Garden Fresh Gourmet Seeks to Keep Growing Through Mergers, New Products
So where do they go from here?
In a Michigan economy plagued by economic challenges, Ferndale-based Garden Fresh Gourmet – a company that not many years ago was a plucky upstart in the Michigan food industry – has grown into a sizeable operation. And going forward, the maker of salsa, chips, dips hummus and an assortment of other tasty products, expects to keep expanding.
A Recipe for Success
In an "Our Michigan, Our Future" report, WWJ Newsradio 950's Pat Vitale talks to Jack Aronson. To listen to a podcast of the report, click here.
In its next phase, owner and founder Jack Aronson (pictured) said, the company expects to keep growing via mergers and the addition of new products. But fresh salsa – the product Aronson launched to make enough money to fight off creditors and lenders of his small restaurant – will remain the heart of the operation, he says.
Annual revenue for the company is quickly approaching $100 million, thanks to the acceptance of the company’s products by such chains as Meijer, Costco, Kroger, Wegmans, A&P and distribution that now reaches 40 states. From manufacturing and distribution facilities in Ferndale, Detroit, and Inkster, the company produces 115,000 pounds of salsa each day with the help of nearly 315 statewide employees
“We’ve really spend a lot of time the past four to five years putting together a line no one else can top in meeting the needs of deli buyers within retail chains,” said Dave Zilko, vice president of Garden Fresh Gourmet and owner of Monkey Duck Mustard. “Salsa will always be the lead dog in our product offering but we have as comprehensive of a product line as any of our competitors.”
Its latest move is a deal to distribute a food line from singer Jimmy Buffet. Garden Fresh Gourmet has been named the exclusive North American distributor of salsas, hummus, guacamole dips and tortilla chips for Buffet’s Margaritaville line of food products. The process from initial introduction to a final agreement took about a year to complete and was finalized in May.
“We believe that our Garden Fresh Gourmet products and the products we make that are marketed under the Margaritaville brand two can be merchandised next to each other,” Zilko said, “All the products for both lines come out of our plants here in Ferndale and in (other locations across Michigan).
“One of the biggest benefits of this agreement is that it will also allow us to get shelf space in retail chains that we haven’t been able to get into yet,” Zilko adds.
That and Zilko anticipates the Margaritaville brand will comprise about 15-20 percent of the company’s overall revenues within 12 months. And that revenue is likely to only grow, considering Buffet’s Margaritaville empire also includes casinos, full-service restaurants and a growing range of distributed food and drink products globally. In all, the Margaritaville brand is worth $440 million in annual revenue.
Garden Fresh Gourmet, which bills itself as the largest, all-natural salsa producer in the United States, offers 15 flavors of salsa, all created by Aronson.
“I have been called a mad scientist for many years,” Aronson says. “That’s part of the fun because I love to get into the kitchen a create flavors. I must say though that not all make the final cut.”
What has made the cut, several times over, is the company’s ongoing growth strategy. Beyond the Margaritaville brand, the company is planning to make a “major announcement” about another growth opportunity later this fall Aronson says.
Two years Garden fresh bought a local hummus company. In 2007 it purchased El Matador, a maker of tortilla chips in Grand Rapids. And even though Garden fresh Gourmet distributes more salsa products than any other fresh salsa maker in the United States, the company continuously seeks to expand its service offering for deli buyers.
The company’s current focus is introducing new brands and expanding distribution. That likely will mean looking for other companies to purchase where it makes prudent sense.
One addition that likely won’t be a part of Garden Fresh Gourmet anytime soon is a restaurant chain. Aronson went down that road in the 1990s with the Clubhouse Barbeque, a Ferndale restaurant along Woodward Avenue that had a loyal – but unfortunately small clientele. Aronson understands his strengths, and while he can cook up a mean barbeque, the restaurant business is a more complex animal to tame he says.
“I don’t think a restaurant is something I would run. I’ve already shown that my entrepreneurial skills as a restaurant owner are a bit lacking,” Aronson says.
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So where do they go from here?
