Gertmenian returns to helm at Ready Pac
Gertmenian returns to helm at Ready Pac
Dennis Gertmenian, the founder and chairman of the board of Ready Pac, has returned as its chief executive officer, a position he left almost three years ago.
Mr. Gertmenian told The Produce News that he is once again in this position simply because he was elected to the position by the Ready Pac board of directors. "The board felt that I was the best person to lead the company to the next level," he said.
At the same time, the board accepted the resignation of Larry Kern, the previous president and chief executive officer, who, according to Ready Pac, elected to take an early retirement (The Produce News, July 17). The company also announced in a press release that board member Jack Davis has been named executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Mr. Davis had been serving on the board as the chairman of the compensation committee and the executive committee.
Mr. Gertmenian praised the efforts of Mr. Kern and said that the company embarked on a new direction under his leadership. "Larry Kern had a solid track record as president and CEO of this company." He added that under Mr. Kern, Ready Pac professionalized the administrative end of the business as he established many new internal systems that have added consistency to the way the company does business.
But now the board is looking to jump to the next level and it clearly believes that Mr. Gertmenian is the best path to its future. He founded the company, and the concept of fresh-cut salads, almost 40 years ago, using a bathtub to wash and cut heads of lettuce to fill the order of a foodservice customer. Until almost three years ago, he held the CEO position since that humble beginning and is largely responsible for taking the company to its current position. Ready Pac is one of the major fresh-cut produce firms in the United States, though in the bagged salad category it trails industry leaders Fresh Express and Dole by a wide margin.
Mr. Gertmenian acknowledged that market share position but said that the firm is headed in a different direction. "In the protein product category, we are number one with a 57 percent market share," he said.
Two years ago, Ready Pac began focusing its attention on creating whole meals out of its packaged salads by adding protein components such as chicken, ham, cheese and eggs, Mr. Gertmenian said. The line is called its "Bistro to Go Salads," and each package includes dressing and a fork. Mr. Gertmenian said that it is new products such as this that continue to breathe life -- and impressive growth -- into the packaged salad category. He said that Ready Pac continues to expand this line and is continuing to garner shelf life at retail for the introduction of these new products.
The company's vice president of marketing, Steve Dickstein, also took part in the July 18 interview with The Produce News and said that the bagged salad category currently is a $2.7 billion business. Mr. Gertmenian said that growth of the category should remain strong. He noted that the firm continues to have its own brand but is also very strong in the private-label market with some of the nation's top retailers. Bagged salads are "a very nice and solid part of our business."
Ready Pac is quite diversified being also heavily involved in foodservice and in fresh-cut fruit and fresh-cut vegetables, and Mr. Gertmenian expects the fresh-cut category to continue to grow at all levels.
Concerning fresh-cut fruit, he said that it is a very good product with very strong growth. The category has not lived up to expectations, but he believes that is a reflection of "over predicting." Many had expected the category to take off as quickly as bagged salads and it has not. "It is still a half-a-billion-dollar category that had 20 percent growth last year and we [the industry] are expecting 15 percent growth this year."
In the fresh-cut vegetable area, which is dominated by fresh-cut baby carrots, Mr. Gertmenian expects new products to emerge to help grow the category. Mr. Dickstein said that fresh-cut vegetables are a $1.3 billion dollar business with fresh-cut carrots accounting for more than 60 percent of sales.
Foodservice is another area of expected growth for Ready Pac. Mr. Gertmenian said that the company is about to roll out a new apple, grape, walnut and yogurt product with McDonald's and is also working with other quick-serve restaurants on new offerings. In addition, he said that more and more high-end restaurants are finding value in buying ready-cut lettuce mixes rather than doing the work themselves, which is the exact same concept that caused Mr. Gertmenian to enter this business 37 years ago.
He said that the company is perfectly poised for growth as it has strengthened its national distribution network considerably over the last several years. Following its merger with Tanimura & Antle's Salad Time subsidiary in 2004, Ready Pac upgraded its supply network resulting in four strategically dispersed processing facilities, each with increased capacity and capabilities to better serve retail and foodservice customers nationally.
"I am pleased to be back at the helm of the company that I founded nearly 40 years ago," said Mr. Gertmenian, in the company press release. "It is a pleasure to be working with Jack, whom I have respected for years, along with the talented leadership team here."
Mr. Davis has been a director of Ready Pac since 1999. In 2005, he retired from Ventura Foods LLC, a $2 billion food processing company, where he had served as president and CEO since 1979. "I have always been proud to be a part of Ready Pac's success and am now eager to take on added responsibilities to fully realize Ready Pac's potential in the marketplace," Mr. Davis said in the same press release. "Dennis and I share common values as to the importance of helping our customers grow through innovation while providing outstanding quality, service and value for money."
