Super Stores Industries says its greatest strength is its ability to be a low-cost producer in a commodity market. The Stockton, Calif.-based food manufacturing and distribution company specializes in dairy products and fruit drinks, and is comprised of three facilities: the Turlock Dairy Division, which produces more than 400 items in juice, ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream and other dairy products; the Fairfield Dairy Division, which produces more than 250,000 gallons of milk daily and the Lathrop Dry and Frozen Foods Division, which is nearly 1 million square feet and ships more than 15,000 branded and private label items at the rate of 1.25 million cases each week. It also runs the Marketing and Merchandising Division.

 Fairfield handles most of the company’s milk production.  Turlock focuses on producing cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt, ice cream and fruit juice products. This includes 44 varieties of Minute Maid fruit juice and ‘POM-WONDERFUL’ pomegranate juice. Lathrop handles the dry and frozen foods operations of the business. In addition, “we copack for other dairies and copack private labels for other supermarket chains across all product lines,” President Jay Simon says. “Only about 30 percent of what we produce is for our partners and the other 70 percent is for outside businesses.”

An Unusual Partnership
Super Store Industries was founded in 1980, when Raley’s and Save Mart, along with Bel Air markets, created Mid-Valley Dairy in a joint-venture. “This facility operates the most sophisticated computerized fluid milk processing plant in the United States,” the company states.

In 1990, the partners opened an executive office in Stockton to oversee the day-to-day operations of the distribution center and dairy manufacturing plant, and named it Super Store Industries. “The basic philosophy that encompasses both major partners is to produce or purchase products at the lowest cost possible without sacrificing quality,” the company explains. “By doing so, they can, in turn, pass these savings on to their customers and still maintain a competitive edge in the market place.” 

“There’s probably not another partnership of this kind,” Simon adds. “These two retailers are competitors, but partners in their distribution and manufacturing. That in itself is a milestone. We are a standalone company even though we are a partnership.”

The company serves more than 250 supermarkets out of its dry grocery and frozen food facility, and more than 4,000 stores are serviced out of both dairy plants. Even though the two retailers are competitors, Simon says this hasn’t “hindered the partners from the standpoint of utilizing the facilities or the volume to continuously drive down the cost of goods.”  

And, “while our core business is serving the stores owned by the partners, our co-pack or outside business is global, with products produced and shipped nationally, as well as to the United Kingdom and Pacific Rim countries,” he notes.

Organic and Ethnic Products
In January, Super Store Industries introduced probiotic yogurt to its product portfolio. Probiotics are cultures – or “bugs” – that aid in the functions of the digestive system. “We’re dealing with a smarter consumer who is more concerned with nutrition, and a they’re looking for products that will help them move to healthy lifestyle,” Simon explains. “We are acknowledging this with the development of probiotic yogurts, probably to be followed with yogurt drinks, both natural and organic.”

He says Super Store Industries’ plants are organically certified and have the capability to produce natural and organic products. This is in response to the consumers’ growing desire for organic products, he adds. Buying organic dairy products can be expensive, but, he says “one of our competitive advantages is that we are continuously upgrading systems and process technology that afford us to be a low-cost producer.”

Super Store Industries also strives to satisfy the growing demand for “ethnic products,” Simon notes. “We’re seeing more of a demand for ethnic-type products as the Hispanic population in the U.S. continues to grow, and it certainly is in the central valley. One of the companies we copack for is a company out of Mexico called [Grupo] Lala. We’re seeing the conventional American shopper trying these products and liking them as well, which further lends to their growth and success.”

‘Safety is Critical’
Safety is of utmost importance to Super Store Industries, Simon stresses. “Employee safety is critical,” he notes. “Industrial accidents are very expensive. We have a program where every associate has to look out for potential hazards and correct them; they work as teams.

“As a result, we’ve been able to reduce our accident incidents and workers’ compensation significantly over the last three years. That helps keep our costs down and our employees healthy and on the job.”

Having a stellar safety program is worth celebrating, Simon adds. “Focusing on the problem usually helps to correct the problem,” he states. “Three years ago, when we had a problem with safety, we started having meetings at each facility to talk about safety. As we began to see improvement, we began celebrating the success of our safety program with a barbecue. We are now having barbecues each month to celebrate our associates and the ongoing success of our safety program.”