Looking Back: Leaders of '95
Looking Back: Leaders of ’95
For the 10th anniversary of our Top 100 processors ranking, we look at what some of dairy’s heavy hitters were saying about the industry at the time of our first ranking in June 1995.
Q: How are things going for the dairy industry this year?
Marty Margherio, president/CEO, Crowley Foods Inc.: Our
business is relatively flat. … The continued pressures on a lot of
our customers in the east are causing some problems. We also are seeing a
large influx of new customers. A lot of club stores … the Super
Wal-Mart type stores. … I guess time will tell how valuable and
profitable they’ll be in the long run.
Harold Schild, general manager, Tillamook County
Creamery Association: Our business has been really good. … Our
biggest problem at the moment is getting the milk supply …
Dave Johnson, VP of marketing, strategy and
development, Kraft Cheese Division: Last year was a very good year for
the cheese industry in total. … Natural cheese and cream cheese were
very high growth categories.
Q: Are your
relationships with your customers
changing?
Jim Lauderdale, VP marketing and sales for dairy,
Mid-America Dairymen Inc.: You’re seeing customer consolidation
… a lot of customers that have several divisions, and they’re
now trying to leverage their total buying power.
Schild: As you deal with more consolidated
retailers that are national, the decisions are made on a national basis.
And when those national chains market in our area, they don’t
recognize the strength and value in our brand.
Margherio: The stronger are going to continue to
get bigger … Hopefully we’ll be able to grow as these major
players grow.
Q: How are lowfat and nonfat products performing for you?
Johnson: Fat-free products have made significant
inroads into the reduced-fat/light products, because of their generally
strong quality. But on the natural cheese side, where it’s been more
difficult to get a high-quality fat-free product, reduced fat and light are
still viable.
Margherio: The regular yogurt product is almost
nonexistent for us. It’s lowfats and nonfats, with the nonfat using
some kind of a (non-sugar) sweetener.
Bill Ezell, president, Purity Dairies Inc.: When we
developed our no-fat products in [cottage cheese and sour cream], I said,
“These are just as good as the lowfat, and we need to cut out the
lowfat.” It hasn’t happened.
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