Don’s Prepared Foods Brings a Point of Difference to Southern Innovations; Carl H. Cappelli Shares

SCHWENKSVILLE, PA - Don’s Prepared Foods is heading to Southern Innovations with a broad selection of its top-selling products and an eye toward growth across retail, foodservice, and commissary.

The prepared foods company will sample some of its best-selling items at the show, giving buyers a look at a portfolio spanning seafood salads, grain salads, cream cheese spreads, dips, and other prepared foods.

While Don’s is holding its next product debuts until January 2027, the company is already looking ahead to three globally inspired dips designed around current flavor trends. For Carl H. Cappelli, Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Don’s Prepared Foods, the message to buyers at Southern Innovations is simple. “Don’s has items others do not have!”

Aiming for "Global Domination"

Asked where the company is concentrating its attention at this year’s show, Cappelli had an equally straightforward answer. “Our focus is ‘global domination!’”

“Consumers are dining out less and seek meal solutions in-store. They seek restaurant-quality foods they can serve at home. Retailers love Don’s because Private Label is on fire in retail,” Cappelli said.

That shift creates room for prepared foods that can bring restaurant-inspired experiences into consumers’ homes while giving retailers something shoppers cannot necessarily find elsewhere.

Don’s offers its products in bulk, with select items also available in retail grab-and-go formats. Rather than telling retailers how to build their sets, Cappelli sees the company’s role as giving them differentiated products to work with.

“There is a lot here. Simply, Don’s offers items consumers and retailers seek. We offer all items we produce in bulk and some in retail grab-and-go. Retailers know how to merchandise. They just need unique items that give them a point of difference,” he said.

Showing Shoppers What’s Possible

While differentiation can draw attention, Cappelli said retailers can go a step further by showing shoppers how prepared foods fit into meals. “Show the consumer how it is used as a side or main dish. Consumers often buy with their eyes. In-store signage as well as digital drives sales,” he said.

That approach can be particularly relevant as shoppers look to stores for meal solutions that bridge the gap between cooking from scratch and dining out.

Attendees will also be able to find Don’s products in the show’s new item area.

For more insights from the companies shaping fresh food and retail, keep reading ANUK.