"If we wouldn't trust an operation after standing in it, we don't send our clients' money there."Work With Us
Polished websites. Confident emails. Impressive certifications — attached to operations that don't hold up when you actually look at them.
The internet is a great place to start research. It is a terrible place to end it. A supplier's website says what they want it to say. Their references say what a reference says. Their certifications were earned on a specific day and renewed on paper.
We've seen operations that looked fine on paper and were disasters in person. We've also found suppliers who looked modest online and turned out to be exceptional. The difference shows up when you show up. That's why we travel. Every time.
"If we wouldn't trust an operation after standing in it, we don't send our clients' money there."
The Handshake Test isn't a checklist we run through once and file. It's how we evaluate every supplier in our network — on initial vetting and on every return visit. The three pillars haven't changed since Jacob made his first procurement call. They don't need to.
We inspect production lines and raw materials in person. Not against a spec sheet — against your actual requirements. We've seen what "meets spec" looks like on paper and in reality. They are not always the same thing.
We verify the supplier can handle your scale — not just their best day, not just the volume of a sample order. A supplier who is excellent at 10 pallets and unreliable at 200 is not a supplier we recommend for growth.
We see the logistics infrastructure. The loading bays, the cold chain, the documentation practices. We identify bottlenecks before they become your emergency. We've caught problems that would have cost clients far more to fix than to prevent.
Macadamia, rooibos, honeybush, citrus, stone fruit, dried fruit. Our deepest supplier network — built over a decade of in-person visits.
Avocado, mango, asparagus, blueberries, IQF. Strong growing-season relationships with growers who deliver consistently at scale.
Domestic sourcing and freight. Growing networks across Europe and Southeast Asia. Every new supplier, wherever they are, gets the same test.
These aren't one-time visits. We go back. Supplier relationships get tested in year two and year five the same way they do in month one. Consistency is what we're verifying — not a good first impression.
The Handshake Test isn't abstract. Here is a plain-language version of what Waller looks for when vetting a supplier in person. These are real things that have real consequences.
"We love a good spreadsheet. We just know better than to trust one we didn't build."
Raw material condition — what the inputs actually look like, not just what grade is quoted
Production hygiene — whether the facility meets the standards it claims
Output consistency — whether what ships in October matches what shipped in January
Certification validity — whether the paperwork reflects the actual current operation, not a past audit
Equipment and infrastructure — whether the physical setup can handle the volume the client needs
Workforce depth — whether they staff for scale or are one wave of orders away from a breakdown
Storage and cold chain — especially critical for specialty produce and food ingredients
Documentation practices — whether their paperwork will survive customs and compliance review
Logistics bottlenecks — what slows them down when volume spikes, and whether they know it
The people themselves — whether we'd trust them with a client's money. That part can't be measured. But it can be felt.
Blue Book Services is the fresh produce industry's primary tool for verifying trading partner credit and reliability. Membership isn't available to everyone — it requires meeting Blue Book's credentialing standards. For procurement buyers in food ingredients and specialty produce, Blue Book membership is a meaningful signal.
Waller has been a member since the firm's founding. Not as a marketing point — as a practical requirement for operating credibly in the food sourcing space. Our clients know it. The suppliers we work with know it.
About Blue Book ServicesThey do not tell me what I want to hear. They tell me the truth. After five years, they are more than a service. They are a partner we need to keep our doors open.
Their ability to take our chaotic process and distill it down to a workable and executable plan is nothing short of brilliant. They don't just move our stuff, they prove your peace of mind.
It is hard to find people in this business who are honest like the team at Waller. They know the work from the ground up and they do not tell us stories.
If you're sourcing from someone you've never stood next to, you're trusting a website. We've been in the facilities. We know who's worth trusting and who isn't.
You'll talk to Jacob directly — the founder, the person who does the vetting, and the person who will tell you the truth about what he found. No account managers. No pitch deck.