Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/102355
He first spent six months working at the Formaggio Essex Market in New York to get a deeper understanding of cheese. "After working at the cheese counter, I got bitten by the cheese bug," Moskowitz says. "I was the most inspired I've ever been." In 2007, he became the general manager of Larkin International, a company that consolidates and imports cheese and related foodstuffs from Europe and handles storage for leading specialty food vendors; the next year he became the general manager of Columbia Cheese, a cheese importing company his family acquired 25 years ago. The plan for 2013 is to become the owner of both companies. The transition plan. Moskowitz and his father approached this generational transition with reflection on family history. Joe had worked for his own father at Walker Foods for 20 years, but left out of frustration to form his own business in 1978. Joe wanted to go national, while his father, an immigrant, was happy with its regional success. "It didn't work between me and my father, so I wanted to find a different way between me and my son," Joe explains. "I gained a lot of wisdom by being at odds with my father that I have carried through in creating my business. And it's that same wisdom I'm using now passing the baton to Adam." The transition's success involved one particular change: When Adam came on board, his father left the premises and began working from his Garden City, N.Y., office. "If he was day-to-day with me, we would be constantly fighting and bickering. The conflict would far outweigh performance," Adam Moskowitz explains. Moskowitz was determined to work hard and put his own stamp on the family business. "I had big shoes to fill, and I didn't want to be perceived as Joe's son, the kid who came in to take over the business," he says. "I wanted to be perceived as somebody looking to evolve the company into a new version of itself. I wanted to show our customers my commitment to them and the industry." A new approach. At the helm, Adam Moskowitz has invested significantly in the Larkin buildings, improving its cold-chain system for the cheese product, tuning up equipment and improving systems and logistics. He brought the company into the new millennium by getting Larkin online. Within five years, he has doubled the company's revenue, and father and son, along with a partner, began a new company in 2009 in France, EuroLarkin. They also relaunched Columbia Cheese to focus on top-level producers. gained a lot of wisdom by being at odds with my father that I have carried through in creating my business," Joe Moskowitz says. "And it's that same wisdom I'm using now passing the baton to Adam." "I Salute to Himalayan Black Winter Truffles Gold Medal Winner 2011/2012 Gourmet Product Awards Experience "Black Gold" presented by the vast Himalayan snow-covered mountains and evergreen forests, an immense natural pristine Shangri-la. Available canned, jarred, fresh, dried slices and powdered. newtiger6688@yahoo.com Tel: 516.942.9312 Fax: 516.942.9306 www.greatporcini.com Make Your Tea Sales Boil Over! Your Ultimate Loose Tea Brewer Single Use Loose Tea Filters Also available, Multi-Use Tea Filters • Made from all Natural Biodegradable Manila Hemp. • Makes preparing & serving loose teas much easier! Maximize your Loose Tea Sales with Winter Fancy Food Booth #5610 rgiorgio@bellnet.ca 1.877.837.9616 Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 5610 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 77