BOSTON — The cornerstone of B&G Foods’ strategy has been to acquire brands that may be considered “distressed” and make them relevant to consumers. That is the company’s strategy for the Green Giant, but the acquisition also is going to have a dramatic effect on B&G Foods.
“ … We are going to put a lot more resources behind this brand than we ever had in the past,” said Bob Cantwell, president and chief executive officer of the Parsippany, N.J.-based company, Sept. 8 during a presentation at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference. “This brand is going to allow us to build out our organization in a bigger way.”
Through the acquisition, B&G Foods has acquired a frozen food manufacturing plant in Irapuato, Mexico, that employs 1,100. In addition, Mr. Cantwell said the company is going to add 40 to 50 corporate managers who will be charged with supporting frozen food sales, brand marketing, and general and administrative functions.
For the Green Giant brand itself, Mr. Cantwell said B&G has a number of plans.
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| Bob Cantwell, president and c.e.o. of B&G Foods |
“First is the blocking and tackling,” he said. “That brand has been a little bit ignored for the last few years.”
Immediate concerns include a packaging refresh, a marketing program to put the brand front-and-center with consumers, and a focus on innovation.
“What this brand hasn’t had the last few years is really a lot of innovation,” Mr. Cantwell said. “And innovation comes in a few ways. Innovation can be as simple as new products with new recipes … Now, the bigger innovation is creating something very different in the category, and that’s part of an innovation pipeline we have to build.”
Mr. Cantwell added that the money B&G Foods is going to invest behind the revitalization of the Green Giant brand is “more money than we spend on all of the B&G products we sell today.”