Mr. Gertmenian told The Produce News that he is once again in this position simply because he was elected to the position by the Ready Pac board of directors. "The board felt that I was the best person to lead the company to the next level," he said.
At the same time, the board accepted the resignation of Larry Kern, the previous president and chief executive officer, who, according to Ready Pac, elected to take an early retirement (The Produce News, July 17). The company also announced in a press release that board member Jack Davis has been named executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Mr. Davis had been serving on the board as the chairman of the compensation committee and the executive committee.
Mr. Gertmenian praised the efforts of Mr. Kern and said that the company embarked on a new direction under his leadership. "Larry Kern had a solid track record as president and CEO of this company." He added that under Mr. Kern, Ready Pac professionalized the administrative end of the business as he established many new internal systems that have added consistency to the way the company does business.
But now the board is looking to jump to the next level and it clearly believes that Mr. Gertmenian is the best path to its future. He founded the company, and the concept of fresh-cut salads, almost 40 years ago, using a bathtub to wash and cut heads of lettuce to fill the order of a foodservice customer. Until almost three years ago, he held the CEO position since that humble beginning and is largely responsible for taking the company to its current position. Ready Pac is one of the major fresh-cut produce firms in the United States, though in the bagged salad category it trails industry leaders Fresh Express and Dole by a wide margin.
Mr. Gertmenian acknowledged that market share position but said that the firm is headed in a different direction. "In the protein product category, we are number one with a 57 percent market share," he said.
Two years ago, Ready Pac began focusing its attention on creating whole meals out of its packaged salads by adding protein components such as chicken, ham, cheese and eggs, Mr. Gertmenian said. The line is called its "Bistro to Go Salads," and each package includes dressing and a fork. Mr. Gertmenian said that it is new products such as this that continue to breathe life -- and impressive growth -- into the packaged salad category. He said that Ready Pac continues to expand this line and is continuing to garner shelf life at retail for the introduction of these new products.
The company's vice president of marketing, Steve Dickstein, also took part in the July 18 interview with The Produce News and said that the bagged salad category currently is a $2.7 billion business. Mr. Gertmenian said that growth of the category should remain strong. He noted that the firm continues to have its own brand but is also very strong in the private-label market with some of the nation's top retailers. Bagged salads are "a very nice and solid part of our business."
Ready Pac is quite diversified being also heavily involved in foodservice and in fresh-cut fruit and fresh-cut vegetables, and Mr. Gertmenian expects the fresh-cut category to continue to grow at all levels.
Concerning fresh-cut fruit, he said that it is a very good product with very strong growth. The category has not lived up to expectations, but he believes that is a reflection of "over predicting." Many had expected the category to take off as quickly as bagged salads and it has not. "It is still a half-a-billion-dollar category that had 20 percent growth last year and we [the industry] are expecting 15 percent growth this year."
In the fresh-cut vegetable area, which is dominated by fresh-cut baby carrots, Mr. Gertmenian expects new products to emerge to help grow the category. Mr. Dickstein said that fresh-cut vegetables are a $1.3 billion dollar business with fresh-cut carrots accounting for more than 60 percent of sales.
Foodservice is another area of expected growth for Ready Pac. Mr. Gertmenian said that the company is about to roll out a new apple, grape, walnut and yogurt product with McDonald's and is also working with other quick-serve restaurants on new offerings. In addition, he said that more and more high-end restaurants are finding value in buying ready-cut lettuce mixes rather than doing the work themselves, which is the exact same concept that caused Mr. Gertmenian to enter this business 37 years ago.
He said that the company is perfectly poised for growth as it has strengthened its national distribution network considerably over the last several years. Following its merger with Tanimura & Antle's Salad Time subsidiary in 2004, Ready Pac upgraded its supply network resulting in four strategically dispersed processing facilities, each with increased capacity and capabilities to better serve retail and foodservice customers nationally.
"I am pleased to be back at the helm of the company that I founded nearly 40 years ago," said Mr. Gertmenian, in the company press release. "It is a pleasure to be working with Jack, whom I have respected for years, along with the talented leadership team here."
Mr. Davis has been a director of Ready Pac since 1999. In 2005, he retired from Ventura Foods LLC, a $2 billion food processing company, where he had served as president and CEO since 1979. "I have always been proud to be a part of Ready Pac's success and am now eager to take on added responsibilities to fully realize Ready Pac's potential in the marketplace," Mr. Davis said in the same press release. "Dennis and I share common values as to the importance of helping our customers grow through innovation while providing outstanding quality, service and value for money."
