our people.  We look forward to collaborating with the Rich & Rhine team so our collective knowledge, experience, and creativity can explore new and innovative ways to serve our customers better than ever.”  The combined companies would serve nearly 4,000 independent retailers throughout the Northwest.  The collective buying power of the combined businesses would bring new opportunities for customers to enhance their profitability while enjoying the service they’ve come to expect from the excellent people representing Rich & Rhine and Harbor. 
Posted on: November 17, 2020
With the closure of restaurants, more demand put back on grocery and limited occupancy restrictions in supermarkets, our retail customer base will see increased traffic. Consumers will look for quick, safe, and easy locations to access essential items. Sun MarketKennewick, WashingtonSun Market has multiple locations in the Kennewick, Washington area. With Harbor, they focus on community foods and school lunches. During the COVID-19 crisis, they provided over 4,000 school lunches and at least 500+ meals to first responders and local hospitals. Amber, the manager at Sun Market, also made and donated masks to their community, including the one worn by our Lead Store Solutions Rep, Dana Rabe. Fat Alberts & Lillie Family MarketSouthern OregonShari Lillie from Fat Alberts & Lillie Family Market made face masks for their local medical facilities, first responders, and their customers. She made over 600 masks to donate. Stop And Go Mini MartBend, OregonStop & Go Mini Mart is all about the essentials. When COVID-19 hit, theyimplemented delivery services within a 3-mile radius with Vroom and offered curbside pickup. They started a social media campaign around their delivery services saying, “We deliver. You relax!”. When toilet paper shortages hit, they offered a roll of toilet paper with every fill-up. Stop and Go Mini Mart has done a great job utilizing social media to show their customers how they are supporting them through COVID-19! The Convenience GroupVancouver, WashingtonThe Convenience Group hired extra team members to increase service to their community during COVID-19. They also adjusted their store selection to offer affordable items to serve all budgets. They were one of the first locations to implement plexiglass partitions at their store. The Convenience Group began offering free PPE to those in need, helping to keep their community safe and healthy. In addition, The Convenience Group’s owner, Don Rhoads, increased donations to local food banks, as well as homeless food and clothing programs. Bellis Fair ShellBellingham, WashingtonAt the onset of COVID, Bellis Fair Shell gave away $25 in free gas to first responder staff at St. Joseph Hospital located in Bellingham, Washington. Roslyn GroceryRoslyn, WashingtonRoslyn Grocery is a classic community market serving customers in Roslyn, Washington, offering a wide variety of fresh foods and fresh produce options. With COVID, they began a concierge service for customers. They also have a strict mask policy, protecting the health of their team members and customers, creating signage so it was clear what the expectations were upon entering the store. Roslyn Grocery also worked with a non-profitorganization to prepare and deliver 300 nutrition bags to their community! Thank you to all of our customers who went above and beyond to serve their communities through COVID-19. Your success is our success, and Harbor is always here to ensure you’re able to continue taking care of our customers!