Business View Magazine Feb 2023

157 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 ALA TRADE FOODS operations in the Albertville and Phenix City plants primarily focus on white meat and meat portioning services. These adjustments made it possible for AlaTrade Foods to increase productivity while providing more options to their customers. As far as valuable relationships, Elrod shares that along with the vendors who support AlaTrade Foods, the company surrounds itself with those who support the ESOP space. Mentioning GRITT Business Coaching as one of these she says, “They’ve really done a phenomenal job helping us with our communication to all of our 1,700 employees, helping us to help them understand and appreciate what the ESOP can do for them, and to help them understand what really drives our company to be successful.” Insurance company Holmes Murphy is another notable relationship for AlaTrade Foods, whose niche is also ESOPs.“I have really enjoyed working with the guys from Holmes Murphy and the approach that they take, and their ability to help us communicate the nuances of the technical part of ESOPs,” she adds. Of course, none of it is possible without the customers, who Elrod says,“are the top priority.” She maintains,“We’ve spent a lot of time listening to what their needs are in the last few