Food producers did not get fat in 2003

For food products companies, 2003 brought neither feast nor famine.

Metairie-based Al Copeland Investments, which includes Diversified Foods and Seasonings Inc., Copeland's of New Orleans restaurants and Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro restaurants, increased revenue 2 percent to $140 million from $137.3 million in 2002. Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro had the greatest revenue growth by jumping 32 percent to $16.9 million from $12.8 million in 2002.

Diversified Foods, which provides red beans, biscuit mix and fried chicken batter for Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken and sauces for Copeland's and Cheesecake Bistro restaurants, increased revenue 2 percent to $66.4 million from $65 million in 2002.

In May 2003, Diversified Foods opened a new $16-million plant in Mandeville.

It will allow us to pursue more new food items we didn't have the capacity to do before, said Jody Berry, director of financial reporting.

The new plant should help boost 2004 revenue to $70 million, Berry said.

Revenue from Copeland's restaurants decreased 5 percent to $56.6 million from $59.5 million in 2002. Halfway through the year, the company introduced a new menu within the menu called Copeland's Steakhouse.

It's had a very good response, Berry said. We were down in sales, but once that menu went into effect, the trend reversed and sales started to go back up. We didn't fully recover but we're expecting the trend to continue in 2004.

The company demolished the Copeland's restaurant at 701 Veterans Memorial Blvd. last month and is rebuilding at the same location with a new concept. The new restaurant, scheduled to open in September, will have a different design and a revamped menu with only about half of Copeland's original dishes.

If it's successful, it's something we'd do in some of the other Copeland's restaurants, Berry said.

Baumer Foods Inc., a New Orleans company that manufactures condiments such as Crystal hot sauce, posted a 3 percent revenue increase to $54.6 million from $53.2 million in 2002. The company also produces private label and custom formulations for food service suppliers and retailers.

Alvin A. Baumer Jr., president and chief executive officer, said 2003 held no surprises for his company.

Overall, the company is growing. Food services sales are continually growing, he said.

Revenue at Imperial Trading Co. in Elmwood has held steady at $315 million for the past two years, up from $300 million in 2001. Imperial supplies groceries to about 5,000 drug and convenience stores in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Most of Imperial's growth took place in Mississippi and Alabama. That growth wasn't reflected in revenue totals because factory pricing dropped, said John D. Georges, chief executive officer.

Tobacco manufacturers changed their pricing structures to compete with discount cigarettes, he said. Instead of giving a discount at the retail level, they're now giving it at the factory.

Tobacco accounts for about 30 percent of Imperial's sales, Georges said.

A trend to watch in 2004 is 99-cent items in convenience stores.

With dollar stores opening everywhere, we expect to see a lot of 99-cent space within convenience stores, he said.

The trend won't have a negative effect on Imperial because the stores simply switch to off-brands Imperial carries, Georges said.

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