Baking & Snack - March 2005 - 11

All 48 States by Late 2005

AACC adds to name
Members of the American Association of
Cereal Chemists (AACC) voted to change
the group's name to AACC International.
This is the first time the name has changed
since its inception in 1915.
"The new name better reflects the direction of our association and the grains industry as a whole," said Steve Nelson, AACC
International executive director. "Our association's new name, AACC International,
retains the initials by which the association
has been known for 90 years, while eliminating reference to a specific scientific discipline
or profession and reflects the international
aspect of our association," he said.
According to the association, international members currently make up about 28%

of the membership and have demonstrated
that they have the greatest potential for continued growth in number. "By changing our
association's name, we are now able to more
fully address the needs of our growing number of non-US members," Nelson said.
Over the past few years, the association's
board and International Executive Council
(IEC) have gathered member input on this
issue by polling committees and sections
and hosting an online discussion forum
on the association's Web site. At its last
meeting, the board of directors accepted
the recommendation of IEC to change the
name of the association to AACC International. All voting members cast their vote
on this change in December 2004. The
name change takes effect immediately.

Matching the national presence of its current advertising program, Sara Lee Bakery
Group plans to sell fresh baked foods in all
48 states on the US mainland by the end
of 2005. This follows announcement of
expanding its geography in the Southeast
region just three months ago. The regional

baking company is going national.
The dramatic acceleration of
expansion in fresh baked foods is
made possible by arrangements
with a number of retailers in the
new markets and by the success
the company has encountered
by introducing the Sara Lee
brand of fresh baked foods,
according to Richard A.
Noll, SLBG's c.e.o.
"National expansion is a
strategic imperative for Sara Lee,"
he said.
When the national rollout is complete,
SLBG will be the only fresh baking company delivering bread throughout the continental United States, the company said. It
currently reaches 68% of US consumers.
The decision means Sara Lee will move
into the Northeast, the largest market currently outside the company's distribution
area. And it will take a different approach
from that used to enter the Southeast.
Rather than leapfrogging from city to
city, the company will partner with its key

retailers to quickly gain distribution in
100% of those retailers' stores. Over time,
the company will sell product to additional
retailers in the new market areas.
"When you are in all of a retailer's stores,
you can be included in their promotional
circulars," Mr. Noll observed. "If you miss
as few as four out of 100
stores, you can't be in
the circulars."
SLBG currently has
adequate baking capacity for the first phase of
this expansion into new
markets, according to
Mr. Noll.
Expansion
is
good news for customers and consumers alike. Ever since
the Sara Lee brand
first appeared on
fresh bread in October
2002, consumers have
peppered the company's
sales and marketing staff
with
questions
about
why they can't find this bread at their
local supermarkets.
"Research told us that large numbers
of consumers already thought we were in
the bread category, but that products just
were not available in their area," Mr. Noll
reported. "We had a No. 2 or No. 3 'aided
awareness' ranking and weren't even in the
category. Nobody else had that potential.
That makes a huge difference. And our
retail customers have been putting pressure on us to get the product to them in
more places."

Butterkrust Bakeries expands facilities
Butterkrust Bakeries, Lakeland, FL, is completing a $16 million plant expansion to
its existing 200,000 sq ft facility. The expansion will include a new fully automated bun
and roll line in a 40,000 sq-ft addition, an
8,000 sq-ft packaging area and a 3,000 sq-ft

loading dock. The new line, scheduled to begin
production in May, will double the bakery's
production capacity.
According to the company, a new line of wholegrain and multigrain buns and rolls will be introduced under its Rich Harvest brand later in the year.

March 2005 / BAKING & SNACK / 13

Baking & Snack - March 2005

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