Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - September 2008 - (Page 18)

2008 W ho l e s a l e Ba k e r o f t h e Y e a r Continued from page 16 able to find brokers and other third parties to handle the distribution of Rudi’s Organic products. “We will continue to turn over every stone to find some other DSD opportunities, whether they be acquisitions or organic growth or building our own route systems,” Foley says. Executing in today’s environment, he adds, also has become more difficult. “Obviously, the commodity impacts this year have thrown a curve ball to ev- eryone,” he notes. “We have had to take a lot of commodity increases and taken some significant pricing actions in our portfolio to cover those commodity costs. The pricing lag versus commodities hitting has been difficult, but we performed up to our expectations in what we have laid out this year.” Typically, he adds, organic breads are 50 to 60 cents higher than similar varieties of premium conventional products. Some natural product retailers recently reported that organic food sales have softened, but Foley remains optimistic because the fundamentals are sound. The Horizon Organic milk model isn’t broken. “Every single person has been impacted by the change in the economy,” he says. “Once it gets back to a growth phase, the basic reasons for shifting to organic are still there. We have cleaner ingredient labels — ingredients that you can pronounce. No high-fructose corn syrup like our competitors. The green movement also helps us with the sustainability of organic farming. I think shifting will be there in the long term.” During the past three years, Charter Baking has seen top-line sales grow 30% annually with its Rudi’s business rising more than 40% annually for the last few years. The now projected 20% annual increases will help the company attain its goal of $150 million over the next few years. Once it reaches that scale, Charter Baking may be writing its next chapter. “We’re part of a private equity group so eventually, we’ll be up for sale within the next three to five years,” Foley says. “We’ll probably be part of a mainstream baker by then.” Cynics may have a field day with that. Then again, they thought the world was ending during the low-carb craze until the whole grain movement emerged. That trend has been fueling sales of baked goods ever since. In the end, it all depends if the glass is half empty or half full. Or does it provide a world of opportunity if the execution is just right? Charter Baking is counting on that. SF&WB 18 SFWB0908SEA.indd 1 8/26/08 11:47:56 AM Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - SEPTEMBER 2008 http://www.clearseasresearch.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - September 2008

Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - September 2008 Contents Editor’s Note For Goodness Sakes Better Than the Rest Unconventional Thinking Easy Does It New Products In the Comfort Zone Engineering Management The ASB Column Printer Keeps Production Running Equipment Briefs Better Than the Rest The Final Word

Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - September 2008

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