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Forty-seven-year-old Rudi\u2019s Bakery is on a quest to reinvent itself \u2014 and it\u2019s bringing in a CPG veteran to lead this charge.<\/p>\n
The Denver-based company is known best for its gluten-free breads. And while it is well-known in this space \u2014 with national distribution in major grocers like Whole Foods and Kroger \u2014 Rudi\u2019s is now expanding into new categories like frozen items like breakfast sandwiches and other bread-focused foods. At the helm of its product innovation is Justin Gold, the founder and former CEO of Justin\u2019s Nut Butter, who is now Rudi\u2019s chief innovation and strategy officer.<\/p>\n
Gold joined this week\u2019s Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about why he joined Rudi\u2019s, as well as what he sees in store for the brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cRudi\u2019s is the OG,\u201d he said. \u201cJustin\u2019s was started in 2004\u2026 and these guys started in 1976.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gold knows a thing or two about building a CPG empire. He sold his peanut butter brand to Hormel Foods for $286 million. Now, after a few years of staying on at Justin\u2019s under the new ownership structure, Gold has joined Rudi\u2019s to help improve its product pipeline.<\/p>\n
As a brand, Rudi\u2019s has had some ups and downs. While it was once the leader in the gluten-free bread space, it\u2019s slowly been losing ground. As such, Gold is trying to expand its focus beyond just its bread to become better known for other products \u2014 like its new Texas toast line.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully what will happen is the idea, [that] is if someone\u2019s going to the freezer and buying Texas toast and having a great experience\u2026 [they\u2019ll be like] wow, this bread is really good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While Gold has a million ideas to pursue at Rudi\u2019s, he said he\u2019s very focused on making sure the company doesn\u2019t expand too fast. \u201cIf we launch all these products at once, you can\u2019t do them all the justice they deserve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited for clarity.<\/p>\n
On how Gold is approaching the task of revitalizing Rudi\u2019s<\/strong> The difficulties with formulating new products<\/strong> Figuring out the right product roadmap<\/strong>
\u201cI\u2019d say the first thing we need to do is we need to bring the brand back to its glory. This is an OG organic bakery here in Boulder\u2026 And so the best way to do that is to, first, create some products that really resonate with a modern consumer. And so we have a bakery asset. Where do we have a right to win? It\u2019s wherever there\u2019s bread. So let\u2019s create some products that are exciting \u2014 that are a little different \u2014 that aren\u2019t already in the marketplace in a natural organic variety. Let\u2019s start there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know when the product is right? What I learned at Justin\u2019s was, let\u2019s say you have honey peanut butter. You have like three ingredients: peanuts, honey and salt. How hard can it be to formulate that product? And here\u2019s what\u2019s crazy about three-ingredient products. Okay, what type of peanuts do you want to use? Spanish? Virginia? runner, which most are used with? Valencia, which is mostly found organic? What roast level do you want you want? Do you want a light roast, medium roast, a dark roast? Do you want the skin on or the skin off? There are hearts in the peanuts, which give it a little bit of a bitter taste\u2026 So now you have like eight decisions to make for just the peanut. Now, what kind of salt do you want to use? Sea salt? Regular salt? How much \u2014 what\u2019s the salt level? A half percent? Three-quarter percent? One percent? What type of honey do you want to use? Do you want to use fresh honey, [or] do you want to use spray-dried Honey? What honey percent do you want to use \u2014 10%, 5%, 4%? And so now a three-ingredient product has 20 different variety options. At some point, what\u2019s so fun is you just have to say enough\u2026 I am now an expert in peanut butter, and I\u2019m going to say that this is what it is. And if you don\u2019t like it, then I\u2019m sorry, this isn\u2019t for you. And I\u2019m going to say that I know what the world needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think you\u2019re working on a new product, I guarantee you there are at least three to 10 other companies working on that same product. So we might have an innovation pipeline that\u2019s really long and rich, but the longer we wait to release new products, the higher the risk is that someone else is going to beat us to market with those products. Conversely, if we launch all these products at once, you can\u2019t do them all the justice they deserve. You\u2019re just going to dilute your message versus incrementally build your message \u2014 which is: hey, we\u2019re a new organization with new products that are amazing and you got to try them as we grow. So it\u2019s a mix. Some of it depends on your manufacturing partners, on who\u2019s ready to scale with you. Some of it depends upon your consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n