$35MM Sugar-free Bakery that Ships Frozen Products Nationally

Situation

• Privately held company (private equity owned) with a recent failed sale
• Stagnating sales and declining profits
• Facility issues including layout, production flow, and capacity
• Issues with senior and operational leadership

FortéOne Process

After an initial diagnostic phase, FortéOne presented recommendations that would significantly increase sales and EBIDTA. These recommendations were agreed to by PE owners, who hired FortéOne to lead the implementation.

• Reduce “near duplicate” SKUs offered in flagship brand, expand private label business
• Major product overhaul, including new packaging, taste, and nutrition
• Implement long-term, account-by-account plans to increase sales/margin
• Build a professional sales & marketing organization
• Improve facility in both function and aesthetics

Establishing a Foundation for Performance

• Moved the firm from “bake to order” to “bake to inventory” which dramatically improved inventory turns, margins and operational throughput
• Built a relationship with DOT foods for national frozen distribution to convenience stores, a market this firm had not been able to penetrate
• New packaging increased thawed shelf life by 2X