November 27th, 2006

Food processing company works to ‘lean out'
Brad Carlson

After decades in business, managers and workers at Great American Appetizers know a thing or two about food processing. But the company wants to improve. Early this year, managers and employees dove into a “lean manufacturing” initiative to wring waste out of processing. Great American, which employs 220 on Eighth Street North in Nampa , worked with TechHelp, a manufacturing extension program of Idaho 's state universities. The company is in the midst of a program designed for food processors facing unique issues. “The candidate would be a food-processing company that adds value to a food product and has language and cultural issues that might prevent them from conducting a ‘lean' transformation,” Tech Help Marketing Manager Bill Mullane said. Courses address the culture of the “lean” environment, English essentials for people who don't speak the language and “Lean 101,” a course on factory operations principles. “One thing that lean does is that it really seeks input from the line worker,” Mullane said. “It empowers line workers to be engaged in the process of continuous improvement, so you want to make sure that the line workers understand and are able to overcome any cultural background that might prevent them from taking an active role.” Steve Cordova, operations vice president for Great American, said that about 92 percent of Great American's work force is Hispanic, and about 10 percent speak English and Spanish. Many of the workers had been geared toward simply following the boss's instructions, but the lean effort changed that, he said. “They did come to the forefront with a lot of ideas,” Cordova said. Great American sought continuous improvement, including reducing costs at all levels of the business, he said. “Our customers will not continue paying for inefficiencies we may have at our facility,” Cordova said. “They will not pay for any non-value-added step you have.” Costs for utilities and fuel, raw materials and labor are rising faster than product prices, he said. Plant Superintendent Luis Garcia said the lean effort drew widespread support from employees, and didn't lead to job losses. Productivity is up, and waste is down, he said. “The overall picture is a lot of improvement, and more communication,” he said. Cordova said Great American first mapped out all processes, then looked for areas of wasted time, effort and resources. The company has attacked three operational areas so far, and plans to take on a fourth by the end of the year, Cordova said. The company found new ways to set up equipment to reduce employee movement and equipment downtime, Garcia said. Great American also changed how it uses a big holding freezer, Cordova said. The company directly ships much of its products – reducing loading and other costs while increasing inventory control, he said. Great American started the lean program early this year. Since then, it was able to turn what was a seven-day operation to a five-day operation, Cordova said. “Our capacity has just increased tremendously,” he said. “We are going after more business because we have more capacity.” Maintenance Engineering Manager David Hoffman said equipment is used more efficiently and safely in part because of a team approach. “The teamwork we have here has really, really come together,” Garcia said. Jeff Kronenberg, food-processing specialist with the University of Idaho and TechHelp, facilitated Great American's lean transformation, which continues. “Lean manufacturing looks at how we can reduce waste in manufacturing that negatively impacts productivity and profitability,” Kronenberg said. “We're trying to squueze more blood out of the beet, you might say.” Mullane said a grant provides up to $60,000 per participating company, and said companies must match up to 25 percent on their lean-manufacturing program. About six Idaho food processors are participating now.

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October 6th, 2006

Top 10 Supplier
USCI (Unified Supply Chain Inc.) a division of International Dairy Queen, Inc., held their fall Supply Chain Summit in Tucson, AZ October 3-5, 2006. During this conference USCI announced the results of their internal evaluation of the TOP 40 suppliers to the IDQ supply chain. Great American Appetizers, Inc. was evaluated in the following areas: Purchasing, Distribution, Quality Assurance and Product Development. The result of this evaluation showed that Great American Appetizers, Inc. meets and exceeds expectations and finished in the TOP 10 of all suppliers evaluated.

 

November 2005

Private Label Buyer Advertisement

PLBuyer highlights advertisement highlights our private label capabilities. Click the image for a larger view of the article.

 

 

 

 

May 24th, 2005

How To Fry Healthier
[2005-05-24] In the face of our culture's increasing obsession with health, there is one fundamental fact that quick-service can't avoid: lots of our food is fried, and frying isn't exactly considered one of the healthier modes of cooking.

