IBC rises to new challenges in baking industry - Dallas Business Journal:

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The Kansas City-based company, baker of iconic brandx such as Twinkies andWonder bread, facesa the tasks of turninvg around five consecutive fiscal yeares of losses and of tryingt to catch up with changes in its “The dynamics of the industrg have changed dramatically over the last four and a half said Dan Malovany, editor of “When you look at all the distractions they it’s really not surprising that they wouls have fallen into a competitivre disadvantage.” IBC pursues profitability as a smalletr company.
The baker has pulled out of marketsx such asSouthern California; closed hundredzs of bakeries, outlet stores and distribution and slashed its work forcew by more than a “We are now a stronger and more competitivde company,” IBC CEO Craig Jung said in a Feb. 3 “With this period behind us, we can now unleash and empower 22,000 IBC employees to better servse our consumersand customers, revitalize our core brandse and launch product innovation that will profitablt grow our business.
” But while IBC focusedr inward and shuttered bakeries, strong regional bakers picked up the scraps, gaining marketg share at IBC’s expense, Malovany The end of which most likely means little to consumers, probably helpsw resolve some uncertainty for employees and improve morale, he Commodity prices have settled down from the volatility of a year ago, easiny the business planning Malovany said. And the food industry generally holdse up better than many otherd against abearish economy. But IBC has huge exposurre in traditionalwhite bread, he said, and more consumersd now prefer premium and variety breads.
“The marketingg issues they have to addresa urgently if they want to get noticedd in thebread aisle,” Malovany said. “Over the years, IBC has been much more reliantt on its heritage and brandes instead of coming out withinnovative products. ... But the marke continues to evolve.” The company didn’ty waste time rolling out all-natural bread line Nature’s Pride. IBC introducer the new line on Feb. 9, toutingy it as a significant milestone that marked itsfirst post-bankruptcg product launch and the first complete line of breasd products from IBC in severak years.
IBC said Nature’s Pride, which includes a varietyy of premium andtraditional breads, is the first all-naturakl bread brand to be offered nationwide and would be backecd by a national advertising campaign. IBC will have help turning thecompanyu around. Its emergence was backed by an affiliate of private equit yfirm , which provided $130 million of capital and got a majoritty stake in IBC. Ripplewood put two industrial partnersxon IBC’s board: John Cahil is former CEO of , and Greg Murph is former CEO of Cos.