Milling & Baking News - August 19, 2014 - 14

Business 

Pepperidge Farm upbeat on
buns, sandwich bread
CAMDEN, N.J. - Describing fiscal
2014 as "a very strong year" for the
fresh bakery business at Pepperidge
Farm Inc., Irene Chang Britt, president, said strong demand for buns and
sandwich bread have provided significant boosts.
Ms. Britt spoke about the Pepperidge
business July 21 as part of a 3½-hour
investor day meeting with Wall Street
analysts hosted by parent company
Campbell Soup Co. While her remarks
focused principally on plans to enhance
the company's Goldfish and other products aimed at the snacking segment, Ms.
Britt spoke briefly but positively about
how the Pepperidge baking business is
faring in a tough marketplace. Campbell Soup's fiscal year ended July 28, a
week after the presentation.
"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 retain 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
United States 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 minimeals 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

Post Holdings adds to peanut
and other nut butter portfolio
ST. LOUIS - Post Holdings, Inc. is
expanding its reach in the peanut and
other nut butter business with the
announcement it has agreed to buy
American Blanching Co. for $128 million. Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Fitzgerald, Ga., American
Blanching makes peanut butter for
national brands, private label retail
and industrial markets and provides
peanut blanching, granulation and
roasting services for the commercial
peanut industry. The company operates a peanut butter manufacturing
facility located in Fitzgerald.
Post said it plans to combine
American Blanching with Golden
14 / August 19, 2014 Milling & Baking News

Boy Foods, its existing peanut and
other nut butter business. Post earlier this year acquired Golden Boy
from affiliates of Tricor Pacific Capital, Inc. and other shareholders for
approximately $300 million. Based
in Burnaby, B.C., Golden Boy is a
North American manufacturer of
private label peanut and other nut
butters, as well as dried fruit, baking and snacking nuts. Golden Boy
is a key supplier to the U.S. and Canadian retail and food service channels and participates in the organic
packaged foods category. Golden
Boy operates three plants in Canada
and two in the United States.

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.
"We will work to continue to build
the appeal of our premium
sandwich bread selection
by stepping up consumer
investment and in-store activity focused around inspiring sandwich ideas," Ms. Britt
said. "We will also continue to
push the boundaries in the
premium segment with new
artisan breads that are currently in test market in selected Northeast markets."
A steadier contributor to
growth at Pepperidge has
been the company's Swirl
bread brand. Recent successes for this line include
limited-edition seasonal flavor
varieties such as blueberry, strawberry
and caramel apple, Ms. Britt said.
She said these introductions helped
attract younger families to the brand
even as core consumers were retained
with permanent varieties such as cinnamon.
"We will continue to leverage our
baking and flavor credentials to grow
the business building trial and repeat
among young families looking for a
wholesome start to the day," Ms. Britt
said. MBN
"We are pleased with the progress
at Golden Boy, and we like the prospects for private label nut butters,"
said William P. Stiritz, chairman
and chief executive officer of Post.
"American Blanching will nicely
complement Golden Boy and expand our presence in this growing
category."
On a full-year basis, American
Blanching is expected to contribute
approximately $135 million to net
sales and approximately $14 million
to $16 million of adjusted EBITDA,
Post said.
The company expects to complete
the acquisition in its first quarter
of fiscal 2015, subject to customary
closing conditions, including the expiration of waiting periods required
under antitrust laws. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - August 19, 2014

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