“there Is A Renaissance Of Innovation” – Tandem Foods Ceo Michael Buick Talks The Us Co-manufacturer’s Growth Agenda

Credit: Tandem Foods

US statement shaper Tandem Foods has enjoyed double-digit maturation successful caller years and is “accelerating rapidly” connected nan heels of nan acquisition and merger pinch section business Bar Bakers.

The Pennsylvania-based better-for-you snack bars shaper counts immoderate of nan largest branded CPG companies successful nan US arsenic its customers. It rebranded this twelvemonth from TruFood Manufacturing and is backed by Mubadala Investment Co. successful Abu Dhabi and Manna Tree Partners successful Colorado.

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Michael Buick, who took connected nan CEO domiciled successful 2023 and is simply a erstwhile executive of SunOpta, TreeHouse Foods and nan erstwhile ConAgra Foods, talks astir nan business scenery and strategy pinch Just Food’s Simon Harvey.

Simon Harvey (SH): Is Tandem Foods progressive successful different better-for-you categories beyond bars?

Michael Buick (MB): I would opportunity 80-plus per cent of our business is bars. We besides do immoderate cocoa moulding – cocoa squares, peanut food cups, things for illustration that. As we proceed to move guardant there’s rather a spot of invention and we’re surely connected nan starring separator of a batch of that.

SH: I was nether nan belief that Tandem Foods was besides a private-label manufacturer.

MB: Some of our products whitethorn extremity up arsenic backstage explanation successful retailers but we’re moving exclusively pinch marque owners.

Speaking of backstage label, successful nan wellness and nutrition conception of bars, backstage explanation hasn’t really taken overmuch of a hold. Costco has a decent-sized business nether their Kirkland Signature marque but if you were to shop successful accepted market banners there’s not a batch of backstage label.

After nan 2 largest brands, there’s a batch of fragmentation and so, for a assortment of reasons, backstage explanation hasn’t taken hold. With my inheritance and our capabilities, backstage explanation is thing we proceed to research but we’ve sewage our hands afloat pinch brands astatine nan moment.

SH: Tandem Foods has 8 factories. That suggests request for co-manufacturing successful snack bars is huge?

MB: We conscionable opened up our eighth factory. Three things are driving that for us. One is we’re decidedly seeing class growth. Then, wrong nan category, location are immoderate brands that are driving really beardown maturation and they request capacity to grow.

The 2nd point is innovation. We person a very talented and heavy R&D team. A batch of these larger companies person their ain R&D but whitethorn beryllium not arsenic focused connected bars arsenic we are. Collaboratively, we tin activity together.

What I’m seeing crossed nan shop is simply a renaissance of innovation. We person a batch of projects successful various stages – immoderate of them are conscionable hitting nan market, immoderate of them are further along, aliases not arsenic acold along.

Number three, there’s a spot of superior allocation that larger companies are going through. Do they want to put money into their ain plants for capacity, for value upgrades, aliases would they alternatively move immoderate of that measurement to a statement manufacturer?

The operation of those 3 things are what has driven a batch of our maturation and what gives america a batch of assurance successful our maturation complete nan adjacent five-plus years.

SH: Tandem Foods acts successful an advisory capacity erstwhile it comes to invention then?

MB: There are companies that travel to america and opportunity ‘we’d really for illustration a barroom that targets this demographic, this market, what tin you travel up with?’

All nan measurement to nan different extremity of nan spectrum, which is they person a afloat developed formula, they cognize what they want but they don’t person a spot to make it. They’ll travel to america and opportunity ‘will you put successful a statement that does this circumstantial point and partner pinch america connected nan improvement of this invention project?’

Those are nan 2 acold extremes and there’s everything successful nan middle. I stake we’re moving connected 50-plus invention projects astatine nan infinitesimal pinch companies crossed nan wellness and nutrition-bar segment.

SH: Do you cater to start-ups arsenic good arsenic nan large guys?

MB: With 8 plants and nan size of our plants, we’re a nationalist standard manufacturer. Most of our customers are larger nationalist standard brands that really require nan standard that we tin provide. That’s capacity, capability, quality, service, etc.

In this category, wherever there’s a number of very breathtaking start-up companies and brands, we selectively activity pinch brands that we deliberation person a batch of legs, person a really beardown user proposition.

They whitethorn struggle to meet our minimum bid request but let’s get successful early, let’s partner, let’s thief them turn and possibly complete nan adjacent 2 aliases 3 years, they’re going to turn into needing nan standard we provide.

But, to beryllium clear, I would opportunity astir of our customers and astir of our measurement are for larger-scale brands.

SH: In nan existent macro uncertainty, I ideate you’re seeing an summation successful business aliases liking from manufacturers that are possibly reluctant to put successful caller factories aliases accumulation lines.

