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
initiatives. This year, she's introduced new packaging: a Vintage collection, a Travel Collection featuring 1950s-era postcards, and the Mod line of brightly colored tins. The company also has a new account with Delta Air Lines, for which it provides cookies in Byrd Cookie Co. signature glass jars in Delta's 56 sky lounges nationwide. Expanding into new areas. Wanting to connect the company with its local community, in 2012 Lindley opened a restaurant in Savannah. She then opened a retail store in the heart of the tourist district, selling Byrd products and offering corporate gift baskets featuring Byrd cookies along with regional specialty foods. The new 1,500-square-foot store, nestled in a 200-year-old historic building, conveys the company's long history with sampling jars and vintage ads and cooking equipment. Her father says he likes what she's doing. "We work together well, but we see a few things differently. I like the new things she's doing—to some extent reinventing the company," he explains. "We did that 24 years ago, and she's in the process of doing that now." Lindley says she makes sure she communicates well and often with her parents; Curl now serves as the CFO and her mother, Kay, though she doesn't have an official title, helps out as the "queen of organization and daily details," Lindley says. "I know what makes them nervous," she adds. "Information is important, and I try to remember to explain to them my thinking. I double-check to make sure I'm representing the family well." Z SPECIALTY FOODS A t Z Specialty Foods, Woodland, Calif., Amina Harris and Ishai Zeldner are taking a slower approach in passing on their 33-year-old business. The married couple's son, Joshua Zeldner, joined the business as a partner two years ago, and the five-year plan is to increase his role and decrease theirs. Eventually, Harris says, they may involve their daughter with an ownership stake in the future as well. Though she helps out at trade shows, at this time, she is not interested in taking on a larger role. The deciding factor. Growing up, Zeldner had not been interested in the business of creating gourmet varietal honeys, nut butters and honey fruit spreads. But when his parents began talking about selling the business, he decided to sign on as a partner. "I like the new things she's doing ... reinventing the company," says Benny Curl of his daughter's leadership at Byrd Cookie Company. "We did that 24 years ago, and she's in the process of doing that now." "Since I've joined, I've come to realize how unique our business is." —Joshua Zeldner, Z Specialty Foods "I realized how heartbreaking it would be to see this labor of love be sold for an amount of money which would be less than what is was worth given what they had put into it. Since I've joined, I've come to realize how unique our business is," he says. Taking a new tack. Harris says she feels that her son's energy and ideas are just what are needed in the changing specialty food environment. He feels the passion for the product but is also focusing on creating a stronger business foundation, she says. The young Zeldner has worked to improve the business's physical functionality and appearance, including engineering a new palette-racking system that maximizes the 4,000-square-foot vertical space in the warehouse. While his parents have had welltuned communication between themselves, he is creating a more formal structure with streamlined ordering systems and updated spreadsheets. Zeldner has also become the main contact for the new international business, filling orders for China and Singapore. Connecting with the community. Similar to his next-generation counterparts at Larkin and Byrd Cookie Co., Zeldner wanted to create a stronger connection between his family's business and its community. To that end, two years ago, he established Open Warehouse Days, two days in the fall when customers are invited into the warehouse for live music, craft booths, samples and deep discounts on all of Z Specialty Foods' products. Dealing with family dynamics. "Sometimes I'll feel myself become frustrated, and it helps me to remember that these are my parents... It can be difficult to separate the personal from the business," Zeldner says. "But, overall, I've been surprised at how much my parents have valued my opinion and given me the go-ahead with things I've wanted to do. I've learned over time to allow that same space for creativity with my parents. We try to give each of us the space we need to do what we do best." The three partners try to hold meetings on a weekly basis. While Harris and her husband communicate intuitively at this point, the meetings help all three stay up to speed and respect each other's roles. "We are loving Josh being involved, and that it's staying in the family," Harris says. "Josh is an exemplar of our business's goals and values." |SFM| Robyn Pforr Ryan is a regular contributor to Specialty Food Magazine and Specialty Food News. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 79