November 28, 2023
Utz Brands is growing up right before our eyes!
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With a century of strong family heritage, Utz Brands continues to produce delicious snack foods under brands such as Utz, ON THE BORDER Chips & Dips, Golden Flake, Zapp's, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian Brand, and TORTIYAHS!
In 2020, Utz turned to a new chapter in it’s story by going public, a move that ushered in strategic shifts under the leadership of then-CEO, now Executive Chairman, Dylan Lissette.
As a private company, Utz spent much of its existence as a family-owned business with a major presence on the East Coast.
But in the past 36 months, the company has acquired strategic brands - and hired key executives away from industry-leading CPGs - in a move to grow it's footprint.
Before we dive into the moves Utz has made, it’s important to note an industry term you will encounter over and over again, Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD).
Direct-Store-Delivery is a supply chain model in which the supplier (brand) delivers products directly to a retail store or location, rather than a centralized warehouse or distribution center.
It is particularly popular in the food and beverage industry - ensuring faster shelf availability, which can be especially beneficial for perishable and high-volume goods.
Additionally, DSD allows for direct interaction with store-level buyers, helping brands better understand the market needs and trends.
In January 2021, Utz entered into an agreement to acquire the Vitner’s snack brand from Snak-King Corp.
Chicago represents a top-5 salty snack market in the US, and Utz plans to leverage Vitner’s 55 DSD routes to grow its stable of brands in the grocery, drug and up-and-down street channels of the Chicago metropolitan and Northwest Indiana areas.
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In March 2021, Utz announced the purchase of distribution rights in the central Florida region from a third-party DSD distributor, National Food Corp.
This acquisition of 21 DSD routes provided Utz with an opportunity to accelerate the company’s share of the salty snack category across central Florida, including Orlando, Tampa and Sarasota.
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In January 2022, Utz announced the acquisition of two existing third party DSD distributors of Utz’s products, Clem Snacks, Inc. and J&D Snacks, Inc.
Clem is a family-owned and operated distributor based in Brooklyn, New York with approximately 100 DSD routes in New York City and Long Island.
J&D has been serving the Bronx, New York since 1996 with approximately 25 DSD routes.
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In August 2022, Utz announced its distribution to almost 1,300 Publix stores.
These stores will continue to bring the snack company’s products to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
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In July 2023, Utz announced that Jennifer Bentz has been appointed EVP, Insights, Innovation, and Marketing Services.
Bentz will help further develop the Utz’ eCommerce and Digital Marketing capabilities to accelerate its market share opportunities within the Salty Snack Category.
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In November 2023, Utz announced Mitchell Arends joined the company as the Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer and EVP.
Most recently, Arnends was at Kraft Heinz, serving as Chief Supply Chain Officer of North America Operations.
Can Utz successfully incorporate the acquisitions into it's portfolio, continue to grow volume across it's channels, and reduce costs within it's supply chain?
At Kraft Heinz, Mitch Arends was a key part of the Supply Chain team at the forefront of historic innovation in leveraging data to better collaborate with internal, and external partners, helping add $30M in yearly incremental net sales in 2022 for the company.
As preserving margins has become table stakes for CPG brands, Utz' strategic team additions could emerge as the crucial factor for the 102 year old company.
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The bops CPFR Job Board, specifically dedicated to highlighting the best CPFR and Supply Chain roles at companies across the US and Mexico, is live.
Whether someone in your network is looking for a supply chain role, or hiring for a supply chain role, this is a free tool for them.
Check out the Job Board here.
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