A Flair for Innovation

Every product from Rich’s Research Center is expected to please. Food trends provide direction and stimulate ideas, but great taste is non-negotiable. The Rich Life line, one of the company’s latest triumphs, is a case in point.

The Rich Life line of "healthier products that taste great" includes par-baked breads and rolls.

The low-carb fad exploded toward the end of 2003, as dietary attention shifted from fat to carbohydrate reduction. “We wanted to see past the trend to where people are really going so that we would still be ahead if the trend passed by the time we got there,” says Wendy Barth, senior vice president of product management and innovation. “We realized that, behind the trend, people really want healthier products that taste great.”

Rich Life addressed the need to provide customers with healthier options with great taste. The line has spanned most of the company’s product categories from baked goods to beverages. It features: par-baked breads and rolls, higher in fiber, low in fat, with no trans fatty acids and half the net carbohydrates of standard rolls; sugar-free, zero-net-carb whipped toppings; real-fruit smoothies, which are fat-free, cholesterol-free, heart-healthy and lactose-free; sugar-free cookies; and even a no-sugar-added reduced-fat cheesecake. The latest to enter the line is Rich Life Pizza Crust.

The culinary touch means more than an inspired sprinkle of spice. Chefs must understand how an oven really works, true handling and operation practices in a kitchen and realistic freezer and refrigeration temperatures. They also understand the kitchen equipment a foodservice operator is likely to have.

Culinarians added a sweet touch to the Cinn-Sational Gourmet Cinnamon Roll, another recent Rich winner. “We went to the CIA [Culinary Institute of America] in Hyde Park, N.Y., and asked about the ultimate cinnamon roll taste,” recalls Barth. “In the chef’s world, you find surprising combinations of ingredients that release great flavor, so we also asked, ‘How do you keep that cinnamon flavor in?’ ”

Great taste with no goofs was the aim of Rich’s Exact Bake, a breakthrough line of no-proof bakery products for in-store bakers. This patent-pending product simplifies preparation, reducing steps and the likelihood of mistakes. The company claims new bakers can be trained “in 60 percent less time than with proof-and-bake dough and in comparable time to par-baked product.”

The chefs at Rich’s fine-tuned flavor and texture profiles on Niagara Farms topping, a pre-whipped dairy blend. It departs from Rich Products’ long history of producing non-dairy alternatives. “It has all the taste and mouthfeel of a dairy product but the stability of a non-dairy product,” says Barth.

Bahama Blast frozen cocktail mixes and smoothie concentrates won Rich Products a Best of Class Award this year from the Culinary Institute of America.

On the beverage side, Rich’s Bahama Blast line of frozen cocktail mixes and smoothie concentrates received the 2004 American Culinary Institute Best of Class Award in the foodservice frozen beverage category. Rich research also heard Dunkin’ Donuts’ clamor for a more healthful muffin and came through this past season with a trans fat-free muffin. It quickly boosted the chain’s sales. “What’s more, it’s a better muffin,” adds Dave Konst, vice president of R&D.

Harnessing Fortune

“You have to be a fighter – and you have to be lucky!” reflects Bob Sr. on the underpinnings of his success. “Four or five times in our history, if a decision had gone the other way, Rich Products would have been out of business.” Rich traces his love of competition to his years as an athlete, grappling with opponents on the wrestling mat or knocking heads on the gridiron.

He fought a seemingly endless string of lawsuits in 41 states to keep his soybean-based Coffee-Rich frozen non-dairy coffee creamer on the market. The dairy industry invoked a federal law stating that “no person shall sell or manufacture any product in semblance or imitation of milk or cream.” He and his legal team argued the semantics of “cream” and “creamer,” charging the industry had no exclusive claim to the term. He also disclaimed any attempt at “imitation” at all, calling his product a “replacement.”

“We got a 3-3 decision at the Superior Court in Wisconsin,” recalls Rich of the most significant and memorable of the court decisions. “One of the judges had a conflict of interest. He was the one who filed the initial suit against us. He had to dismiss himself from the case. So the vote stood 3-3. It was then that I discovered that the courts operated like baseball: The tie goes to the runner. By beating these laws we did one hell of a service for the margarine industry, too,” he notes.