Lancaster Colony Corporation is a company with widely diversified operations including several within the specialty foods industry. The company is headquartered in Ohio, USA
History
Lancaster Colony Corporation was formed in 1961 with the merging of several small manufacturing companies. The merger was spearheaded by John Gerlach, who was a major stockholder in each of the companies. The companies were primarily engaged in the production of glassware and other related products. Gerlach incorporated the companies in Delaware and made them subsidiaries to a central company he named Lancaster Colony.
In 1969, Lancaster Colony became publicly listed. In that same year, the company entered into the specialty foods industry when it acquired T. Marzetti Co. Marzetti was a company that produced salad dressings for distribution and marketing. As soon as the acquisition of Marzetti was completed, its new owner broadened its product line with the addition of seven new flavors to its salad dressings. These new varieties were grouped under the line Frenchette®, a label that was formerly owned by the Carter-Wallace Co.
In 1977, Lancaster Colony acquired Quality Baker Company and New York Frozen Foods a year after. From the 1970s to the 1980s, most of the company’s subsidiaries were performing very well in terms of profitability. However, in the 1980s, the company experienced economic challenges when a significant number of its products went into a decline in sales. However, one subsidiary that maintained its profitability is the specialty foods division. In 1981, Lancaster Colony acquired Inn Maid Products. Seeing the company’s potential in the food industry, the company started expansion plans in the industry. In 1983, the company purchased Pfeiffer, a company engaged in producing salad dressings.
Currently, Lancaster Colony is known as a company that has diversified operations. In total, the company has 16 subsidiaries, some of which are engaged in automotive products, plastic housewares, decorative gifts, beach balls and crystal ware. The two biggest subsidiaries of the company are its specialty foods division and its candles and glassware division.
Products produced under the specialty foods edition include salad dressings, vegetable dips, croutons, fruit dips, sauces, noodles, caviar, mustard, garlic bread, egg noodles and rolls.
Stats
• Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
• Ownership Type: Public
• No. of Employees: 4,700
• Geography: USA
• Demography: foodservice companies, retail specialty foods consumers
Brands
Chatham Village®, Marzetti ®, Cardini’s®, Girard’s®, Inn Maid®, Romanoff®, Mamma Bella®, Reames®, Pfeiffer®, Jack Daniel’s®, New York®, Sister Schubert’s®
Important links
Corporate Home Page
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