Planes, trains and automobiles; all aboard for new challenges, great opportunities - dairy food companies' new markets

Dairy Foods, June, 1989 by Donna Crothers

Refrigerated space is at a premium on any mode of transportation and shelf-stable products are used whenever possible. Shelf-stable juices, cheese products and even cream are used on planes, trains and boats.

Stauffer-Meiji Inc.'s Skinny Dippers allow airlines to offer one of its most popular snacks--cheese and crackers--in one self-contained, shelf-stable package. Skinny Dippers' foil-sealed cup holds both cracker sticks and all-natural cheese dip and has found favor at USAir and several regional airlines, according to Larry Wikel, vice president of sales and marketing. Although the product is offered with chocolate and peanut butter dips, the airlines prefer cheese, adds Wikel.

Stauffer Cheese Inc., which supplies the cheese dip for Skinny Dippers, also offers all-natural cheese spread in a 3/4-ounce hexagon cup designed specifically for the airlines, as well as individually wrapped cheese wedges, according to Albert Keller, sales manager. "Cooler space is at a premium," notes Keller, who is a former employee of Eastern Airlines. "The non-refrigerated aspect of our products is their strongest sell."

Shelf-stable products have an advantage in distribution because they don't require costly refrigeration that may prohibit frequent or small shipments. Stauffer Cheese, for example, simply ships its products by UPS, "so they don't have to keep big inventories," says Keller.

"The biggest challenge that many of our suppliers face is distribution," says Lackner, noting that United needs its food products delivered to most of its 125 boarding terminals.

Daily deliveries are required by Amtrak "because many of our commissaries are very small so we can't store large quantities," says Kabel.

Because cruise ships at sea can't replace dairy products that aren't good, the cruise lines put great emphasis on proper handling. Rudi Schoeneweiss, corporate executive chef for Carnival Cruise Lines of Miami, says the most important factor in selecting a dairy foods supplier is attention to sanitary controls, storage temperatures and expiration dates.

The amount of food consumed by the transportation industry is massive. United Airlines spends $1 million a day for food, says Lackner, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines prepares about 24,000 meals a day on its five ships, according to a company spokesperson.

Buying in such quantity, food directors often expect some concessions in price. Most airlines and cruise lines, as well as Amtrak, buy food through a competitive bidding system, and some have tight price constraints on food items. For example, one consultant to the airline industry says many airlines allocate only 25 to 35 cents per dessert for tourist class passengers.

And price is a complaint heard from dairy foods companies about supplying the transportation industry. "They look for really low-priced goods," says Wikel of Stauffer-Meiji. "They like to work for under a dime" for snack items, although Wikel adds that Skinny Dippers, which retail for about 50 cents, are not sold at that price level.