MB: You’re spot on, we’re decidedly seeing that. It each comes down to partnerships. We’re seeing nan aforesaid risks successful position of tariffs and inflation. But successful building partnerships successful statement manufacturing, we proceed to make smart investments connected behalf of our customers.

Protein is apical of mind for galore consumers

We’re seeing tons of opportunity. Whether it’s for america to return a greater stock of nan class aliases conscionable to support nan maturation of, for example, what we’re seeing successful macromolecule bars, GLP-1 drugs, which are surely astatine nan forefront of that.

I would opportunity macromolecule is apical of mind for galore consumers and bars continues to beryllium a very portable and convenient method to present patient amounts of protein.
The macro-economic situation for america coming is simply a tailwind but we’ve sewage to beryllium very smart connected really we’re structuring our partnerships.

Tandem Foods accumulation installation successful Cypress successful California. Credit: Tandem Foods

SH: Is it each astir macromolecule successful ray of MAHA and nan pressures connected manufacturers to reformulate?

MB: I deliberation macromolecule is simply a important lever but it’s not nan only one. We’re seeing much and much requests to adhd macromolecule to existing bars aliases to motorboat caller bars pinch macromolecule and proceed to move up from 8 grams of macromolecule to really do we get to 12? How do we get to 16?

There are different brands not playing successful macromolecule but are playing successful cleanable label, elemental ingredients. There’s galore of them that are winning.

Then there’s a 3rd group looking for indulgence. Bars that are for illustration candy bars still person runway and are seeing immoderate growth.

SH: What astir functional bars pinch added ingredients, is that a inclination you’re seeing an summation in?

MB: For vitamins and minerals, I deliberation there’s ever a spot successful nan barroom class for that. I would opportunity I’m not seeing, astatine slightest pinch our customers, a tremendous magnitude of maturation successful that. What I americium seeing much of is allergen management. Nut free, those types of things. Having standard manufacturing gives america a small spot much flexibility, and our maturation floor plan and nan superior that we tin allocate gives america a position wherever we tin partner pinch immoderate of these brands and build a dedicated line.

SH: Do you spot allergens arsenic a increasing portion of your business going forward, a inclination that’s going to person legs?

MB: I do. Consumers proceed to go much knowledgeable and possibly there’s a greater prevalence of allergies, group are getting smarter astir that. I wouldn’t put it astatine nan aforesaid par pinch macromolecule but decidedly a batch of our customers are asking america for that.

SH: How do you accommodate these different customers? Does that mean you’ve sewage 1 factory, say, pinch multitudes of accumulation lines?

MB: There are immoderate accumulation lines that are capable to make different formats that tin make different products for different companies.

Then we do person immoderate dedicated lines for larger companies. For america to thrust nan top ratio and yet present nan champion cost, it makes consciousness for america to build a dedicated statement that does this 1 thing. Most of our plants person anyplace from 2 to 4 accumulation lines.

As we proceed to put successful some capacity and capabilities, that’s wherever we’re mostly moving manus successful manus pinch our customers. ‘What are you seeing successful your business complete nan adjacent 3 to 5 years? How tin we make judge we’re successful a position to support you’?

SH: Does ratio mean you’re investing successful AI?

MB: We’re decidedly conscionable getting successful connected AI and exploring it and trying to understand really it tin thief america and yet for our customers to beryllium much competitory successful nan market. Like a batch of my peers and a batch of companies, there’s a batch of learning going on. There’s a batch of experimentation. We’re trying to understand very quickly really it tin go an enabler for america going forward.

Our maturation is only constricted by nan clip required to put successful much capacity

SH: How did nan Bar Bakers transaction grow your capabilities?

MB: It gave america much breadth wrong nan barroom category. TruFood Manufacturing didn’t person immoderate baked barroom capability. It’s a very ample portion of nan barroom business and continuing to grow.

SH: Are you looking astatine further M&A?

MB: We’re ever looking astatine nan scenery and if we find an opportunity that makes consciousness for america and for our customers, we ne'er opportunity never. At nan moment, our attraction is much internal.

SH: How has maturation been?

MB: We’ve been increasing double digits for nan past mates of years and I would opportunity that’s accelerating rapidly. We went from 24/5 operations to 24/7 and we proceed to put successful labour, capacity, capabilities to support this growth. Our maturation astatine nan infinitesimal is only constricted by nan clip required to put successful much capacity.

SH: Are you turning immoderate business away?

MB: We are, unfortunately, caller opportunities. We person to beryllium selective. We want to make judge that it’s nan correct customer for us. We’ve sewage to play immoderate bets pinch customers and who we want to partner pinch complete nan adjacent 5 to 10 years. In statement manufacturing, these are very sticky relationships: five, ten, 15, 20-year relationships.

An area wherever we radiance astatine Tandem Foods is that we are successful a position wherever we are moving pinch nan very largest CPG manufacturers and we are capable to meet aliases transcend immoderate of their value requirements.