New B&G Foods CEO digging into brand strategy

BOSTON — Robert Mills will go “brand by brand” to develop strategies as he takes over leadership at B&G Foods, Inc.

“We have to go brand by brand and understand, is it structural or is it a moment in time?” he said Sept. 9 at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference in Boston. “Is it macro? More importantly, what’s driving (the brand)? What’s the household penetration? What are the trends in the brand? What are the trends in the category? Are we priced correctly? Is there innovation?”

Mills became president and chief executive officer of B&G Foods, Parsippany, NJ, on Aug. 10, succeeding Casey Keller, who retired. Mills has been on the board of directors for B&G Foods since March 2018.

Two newly acquired brands will receive attention. B&G Foods in March completed its acquisition of the broth and stock business of Del Monte Foods Corp. and its affiliates, including the College Inn and Kitchen Basics brands, for approximately $110 million in cash.

“This is a great example where I think we’ve leveraged and made a smart investment,” Mills said. “We’ve brought in two brands at a lower multiple that’s able to be accretive on day one to our overall margin structure, and it is an on-trend demand with that consumer.”

B&G Foods needs to maintain College Inn’s position as a top brand among broths and stocks in the Northeast, Mills said, and Kitchen Basics is a premium brand in broths and stocks.

“It has grown under our watch over the last few months,” Mills said of Kitchen Basics. “We also see a tremendous opportunity to expand that and potentially take the brand into other categories.”

He noted that B&G Foods has found success outside of traditional measured channels in places like club stores, dollar stores, online and private label.

“This is an area that the team has focused on over the last couple of years, and it’s a key part of our strategy, and it will continue to be a key part of our strategy, especially when you look at plant utilization and where we can continue to take market share.

“With that being said, retail is the core of what our brands exist for, and we have underperformed there. We have to have a greater sense of urgency.”