Dao vs the national broadliners: who should supply a Thai kitchen?
Dao Distribution vs Sysco, US Foods, and Restaurant Depot for a Bay Area Thai restaurant: where a specialist beats a broadliner on price, freshness, and know-how.
By Dao Distribution
We are small and new next to the national broadliners and their thousands of employees. That is exactly the point.
Specialists, not a catalog
A broadliner stocks one fish sauce and one curry paste because that is what their system holds. A Thai kitchen does not run that way. Dao's catalog is built from the brands Bay Area Thai and Lao kitchens ask for by name, with the depth to match the paste, the rice, and the sauce to how you actually cook.
Where we win
Because we source our Thai specialty products direct from the mill and our grower relationships, our prices on those items beat Sysco and Restaurant Depot. You also get one truck for your entire Thai operation, a rep who actually picks up the phone, and same-day flexibility a broadliner cannot match. Order by 7 AM and it is on that day's truck.
Where we don't
We will not pretend to beat Sysco on ketchup and napkins. On commodity items a national broadliner has the scale. But on the Thai pantry that defines your kitchen, we win on price, freshness, and know-how.
Bottom line
For the Thai pantry that defines your kitchen, Dao beats the broadliners on price, freshness, and expertise. One truck, one specialist, no call center.
See what Dao supplies and how delivery works, or call (415) 999-4863.
Questions we hear
- Is Dao cheaper than Sysco or Restaurant Depot?
- On the Thai pantry that defines your kitchen, yes. Because Dao sources its Thai specialty products direct, its prices on those items beat Sysco and Restaurant Depot. Dao does not try to beat a broadliner on commodity items like ketchup and napkins.
- Why use a specialist distributor instead of a broadliner?
- A specialist carries the specific brands Thai kitchens ask for by name, gives you one truck for the whole Thai operation, a rep who actually answers the phone, and same-day flexibility a national catalog cannot match.
- Can Dao supply my whole kitchen?
- Dao covers the Thai pantry and the back of house, rice, sauces, curry paste, coconut milk, dry goods, takeout packaging, gloves, and cleaning, on one invoice, delivered daily across the Bay Area.