Gourmet News

Schuman Cheese Names Snyder CEO

Published August 2, 2022

Schuman Cheese has named Steve K. Snyder CEO, with third-generation leader Neal Schuman moving from CEO to chairman of the board.

“We are excited to welcome Steve to the Schuman Cheese family and plan to work closely to build on the company’s successes while staying true to the core values that have guided us these last 75 years,” said Schuman. “Steve brings us a fresh vision for the company’s continued success and expansion trajectory. I am confident that his experienced leadership, know-how, and clear strategic perspective will be pivotal to our next phase of growth.”

Snyder has recently led companies in the cheese, food and other industries to create and implement growth strategies, develop leadership talent and drive business and organizational development.

“It is with great pride and excitement that I join Neal and his talented fourth-generation children, Allison, Ian, and Keith, along with the entire Schuman Cheese team to continue the legacy of world-class, award-winning cheese solutions,” Snyder said. “The company’s history of caring for its employees and the communities in which it operates is inspirational. It’s that dedication to our team and our customers to operate with integrity and innovative spirit that will remain a guiding light in this next chapter of growth.’ said Snyder.

Snyder carries with him a leadership background in start-up, middle market and large company settings across food, nutrition, pharma, food safety, biotechnology, agrulture and specialty chemicals.

His most recent, full-time role was president and CEO of Whitehall Specialties Inc., a Wisconsin-based processed and plant-based cheese manufacturer, where he created and launched the NewFields plant-based cheese division. He served as president and COO of the publicly traded food and animal safety company Neogen and spent 13 years at Cargill, the large multinational, family-owned food and agricultural products company, where he and his team launched Truvia natural sweetener and other nutritional and sustainable products.

Snyder has also held various roles at Monsanto Company and a number of boards of directors’ positions in the food, agriculture, biotech, software and health areas.

Snyder joins Schuman Cheese amid continued category leadership with some of the industry’s largest retailers and recognition across both domestic and imported cheeses, including that of flagship brand Cello, which recently celebrated a sweep in the Parmesan category at the 2022 World Cheese Contest. The company is also rapidly expanding in growing food categories with innovative brands such as plant-based Vevan Foods and dessert brand, Delve chocolate truffles.

In October, Gourmet News publishes its annual Fall Cheese Guide. To advertise, email sales@oser.com.

Bolthouse Farms Acquires Starbucks’ Evolution Fresh

Published August 1, 2022

Bolthouse Farms has closed its acquisition of Evolution Fresh from Starbucks, which includes the brand, business and employees supporting Evolution Fresh. By uniting the two powerhouse brands, Bolthouse Farms looks to further accelerate the company’s leadership within the premium juice and refrigerated beverage categories in retail.

Through this acquisition, Bolthouse Farms will expand its beverage offering from nutrient-dense, plant-powered juices and smoothies to include the full lineup of Evolution Fresh’s primarily organic, cold-pressed, premium juices. Starbucks stores in the United States will continue to sell Evolution Fresh products.

“As a combined company, we will share our resources, vertically-integrated supply chain, deep knowledge of fresh produce, and passion for ingenuity and innovation,” said Bill Levisay, president, Consumer Brands, Bolthouse Farms. “Evolution Fresh produces deliciously fresh, cold-pressed juices that consumers are looking for. Our job now is to support their expertise and bring additional resources to the table to expand the brand’s reach.”

Bolthouse Farms is the No. 1 super premium refrigerated beverage brand and one of the largest carrot suppliers to North American retailers.

“Bolthouse has been on a rapid growth trajectory in the last few years, and this acquisition is an important step on the company’s growth journey, with more expected to come,” said CEO Jeff Dunn. “This acquisition expands our portfolio in a way that meets the health and nutrition needs of more consumers than ever before”.

Bolthouse Farms is a portfolio company of Butterfly, a leading private equity firm that specializes in the food sector with a particular focus on high-growth, on-trend categories. Through Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh joins Butterfly’s brand portfolio that includes the likes of Chosen Foods, MaryRuth Organics, Orgain and Pete and Gerry’s Organics.

Terms of the transaction, which Starbucks and Bolthouse Farms announced on May 24, 2022, were not disclosed.

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FMI Supports Credit Card Competition Act

Published August 1, 2022

FMI – The Food Industry Association endorsed the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act sponsored by Sens. Dick Durban (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) to guarantee merchant choice in payment routing by requiring at least two processors on credit cards.

“Americans are rightfully concerned about the impact of higher prices on their budgets for the items they need for their families,” said jennifer Hatcher, chief public policy officer and SVP government relations. “Despite this inflationary environment, credit card companies continue to dramatically increase the hidden processing fees that grocers and ultimately consumers are forced to pay for accepting/using credit cards for payments. These fees and increases contribute to higher prices for consumers, costing the typical American family an average of $900 per year, according to Nilson Report.

“We appreciate Sens. Durbin and Marshall for introducing this important bill as a critical first step in bringing greater competition to the credit card market and much needed financial relief to grocers and American families during these extremely challenging economic times.

“These fees charged by credit card companies in the U.S. are some of the highest in the world and account for many retailers’ largest operating cost after labor,” Hatcher said. “In 2021, merchants’ card processing fees totaled $137.8 billion, per Nilson Report, up over 112 percent from the previous decade. As an industry historically operating on 1 to 2 percent profit margins, excessively high credit swipe fees reduce the ability of grocery stores to invest in their businesses and keep prices as low as possible for their customers.

“FMI strongly supports this legislation to bring competition and transparency to the credit card market by requiring more than one network option to route financial data on a credit card – just like most cities have more than one road leading into the city. Requiring more than one routing network would bring down the cost of swipe fees, increase transparency for retailers accepting credit card payments and encourage competition on innovative services and fraud protection.”

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