Troy and Brad van Dam, who run Marich Confectionery, show off their top Marich brand product, Chocolate Cherries. But they also provide private labeling, contract manufacturing and product development to other candy marketers. Photo by Vito Palmisano, Palmisano Photo Ltd.
|
“In our industry, there are so many different manufacturing techniques and product formats, finishes and styles. And the product could be in a vertical-form-fill pouch or a hand-packed bag or a gift tin or one of a million different types of packaging styles,” says Brad van Dam, president and CEO of Marich Confectionery (
www.marich.com), Hollister, Calif. Marich markets its own brand of confections and also provides private labeling, contract manufacturing and product development to other candy marketers.Manufacturing a full range of confections — including panned chocolates, starch molded items such as jelly beans and open-kettle confections such as toffees — requires nimble operations. Marich’s equipment is designed for fast changeover, so the production team can quickly “change, shift, go on to the next thing, move it, change over, go,” van Dam says.“Our production rooms are designed for flexibility,” he adds. “In the same production area, off the same chocolate supply, I can be making five or six different items at the same time. We use the magic of scheduling to work things side by side."Even in categories where product formats are limited, the drive to meet constantly evolving consumer needs makes operational flexibility a core requirement. Changes in consumer tastes drive development of new products that must be formulated, processed and packaged. And all must be accomplished quickly, to beat competitors to market.“There are tremendous changes in demand. Products and demand change from day to day and week to week,” says Mac McCampbell, chief operating officer at O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc. (
www.oatkamilk.com), Batavia, N.Y.He adds, “You could make several million cases of a product in 2003, and it’s not even on the market in 2005.” O-AT-KA, which markets the Spring Farm brand, is also a private labeler and custom manufacturer.For food processors, creating that level of production flexibility in-house can be cost-prohibitive. Outsourcing often is the most cost-effective way to create and quickly get to market with generation after generation of new products.
Menu of servicesTo keep up with the fast-changing market, some processors contract not only for manufacturing but also for a combination of services such as product formulation, ingredients procurement, package design, point-of-purchase display production, product inspection and distribution.