Equipment supplier Frymaster, naturally, would like to help address this issue, and their take on it, as expressed at the NRA show, is a pretty good one. Basically, if we can't make frying "healthy," let's at least make it as healthy as we can. Consider it an optimization of sorts.

To that end, Frymaster is offering the following tips:

Choose the right fryer for the food. Heavy battered items, like fresh fish and onion blossoms, are better prepared in tube-type fryers; lighter battered items, like fries and pre-packaged foods, are better prepared in open pot fryers.

Choose the right oil. Find one that matches your concept's flavor profile, and be aware of smoke points to keep the oil from degrading so it retains the proper flavor of the food.

Load and unload appropriately. Don't overload the basket, load the basket over the fryer, or store food over the fryer. Do drain food on a rack or absorbent paper to drain off excess fat, and cook the food the full amount of time at the correct temperature so it doesn't absorb extra oil.

Filter and clean often. Filter oil twice daily or when the oil looks smoky or has excess debris in it. Clean your fry pot regularly, and change the oil every 10 days --- if you're filtering regularly. If you're not (shame on you), filter every 5 days.

February 2005

Announcement - Food Broker of the Year 2004
Nampa, Idaho – Great American Appetizers, Inc. has announced their Food Broker of the year for 2004. According to John Wills (Vice President of Sales) “Great American Appetizers, Inc. recognizes Paul Ferrick, owner of Tradewinds Food Service Sales, Inc. located in Marstons Mills, MA. as their 2004 Foodservice Broker of the year.” Tradewinds Food Service Sales has helped Great American Appetizers, Inc. achieve phenomenal growth in the Northeastern market.

Great American Appetizers, Inc. is a full-line, coated appetizer manufacturer. Great American Appetizers, Inc provides breaded, battered and beer-battered vegetable and cheese products to the food service and retail trade under their own Wahoo! brand and private labels. Most recently they were featured on the weekly Food Network show “UNWRAPPED”.

February 2005

Announcement - Distributor of the Year 2004
Nampa, Idaho – Great American Appetizers, Inc. is pleased to announce their 2004 Distributor of the Year. According to John Wills (Vice President of Sales), “Great American Appetizers, Inc. recognizes Nicholas & Company as their 2004 Food Service Distributor of the Year.” Nicholas & Company is a broad-line food service distributor located in Salt Lake City, Utah and distributes Great American’s Wahoo! Appetizer brand throughout the Northwest region. Nicholas & Company is family owned and privately held. They have received many honors over the years including the “Great Distributor Organization” Award from ID magazine in 2000 and many other accolades for their outstanding distribution and service to the food service trade. Nicholas & Company recently joined the Independent Marketing Alliance (IMA), an organization owned and directed by six regionally-prominent independent foodservice distributors.

Great American Appetizers, Inc. recognizes Nicholas & Company for the outstanding sales growth achieved in 2004 as well as the ongoing outstanding service they provide their customers and the communities they serve. According to Marco Meyer (Owner/President, Great American Appetizers, Inc) “We build long-term relationships with our customers and our relationship with Nicholas & Company has proven to be a winner for both of our companies over the last 20 years. We are proud to be associated with Nicholas & Company and the outstanding people who run their company on a daily basis.”

Great American Appetizers, Inc. is a full-line, coated appetizer manufacturer. Great American Appetizers, Inc provides breaded, battered and beer-battered vegetable and cheese products to the food service and retail trade under their own Wahoo! brand and private labels. Most recently they were featured on the weekly Food Network show “UNWRAPPED”.

January 2005

"Unwrapped" on the Food Network
Great American Appetizers, marketing its products under the Wahoo! Appetizers brand name, is featured in the “Crispy” episode of the Food Network’s Unwrapped show. In this episode, Unwrapped host Marc Summers walks viewers through Wahoo’s! state-of-the-art manufacturing process.

