One accountable partner between the US source and the store
Intria is not a freight forwarder, a customs broker or a sourcing agent. It encompasses all three disciplines, plus procurement judgement, physical infrastructure in the United States and trade finance — held together as a single point of accountability. Which means nobody is ever left holding a problem that belongs to no one.
Our position
We sit between two parties whose interests do not automatically align.
The franchisor sets exacting specifications — the brand is the asset. The licensee has to meet that specification in a market where the specified product may not exist locally at a cost that allows them to make money. Both pressures are legitimate. They pull in different directions.
Most partners in this category serve one side. A broadline distributor sells to the operator. A franchisor’s dedicated distribution arm serves the brand and its domestic owner/operators. Intria has spent 40 years being trusted by both, including long-standing relationships with Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins and with the licensees who supply their locations internationally.
That standing took four decades and cannot be earned easily or quickly. It is the reason the brand trusts us with their specifications, and the reason operators trust us with their business.
What we actually do
Everything in order, from before the order is placed to after it lands.
Before anything is bought we confirm what the destination actually requires: product specification, destination electrical standard, certification regime, labelling language, category-specific import permits. This is the step that gets skipped, and the one that prevents expensive failures.
Brand-specified and brand-compliant sourcing through verified and approved suppliers. Where the specified product does not exist in-market, we bring it from the United States or another source of origin.
Goods arrive at our New York facility. We open them, check them against specification and original packaging, and verify destination compliance. This is where an error becomes a phone call before it ships, rather than a crisis after the container arrives.
Fifty-seven trade documents generated in-house — origin and trade, health and food safety, compliance and conformity, hazardous materials, labelling, shipping and financial.
Multiple suppliers, multiple origins, small quantities of many things – into one container, one documentation set, one delivery.
Ocean, air and ground freight including last-mile delivery. Dry, refrigerated and hazmat container options. ISPM15 certified pallets and temperature recorders.
We watch our customers' suppliers, not just their orders, which means we see production shortages forming upstream before they reach you.
Where the difference is
Three capabilities that decide
most of the outcomes.
We physically hold the goods
Intria receives goods at its own New York facility, opens them, inspects them against specification and original packaging, verifies destination compliance and consolidates. Almost no competitor in this category touches the goods before they ship — which means almost none of them can catch an error before it travels thousands of miles.
Facility & logistics
We provide all needed documents
Forty-two of them, in-house. Not brokered, not subcontracted, not left to the supplier to produce and hope.
Compliance & documentation
We make sensible financial arrangements
Established and managed credit terms, letters of credit, wire and ACH processing, foreign collection handling. For a growing operator, funding inventory in transit is often the binding constraint on how fast they can open.
Terms & trade finance
How we compare
What the alternatives do instead.
The scaled players
| Intria | Broadline distributors | Trade aggregators | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Brand-specified goods, any corridor | Food service generally, major markets | High-volume, straightforward corridors |
| Brand-standard custody | Core capability | Not offered | Not offered |
| Category breadth | Complete store, including equipment | Food and disposables; limited equipment | Broad, commodity-weighted |
| Compliance depth | 42 documents in-house | Moderate, market-dependent | Broad but shallow |
| Small-lot consolidation | Standard practice | Uneconomical | Below threshold |
| US physical custody | Own facility, with inspection | Rarely | No |
| Trade finance | Terms and letters of credit | Tiered by spend | Contractual |
| Relationship | Senior contact, long term | Tiered account management | Transactional |
The alternatives
| Intria | Captive distribution | Buying direct | Regional brokers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who it serves | Any brand or licensee | Own licensees only | Yourself | Anyone |
| Procurement judgement | Verifies, questions, intercedes | Varies by capacity | None | None |
| Equipment certification | Specialist capability | Rarely covered | The manufacturer's assumption | Not offered |
| Store openings | 1 to 100, coordinated | Brand-dependent | Self-coordinated | Not offered |
| Trade finance | Terms and letters of credit | Internal treasury | Your own capital | Rarely |
| Accountability ends | On receipt, in market | Internally | With you | At the port |
Every alternative either never touches the goods, or touches them without knowing what the specification requires. We do both – in our own facility, before anything crosses a border.
Bring us something specific
A corridor you are entering, a store opening you are holding, an equipment order that has not been finalized. Being specific is where we are most useful.