“We still supply the fragrance that goes in there,” he says. “When a company stays loyal to you like that, you want to look at its name every day.”
Flavor and fragrance used to be a family business. Look into the history of any of today’s massive and still growing industry giants and you will see at their root what were once family-run, privately held operations. But while consolidation has swallowed many once-familiar names, family hasn’t entirely vanished from the landscape. These small- to mid-sized companies boast a certain level of provenance and personal attention that allows them to compete from a unique angle. But exactly how do they fit into today’s increasingly competitive and tight business climate?
To Heinz, the concept is simple, “Just because a company gets larger and larger and has multibillion-dollar sales doesn’t mean that it can provide customers what they need and want.”
The Heinz family has helmed Northbrook, Illinois-based Bell since 1967 when it acquired the company from founder William Bell who had begun his own career in Kraft’s confectionary department.