Lois Gamerman, President & CEO of Soft Stuff Distributors, was selected as Maryland’s Small Business Person of the Year for 2023 by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Founded more than 30 years ago by Lois and Bob Gamerman, Soft Stuff Distributors, a WBENC-certified business, is a specialty food distributor for the Mid-Atlantic region serving restaurants, hotels, conference centers, universities, retailers, and consumers throughout Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C, and Pennsylvania. The company has grown back after surviving the pandemic with the help of Golbon, a leading national foodservice buying and marketing group.

Lois Gamerman, President & CEO of Soft Stuff Distributors

“Our Golbon partnership has been key to Soft Stuff successfully surviving the pandemic. The resources that Golbon made available to learn how to shift our business model to include direct-to-consumer, as well as the deep marketing support, were gold to us! Soft Stuff Distributors has grown back and our new partnerships with Red Diamond Coffee will surely help us reach our channel expansion goals. We are grateful to Golbon for all their support over the years!” states Gamerman.

“Lois and her team at Soft Stuff are a fantastic example of resilience and grit. They came to Golbon almost 4 years ago, right before the pandemic, and have been a great partner during one of the toughest times in our industry. They continue to innovate and grow so being recognized as Small Business Person of the Year is not only a deserving award, but earned. Small businesses are the backbone of our country and communities and Soft Stuff, led by Lois, is the perfect recipient. Congratulations to Lois and Soft Stuff!” said Kevin Wilson, Golbon President.

The Gamermans plan to expand in the supply chain beyond food distribution by entering the cold storage and 3PL fulfillment business. The lack of capacity and absence of customer service in the cold storage industry creates a powerful opportunity for which they are well positioned. Mid-Atlantic Cold Storage will be the only woman-owned cold storage facility in the nation.

To learn more about Soft Stuff Distributors, visit https://www.gosoftstuff.com/
To learn more about National Small Business Week, visit sba.gov/nsbw