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Company president and family matriarch Angie Campione remarked, “We’re a quiet company and tend to be humble about ourselves.” “But we’re very passionate about our customers,” Sal added. “As a business, we have a believable story and a great product.” Madlyn (Maddy) Campione, vice-president, sales and marketing, confirmed her brother’s statement, “People like us because we’re a family. You can call any time, and we will be here to answer and accommodate our customers.” “Our goal is to give our customers complete confidence in the product and in us,” explained Anne Campione, vice-president, sales and marketing. INVESTMENT AND GROWTH. The company, which Angie leads along with her three daughters and one son, operates in an understated fashion and sells part of its output under the Joseph Campione label. But it also operates efficiently by leveraging its high degree of automation and process flexibility to hold costs down and keep prices reasonable for its private label and, more recently, food service customers. Joseph Campione makes Old World Italian breads: breadsticks, pizza toast, cheese breads, dinner rolls, garlic breads and Texas toast. All products ship frozen throughout the US, and some reach international markets as far flung as Asia and South America. The company’s newest items include an all-natural line of three garlic toasts and three ciabatta breads, made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast, plus buttery toppings of garlic, virgin olive oil, cheese, tomatoes and spice blends. It tops its breadsticks and toasts with all-natural ingredients including butter, margarine, garlic blends, and grated and shredded cheeses, and it even offers sweet toppings of apple, cinnamon, blueberry and raspberry.

▲ Frozen garlic bread, Texas toast and breadsticks redefined Joseph Campione, Inc. as a business, today run by (from left) Anne Campione, Gina Campione, Sal Campione, Angie Campione, Scott Fulton and Maddy Campione.
RICHARD LANENGA PHOTOGRAPHY

The Oak Creek facility, the third location for the business, houses multiple processing and packaging lines in a 207,000-sq-ft building. The most recent expansion began in 2008 and represented a dedicated family investment. The company added 120,000 sq ft to bring manufacturing up to 140,000 sq ft, warehousing to 46,000 sq ft and offices and ancillary services to 21,000 sq ft. This marked the second addition to the plant, originally 38,000 sq ft but now covering its entire 7½-acre site.

CRITICAL TIMING. Joe and Angie Campione moved from Brooklyn, NY, to establish a small retail bakery in downtown Milwaukee in 1960 with the help of a modest loan from an uncle. They made authentic hearth-baked Italian breads and supplied the city’s grocery stores. But during the early 1980s, more and more supermarkets installed their own in-store bakeries. “Our business suffered,” Angie said. “We had to change.” At that time, the oldest two of the couple’s four children had gradu-

▼ Joseph Campione successfully transitioned from fresh to frozen products by using its authentic Old World Italian formulations as the basis for garlic bread, Texas toast and breadsticks. The company’s new ciabatta breads feature sauce, cheese and meats.
RICHARD LANENGA PHOTOGRAPHY

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July 2011 / BAKING & SNACK

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Baking&Snack - July 2011

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