Wada Farms and Farm Fresh Direct form marketing pact
Wada Farms and Farm Fresh Direct form marketing pact
Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC in Idaho Falls, ID, and Farm Fresh Direct LLC in Monte Vista, CO, have announced the formation of a new joint venture marketing organization called Category Partners LLC.
The announcement was made in a jointly issued written statement April 7. According to the statement, the new entity is designed to better enable these two major potato suppliers to support the changing needs of retailers, foodservice operators, wholesalers and, equally important, today's new consumer.
"We will continue to operate our businesses and sales offices as separate entities, but we are seeing a real need to provide value-added services to our customers beyond great products, and felt we had to add a higher level of marketing to effectively compete in today's changing environment," Bob Meek, chief executive officer of Wada Farms Marketing Group, said in the statement.
"While we are two separate businesses, both our organizations saw an opportunity to improve our category management and marketing approaches to support our customers, and in today's economy, it didn't make sense for both of us to build an infrastructure to meet those needs," Jim Knutzon, president of Farm Fresh Direct, added in the statement.
Mac Johnson, who has been vice president of domestic marketing for the U.S. Potato Board in Denver for the last eight years, has been named president and CEO of Category Partners.
In an interview with The Produce News, Mr. Johnson said, "In the potato business, and I guess produce overall, [producers] have really gotten very good at selling the products, ... selling their crop to a retailer. What we really want to start to emphasize is a little more of the marketing of the product and working closely with retailers. We want more of a partnership relationship versus just a supplier relationship [to help retailers] in the areas of category management, how to merchandise the product and putting together somewhat more sophisticated or at least more consumer-driven programs."
Over the years, potatoes "have really been commoditized," Mr. Johnson said. "We really want to take more of a consumer product goods approach to potatoes."
Potatoes remain "far and away the highest-volume [item] from a pound basis going through the produce department, but we want to try to elevate it to the next level, working with retailers on the merchandising, working with retailers on promotion schedules and hopefully improving packaging."
Mr. Johnson, whose more than 38 years of marketing experience has included senior marketing positions at Tom's Foods, General Mills, Beatrice Foods and Ketchum Advertising prior to joining the potato board, will start his new job April 14. His last day with the potato board was April 8.
Tim O'Connor, president and CEO of the potato board, will be undertaking "an active search for a replacement," Mr. Johnson said.
Category Partners will be based in Denver, with offices just about two miles from the U.S. Potato Board office.
"My eight years at the board have been terrific, and I feel the board has made a number of positive moves to support the industry," Mr. Johnson said. "But as a marketer, it is difficult to objectively evaluate the true effectiveness of these efforts, since we don't have any potatoes."
His new job will give him "an exciting opportunity to work with two of the industry's most successful and aggressive suppliers," Mr. Johnson said, adding that he is pleased to be able to continue working "in an industry where I have made a lot of friends."
"What we want to accomplish [through Category Partners] is the offering of category management and marketing services to retailers and other customers," Mr. Meek told The Produce News. "We are not going to limit ourselves to retailers, because we will have services and products to offer foodservice and wholesalers and other customers beyond retail."
As a production and marketing company that farms many acres of potatoes itself and also markets products from other growers, "we looked at the challenge of how do we best help our customers, and it became apparent that we needed to offer marketing and category-management services," Mr. Meek said. "Then we began talking with Farm Fresh Direct" about a joint venture to provide those services.
Growers and shippers sometimes think that "once the truck is loaded and gone," their responsibilities end, he said. "But we want to take our services well beyond the mark. The job is not done once it reaches the distribution center. Our job shouldn't end until the consumer is satisfied."
Mr. Meek said that Farm Fresh Direct was selected as a 50/50 partner in the new venture because it is "a very reputable company and an aggressive company," and due to its geographical location, "they complement us well and we complement them well."
It is possible that "we may even bring additional grower-shippers into the company down the road," Mr. Meek said.
The announcement was made in a jointly issued written statement April 7. According to the statement, the new entity is designed to better enable these two major potato suppliers to support the changing needs of retailers, foodservice operators, wholesalers and, equally important, today's new consumer.
"We will continue to operate our businesses and sales offices as separate entities, but we are seeing a real need to provide value-added services to our customers beyond great products, and felt we had to add a higher level of marketing to effectively compete in today's changing environment," Bob Meek, chief executive officer of Wada Farms Marketing Group, said in the statement.
"While we are two separate businesses, both our organizations saw an opportunity to improve our category management and marketing approaches to support our customers, and in today's economy, it didn't make sense for both of us to build an infrastructure to meet those needs," Jim Knutzon, president of Farm Fresh Direct, added in the statement.
Mac Johnson, who has been vice president of domestic marketing for the U.S. Potato Board in Denver for the last eight years, has been named president and CEO of Category Partners.
In an interview with The Produce News, Mr. Johnson said, "In the potato business, and I guess produce overall, [producers] have really gotten very good at selling the products, ... selling their crop to a retailer. What we really want to start to emphasize is a little more of the marketing of the product and working closely with retailers. We want more of a partnership relationship versus just a supplier relationship [to help retailers] in the areas of category management, how to merchandise the product and putting together somewhat more sophisticated or at least more consumer-driven programs."
Over the years, potatoes "have really been commoditized," Mr. Johnson said. "We really want to take more of a consumer product goods approach to potatoes."
Potatoes remain "far and away the highest-volume [item] from a pound basis going through the produce department, but we want to try to elevate it to the next level, working with retailers on the merchandising, working with retailers on promotion schedules and hopefully improving packaging."
Mr. Johnson, whose more than 38 years of marketing experience has included senior marketing positions at Tom's Foods, General Mills, Beatrice Foods and Ketchum Advertising prior to joining the potato board, will start his new job April 14. His last day with the potato board was April 8.
Tim O'Connor, president and CEO of the potato board, will be undertaking "an active search for a replacement," Mr. Johnson said.
Category Partners will be based in Denver, with offices just about two miles from the U.S. Potato Board office.
"My eight years at the board have been terrific, and I feel the board has made a number of positive moves to support the industry," Mr. Johnson said. "But as a marketer, it is difficult to objectively evaluate the true effectiveness of these efforts, since we don't have any potatoes."
His new job will give him "an exciting opportunity to work with two of the industry's most successful and aggressive suppliers," Mr. Johnson said, adding that he is pleased to be able to continue working "in an industry where I have made a lot of friends."
"What we want to accomplish [through Category Partners] is the offering of category management and marketing services to retailers and other customers," Mr. Meek told The Produce News. "We are not going to limit ourselves to retailers, because we will have services and products to offer foodservice and wholesalers and other customers beyond retail."
As a production and marketing company that farms many acres of potatoes itself and also markets products from other growers, "we looked at the challenge of how do we best help our customers, and it became apparent that we needed to offer marketing and category-management services," Mr. Meek said. "Then we began talking with Farm Fresh Direct" about a joint venture to provide those services.
Growers and shippers sometimes think that "once the truck is loaded and gone," their responsibilities end, he said. "But we want to take our services well beyond the mark. The job is not done once it reaches the distribution center. Our job shouldn't end until the consumer is satisfied."
Mr. Meek said that Farm Fresh Direct was selected as a 50/50 partner in the new venture because it is "a very reputable company and an aggressive company," and due to its geographical location, "they complement us well and we complement them well."
It is possible that "we may even bring additional grower-shippers into the company down the road," Mr. Meek said.
