Tampa food brokerage hires Publix dairy, frozen meat executive

After a 24-year career with Publix, Nicki Crespo is staying in the food business in a new executive role with Tampa-based Bay Food Brokerage.

Crespo was recently named director of fresh meat and private label at Bay Food Brokerage, according to a statement. Crespo, in her new role, according to the statement, will play an “active role in Bay Food Brokerage’s private label opportunities and will help guide the company in all initiatives involving meat departments in major supermarkets throughout the Southeast U.S. She will also work closely with the entire Bay Food Brokerage team to grow sales with its manufacturer clients, the release states. 

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“We are so thrilled and proud to welcome Nicki to the Bay Food family,” said Cammie Chatterton, CEO and president of Bay Food Brokerage, in the release. “Her immense wealth of experience working with one of the top retailers in our region spans so many areas of expertise that will be invaluable to our team and our clients as we continue our commitment to growing sales while providing best-in-class service along the way.”

Crespo began her career at Lakeland-based Publix working in the meat department at a Tampa store in 2000. She quickly advanced to meat manager and, after eight years in department management, moved into the retailer’s corporate office as a meat/seafood technical specialist, the release states. Crespo then worked as a retail improvement specialist until 2016, when she transitioned back to the corporate office, first serving as a fresh meat buyer and then as the category manager over the dairy, processed and frozen meat categories.

“What appealed to me about working for Bay Food was that, after nearly 24 years working almost every job available at Publix in the meat department, working for a brokerage was a side of the industry I’d never experienced,” Crespo says in the statement. “Bay Food is so involved with their suppliers and vendors, and the amount of attention they give their clients is remarkable – they’re simply the best in the industry. They’re also very family-oriented, which was something I was looking for.”

Bay Food Brokerage, founded in 1993, serves as the sales and marketing partner for hundreds of food manufacturers worldwide.