Promotion of the month Sargento Goes Online

Dairy Foods, Dec, 2001

Even products that improve over time--like select aged Cheddar and other fine cheeses--are ready for a new strategic business opportunity, say the innovative marketers at Sargento-Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis. In September, the company launched a direct-to-consumer sales channel through sargentoreserve.com. Sargento cheeses are now available individually or in gift packages exclusively through this new Internet store, as well as through a direct-mail catalog. The cheeses are sold under a new brand: Sargento Reserve [TM].

Widely recognized as an innovative marketer of quality packaged cheeses for consumers, food manufacturers and national restaurant chains, privately-held Sargento is bringing serious competition to the online and mail order marketplace for specialty food gifts. Nearly every cheese sold through the online store and catalog has earned top honors in world-renowned U.S. and international competitions conducted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Assn.

To build the new direct-to-consumer business, Sargento is exploring Web marketing alliances with retail grocery chains, according to Kevin Delahunt, v.p. of e-commerce. "Most of our large retail customers have Web sites that are visited by thousands of shoppers on a regular basis," he says. "Retailers will be able to enhance their own online offerings by providing a link to sargentoreserve.com, and we'll share with them a portion of sales revenues generated through that link. We greatly value our retail partnerships and we want them to benefit from our new direct-to-consumer online strategy."