Baking & Snack - September 2014 - 14

PEOPLE

Pepperidge Farm's Britt exudes optimism
Describing fiscal 2014 as "a very strong
year" for the fresh bakery business at
Pepperidge Farm, Irene Chang Britt, president, said strong demand for buns and
sandwich bread have provided significant
boosts.
Ms. Britt spoke about Pepperidge's
business during a July investor meeting
hosted by parent company Campbell Soup
Co. "Our fresh bakery business has had a
very strong year to date," she said. "Retail
sales are up about 7% versus the previous
year to date, and we have gained market
share. Despite increased competition in
the category, we maintained a steely focus
on delivering the fundamentals, outstanding customer service, and great quality
product. This ensured we retained space
in stores, continued to delight consumers,
gained while Hostess Brands were absent
from the market and helped build additional distribution in growing channels
such as drug."
Buns and rolls were cited by Ms. Britt
as a contributor to the growth. "Grilling is
increasing in popularity across America,"
she said. "More than 60% of grill owners say that they grill year round, and the
buns and roll segment is currently the
fastest-growing segment within the bakery category. We have been able to capitalize on this trend through a program of
quality improvements, effective marketing
and improved distribution to drive strong

double-digit growth of our range."
Strength in Pepperidge's "core range of
breads" was attributed by Ms. Britt to "the
growing popularity of sandwich behavior."
She said consumption of bread in sandwiches over the past year has grown 4.5%,
given new energy by what she described
as one of the hottest trends in eating -
macro snacking.
"Macro snacking in the US is a $102
billion market, growing at about 3%,"
Ms. Britt said. "This is being driven by
Americans snacking more frequently
across all day parts. These eating occasions
are increasingly replacing more traditional
mealtimes as people look to mini-meals to
keep them going during their hectic days."
She highlighted data indicating more
people are eating snacks or mini-meals
than what traditionally are defined as
meals during certain day parts. "Within
these mini-meals, people are seeking a
variety of food to address different needs
from nutritious foods that will get them
going, sustain energy and control hunger
to more indulgent treats, and in all cases,
people are looking for convenience, flavor
and excitement," Ms. Britt said.
Sandwich bread has been a vehicle for
satisfying this demand, she said, adding that successful innovation and marketing are being aggressively pursued at
Pepperidge.
- Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News

Hector Guerra was promoted to president of Evans Food Group, Chicago.
Richard Holder was named senior
vice-president of the newly created
Northeast region of Flowers Foods,
Thomasville, GA.
Mondelez International, Deerfield,
IL, named Mark Clouse chief growth
officer.
Roger C. Matthews stepped down as
executive vice-president and CFO of
Panera Bread Co., St. Louis. William
W. Moreton, executive vice-chairman,
will serve as interim CFO.

Eardley

The International
Dairy-Deli-Bakery
Association named
Michael J. Eardley as
president and CEO.
He succeeds Carol
Christison, who
passed away in March.

Tom Lehmann retired after 50 years
with AIB International, Manhattan, KS.

Favret

HARPAK-ULMA,
Taunton, MA,
named David
Favret product manager for
the ULMA TFS
Thermoform line.
MGP Ingredients,
Inc., Atchison, KS,
named Gus Griffin
president and CEO.

Griffin

Power Engineers,
Inc., Boise, ID, added
Peter Smith to its
facilities team.

TNA, Sydney, Australia, named
Moataz Hafez as sales manager for its
Dubai office.
14 Baking & Snack September 2014 / www.bakingandsnack.com

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Baking & Snack - September 2014

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