Baking & Snack - July 2015 - 40

TURANO BAKING CO.

Embracing - not chasing - change

The versatile new
production line contains
a variety of seeders
and glazing systems
to produce a variety of
premium buns and rolls.

When it comes to new product development,
Leo Desrosiers has one word to describe
Turano Baking. "I would say we're 'fearless'
when stepping into new areas," noted the vicepresident of operations, southern region. "If
there is a new concept, we have the ability to
beat people to the market."
Part of the reason goes back to the business' roots in 1962 when Mariano Turano
founded the company. "We started as a
small, Chicagoland bakery in the past," said
Joe Turano, president. "It taught us our principles for working with customers - to work
with them closely on a one-on-one basis.
Collaborative effort is a unique value at our
bakery."
Often, new product development occurs
at the Berwyn, IL, operation, which has the
capabilities to test formulas and develop the
characteristics of products using smaller, 400lb doughs. Once the customer signs off on the
product, the other bakeries take over and scale
it up to their high-speed operation, according
to Jack Mitchell, plant manager at the Orlando,
FL, bakery.
Throughout its history, Turano Baking has
shown it is open to investing in not only new
products but also new categories. The Italian,
specialty and hearth bread business now also
produces conventional bread and buns for national players in the foodservice industry. "This
company is continually evolving," Mr. Mitchell
said. "It's not set in one standard product zone.
It's wide open to the newest customer needs."

as in the ability for the entire company to supply new customers while supporting its existing base with new products. Since Baking & Snack first visited the Orlando bakery in 2011, third-party business in the region has grown
significantly.
"We were skittish about taking on new business without
contingency capacity," Mr. Desrosiers said. "With our internal customers, we were finding lines in our other Turano
facilities reaching capacity. We were looking to build contingency capacity within our entire system to handle those
opportunities."
In addition to reducing the volume of interplant shipments, boosting capacity also brought production closer
to the Orlando plant's core customers in the Southeast and
even expanded its geographic reach to Texas and parts of
the South.
Yet another top priority involved engineering in the flexibility to scale up artisan-style products or place buns and
premium rolls in new packaging formats. Specifically, the
bakery expanded bulk packaging and added bagging capabilities for foodservice and retail customers. It also introduced Turano branded products to new markets.
Moreover, during the past three to five years, limitedtime offers (LTOs) have become the fastest way to build
sales in the quick-serve restaurants (QSRs), casual dining chains and other foodservice channels, where Turano
Baking does a majority of its business. "With LTOs, restaurants aren't looking for me-too products," Mr. Desrosiers
said. "They want products that are really unique and have
their distinctive signature on them."
Specifically, the versatile new line allows the bakery to
diversify its portfolio of buns and rolls with such items as
brioche and other premium baked goods.
When it comes to new products, speed to market -
along with quality and variety - is also critical in today's
fluid marketplace. "We understand that many of our products have a life cycle, so we continue to work on 'what is
that next new trend?' " Mr. Turano said. "What is that next,
new popular line of products so we can be ahead of the
curve in the marketplace?"
Moreover, as these restaurants expand their menus,
chains may require packaging in various formats, including smaller packs - instead of bulk packs - to maintain
freshness as new items gain traction among consumers. "In
the past, manufacturing drove what packaging systems you
used," Mr. Kozloski observed. "Now, it's the customers driving how products are packaged."

Creative use of space
With such a sweeping agenda, Turano Florida Bun, as the
Orlando operation is called within the company, faced a
significant hurdle: space inside the building. The original
high-speed line took up 65% of the square footage in the

40 Baking & Snack July 2015 / www.bakingandsnack.com

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