World Grain - July 2018 - 46

FEATURE: BAY STATE FOCUSING ON HEALTH, WELLNESS

plication, and bread being sort of a standard, you'll at
OHDVWEHDEOHWRPDNHDFODLPRIDµJRRGVRXUFH¶RI¿ber," he said. "In some applications we hope for excellent source. And these are some of the things we're still
working on."
Viewed purely through an economic lens, Levangie
said the market has established a wide differential beWZHHQWKHYDOXHRIZKROHZKHDWÀRXUDQG¿EHU
"We did a lot of work, using consumer data, and we
hunted as best we could around foods where we saw
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of this product line being relevant to Bay State, you
NQRZ¿EHULVDJRRGVL]HPDUNHW:HFDQPDNHDJRRG
OLYLQJFRPSHWLQJLQWKH¿EHUEXVLQHVV,W¶VFOHDQHUODbel. We also think the importance of properly feeding
WKHJXWÀRUDZLWKUHVLVWDQWVWDUFKZLOOLQFUHDVHWKHGHmand for products made with HealthSense over time. source planning systems to help manage the increasAnd once we scale it up, we believe it will be more cost ing complexity of the business, and additional storage
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has been added to the company's mills because of the
increased need for segregation and separation of grain.
LONG-TERM COMMITMENT
"A lot of thought shared by many individuals went
*LYHQ ZKDW /HYDQJLH FDOOV WKH ³¿FNOH´ WHQGHQFLHV RI into the strategy here," Levangie said. "What makes
consumers and food companies, will Bay State's multi- sense? What are its boundaries? What's in? What's
year focus on HealthSense pay off through a lasting out? That's a big part of the constant decision making
business?
here. Many things needed to come together to make all
%D\6WDWHKDVEHQH¿WHGIURPWKHZLOOLQJQHVVRIWKH this possible."
Rothwell family to invest with an eye to the long term,
Emphasis on a team culture versus an individual or
Levangie said.
top-down approach has been modeled by Levangie's
"We've been at rigorously developing this product predecessors and continues, he said.
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"Probably the most exciting thing for me at Bay
and I personally have been working on it for 10 years," State is seeing more and more of our employees taking
he said. "And it hasn't contributed anything but cost. UHVSRQVLELOLW\IRUWKHVWUDWHJ\´KHVDLG³)RUH[DPSOH
Not many companies would commit to that. And we're we just won best new ingredient of the year at Expo
disciplined. We are certainly by no means under the West for our SowNaked naked oat. The truth is I had
same scrutiny as public companies to deliver quarterly, nothing to do with that. A team of our people made this
but we care about short-term results."
happen, and it will be a really nice business for us."
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So, will Bay State's strategy succeed? Will the comKDVEHHQ³WRWDOO\UHWKLQNLQJ´LWVÀRXUPLOOV/HYDQJLH pany thrive in a milling industry in which so many of
said. He described these changes as evolutionary, in its competitors are focused on consolidation or adding
part because the company's longtime focus on sacked ÀRXUPLOOLQJFDSDFLW\"
YHUVXVEXONÀRXUKDVRULHQWHGLWVPLOOVWRZDUGPHHWLQJ
Perhaps those who may be skeptical should rememthe needs of smaller customers.
ber Thoreau's famous indictment of conformity:
³:HWHQGWRKDYHSUHWW\ÀH[LEOHPLOOVWKDWDUHDFFXV"If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
tomed to doing smaller runs, and because we've been in perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let
the organic business a while, we have more experience him step to the music which he hears, however meain identify preserved wheat," he said. "HealthSense is sured or far away."
a whole step up, so as others perhaps have been adding
L. Joshua Sosland is editor of Milling & Baking News,
capacity, buying mills, we are more focused on preparsister publication of World Grain. He may be
ing the mills that we have for the business that we're
reached at jsosland@sosland.com.
creating. That's repurposing some incremental expanWe want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries
sions that we've talked about."
to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles,
Investments have been required in enterprise ree-mail reprints@sosland.com.
46

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