to vice president of dining service
and then president and chief execu-
tive offcer in 2000. "Food Express
has had a great run, we've grown to
over $25,000,000 in sales, paid off
our debt, provided a great place to
work for our associates and had a lot
of fun along the way," said Whitacre.
Focus on fresh food
Food Express has a signifcant num-
ber of foodservice operations in
addition to its thousands of vending
machines, micro markets and offce
coffee service locations. "The focus
on fresh food, customer service, our
employees and technological advance-
ments have propelled us to one of the
largest independent food service com -
panies in the country," said Whitacre.
Fresh food accounts for 15 percent of
the company's vending sales, and 25
percent across micro markets.
Food Express has implemented
USConnect's proprietary "Right
Choice for a Healthier You" wellness
program across all of its service sec-
tors. Developed by USConnect's Reg-
istered & Certifed Dietician, Carmen
Gorniak, this program allows Whita-
cre to address the consumer demands
Food Express operates 40 micro markets.
April 2014 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 19
S U C C E S S S T O R Y
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