Rosenblum Donut empire founded on marketing savvy, family, and flour

CNY Business Journal (1994-95), Mar 06, 1995 by Hadley, Mark

Growth is a key factor in his plans. And Granny's recently landed a contract that Rosenblum believes will yield a big boost this year. "We were recently awarded a major contract with a national food-service company. They are a major supplier for cafeterias, hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities all over the country," he says, adding that he has agreed not to publicly identify the company.

Rosenblum's ambitions stretch beyond the borders of the continental U.S. "We already are selling our products in Canada. And in April, we will be participating in the International Bakery Show in Dusseldorf, Germany. Who knows what might happen from that?" Rosenblum says.

While Rosenblum and his staff have a solid handle on the doughnut market and what Granny's customers need today, he is not at all confident that the same formula is going to mean continued success. He intends to stay on the leading edge in his industry. To do that, he studies trends through food-industry magazines, business and trade associations, and other sources.

He also tracks his competitors. "I have files on all of our competitors that go back years. I have all their advertisements, product announcements, and a lot of their publicity materials, so that I know what they are doing and how they are marketing their products," Rosenblum explains, "I have to if I want to stay ahead."

Probably his best market intelligence, however, comes not from anything printed. Rather it comes from his customers. "They will tell you what they want and what they are planning. That is really how we got into the market of supplying the in-store bakeries," Rosenblum explains.

Competition, in this case, doesn't mean small- to mid-sized doughnut makers and bakeries. "Most of my competition comes from major companies and corporations in the food business. They are the only ones that can compete on volume, but they certainly can't match our quality or our service," he stresses.

But he knows that several of them are trying to match his moves. And they have the money and mass to devote to their pursuit. The problem is that they are not shooting at a sitting target.

"We are always refining our recipes and our processes. The thaw-and-serve doughnut that you get today is not the same doughnut you would have bought 15 years ago," Rosenblum says. "We have tinkered with the recipe and still are. I always want it to be better."

The same goes for his manufacturing processes. Granny's in-house engineers look for ways to make the plant more efficient and to improve the product. They work with equipment suppliers to explore new ideas--anything that will help Granny's keep its edge. One of those innovations was a new flash-freeze unit that zips the fresh doughnut down to a rock-hard freeze in seconds.

Rosenblum is committed to keeping Granny's on the cutting edge and growing into the next century. "We already have plans that run past the year 2000." Rosenblum reports.

But his planning seems pretty well grounded so far. He launched a plant expansion in 1993 to swell the plant from 30,000 square feet to 80,000. That made room for the third production line. But it also left room for 1994's changes--the flash-freeze unit and an expansion of the packaging room with improved technology that allowed more package variety and size.