Fred’s worldwide headquarters is just a driver and a five iron down the street from BPI Packaging’s consumer products plant. So it was a natural step for us to reach out to Fred’s and offer to help with its private label initiative. We already make household cleaners, fragrances and Pet Care products for other customers in Memphis. Naturally, we respect the proprietary nature of our customers’ brands and formulas, but were able to apply our general knowledge of the product segment to help Fred’s identify several high volume SKUs where a Fred’s branded product would complement the National Brand on their shelf. We started producing and shipping in 2Q2015 with six SKUs. So, we not only expect to be a good neighbor but also to be a great partner with them for many years to come.
Being located in the Distribution Capital of the USA normally helps quite a bit with freight and other distributions costs. There are so many retailers with regional distribution centers in and around Memphis that BPI has a competitive advantage over those who have to ship here from their factories elsewhere. Of course, with Fred’s HQ and Distribution center one block away, we have an even bigger location advantage with Fred’s. BPI sought out this solution to help Fred’s Build Better Brands for its private label options.