TreeHouse Foods, the largest private-label supplier in the US, plans to reorganise its operations into two distinct business units from three and has made new appointments to head-up those divisions.
President and chief executive Steve Oakland said the reshuffle will begin this quarter, with a key thrust to spur innovation to keep a lead over the competition. Snacking and beverages and meal preparation will form the basis of the new set-up, compared to the previous structure of separate units for baked goods, beverages, and meal solutions.
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“Following an in-depth review of our categories and strategies, we have decided to organise ourselves in a manner that we believe best serves our customers,” Oakland said in a statement. “The retail grocery landscape continues to evolve and be very competitive, and our customers are looking to solve two fundamentally different goals.
“First, to help demonstrate value to the consumer and improve margins that they can invest to drive consumer traffic; and second, to help introduce uniqueness and innovation, so they can differentiate themselves and be more relevant to their distinct shopper base.
“Our reorganisation not only enables us to align our resources to help our customers achieve their goals, but it also better positions us for growth going forward.”
Snacking and beverages will include “categories which show greater growth potential” such as bars, broths, candy, cookies and crackers, powdered and liquid beverages, pretzels and tea, TreeHouse said, adding that the division generated revenues of around US$1.7bn last year.
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By GlobalDataKevin Jackson, formerly a senior official at another US food major J.M. Smucker, will head-up snacking and beverages. Moe Alkemade, currently president of beverages, will be leaving “to pursue other opportunities”.
Meal preparation will be comprised of sauces, pickles, dressings, hot cereal, puddings and coffee, amongst others, a division with revenues of almost $2.6bn.
Mark Fleming, currently president for baked goods, will serve as president of the meal preparation unit.
A new role has also been created too, chief transformation officer, which will be filled by Triona Schmelter, currently the president for meal solutions. “She will focus her efforts on how the company leverages shared resources across the organisation, including its approach to distribution and logistics, sourcing and shared business services,” TreeHouse said.
The company said expenses related to the reorganisation will be reflected within its 2020 restructuring programme and have already been incorporated into its annual guidance presented earlier in February. The outlook is for net sales of $4.1bn to $4.4bn and adjusted EBITDA of $480m to $510m.
Adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations are expected at $2.40 to $2.65.