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Click to view the "Crispy" episode - 11.37MB

January 1, 2005

Who:	Every Great American Appetizers Customer
What:	New Years Resolutions
Where:	Nationwide
When:	2005
Why:	Dramatically Improve Your Appetizer Profits
Wahoo!	Finally, A New Choice For Quality Appetizers!
Making Your New Year's Resolution List? Let Us Help...

1. Eat Out More!
2. Start Every Meal With an Appetizer!
3. Eat Only The Best Wahoo! Appetizers!
4. Consider a "custom made" signature appetizer for your menu!
5. Visit appetizer.com For Unique Offers!
6. Experiment with appetizer variety!
7. Tell your friends about Wahoo! Appetizers!
8. Try Something New! Wahoo Appetizers Quesitas®!
9. End Every Sentence With An Exclamation Point!
10. Vow to have a Wahoo! Of a Year!

October 2004

"Unwrapped" on the Food Network
Great American Appetizers, marketing its products under the Wahoo! Appetizers brand name, is featured in the “Stuffed” episode of the Food Network’s Unwrapped show. In this episode, Unwrapped host Marc Summers unveils the secrets behind the success of Wahoo! Appetizers’ Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers.

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Click to view the "Stuffed" episode - 2.18MB

July 6, 2001

Snack Attack!
Contact:
John Wills,
John Wills Vice President Sales
800 282-4834
JWills@appetizer.com

Frozen Snack/Appetizer Category is the Rising Star of the Freezer Case With Great American Appetizers as your Private Label appetizer partner your sales will shine bright! With current sales of over $600 million, up over 62% vs. year ago, the Frozen Snack/Appetizer category has now grown at double-digit levels for 7 consecutive years! Frozen Snacks (or Appetizers as they are sometimes referred to) are generally small, hand-to-mouth items that are heated in the oven or microwave and served between or before meals. While Frozen Snack items have been around for several decades, changes in American eating patterns, the emergence and popularity of family restaurants and bar appetizers, and the marketing muscle of two industry giants, Heinz and Pillsbury, have transformed this once small segment into a mainstream, dynamic category.

• Changing Eating Patterns - It is estimated that 25% of the average consumer's calorie intake now comes from snacks. Experts talk about "grazing" (the concept of eating here and there, a little of this and a little of that) as a driving force in increased snack consumption:
Time-Starved, Dual-Income Households searching for convenient meal solutions
• More, smaller meals being consumed (4 - 5 instead of the traditional 3 meals a day.)
• Kids and Teens preparing their own meals.
• Consumers ever increasing need for variety and new/unique products.
• Food Service Appetizers
• The Growth of National Restaurant Chains such as Bennigan's and TGIF's along with the growth of Bar Happy Hours popularized deep fried Hors D'oeuvres throughout the country. Many foodservice outlets have concentrated on these high margin snacks creating signature items to differentiate their Menu.
• Manufacturer R & D provided ovenable equivalents of Deep Fried products making retail success a possibility.
• Restaurants and Bars have been able to expand the American palate to include new and exotic tastes: i.e. Jalapeno Poppers, Hot Chicken Wings, etc.

CATEGORY FACTS

• Gross Margins for this category are substantially higher than the overall Frozen Section Margins!
• Corporate brand Private Label accounts for less than 2% of category sales creating huge potential for Private Label sales.
• Category Sales in 2000 were greater than $600 million.
• Category growth rates are predicted to run between 10 and 20% per year.

ACTION STEPS

• Call Great American Appetizers!
• Evaluate branded sales of these Snack/Appetizer items within your organization.
• Take advantage/control of this growth opportunity by developing a Corporate Brand Line of the best selling items.
• Establish your own "Snack Zone" as part of a total "Meal Solution" program.
• Ask Great American Appetizers to produce private label products for you in the following segments: Jalapeno Poppers, Mozzarella Sticks, Breaded Vegetables, Quesadillas, Stuffed Potato Skins and more!