Milling & Baking News - November 13, 2012 - 16

Industry Activities 

Change agent at General Mills, NAMA chairman celebrates ‘noble’ industry
Continued from Page 1

W. Files and Dean McNeal. A 1991 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Mr. Schlafer joined General Mills right out of college, taking a position on the distribution side. Eighteen months later, having moved from department to department within the mill, Mr. Schlafer ’s young career made an unexpected turn when he went to work for the sales manager at the plant. “I had not planned on sales,” he said. “I had planned on distribution, becoming a plant manager.” Work that began as entry level sales assignments at a single mill expanded steadily over the next 20 years to the point his corporate oversight spans all of the commercial sales of flour at the company as well as the entire amalgam of General Mills products sold to awayfrom-home customers, including food service and convenience stores. In the interim, the company paid for Mr. Schlafer to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, where he graduated with an M.B.A. All told, he spent 12 years in Orange County, eventually managing the regional sales office for the company’s three western mills — Los Angeles; Vallejo, Calif. (now closed); and Great Falls, Mont. What early in his career was a straightforward path veered abruptly in 2001 with the Pillsbury acquisition. “That changed everything,” he said. “They had a massive food service division — much larger than ours. We moved bakery flour away from family flour and the mix business, what for many years was the Sperry Division. Bakery flour made more sense to move into Bakeries and Foodservice, since flour was calling on the same customers. It needs to be about the customer.” In 2003, Mr. Schlafer moved to Minneapolis as director of bakery flour, responsible for all flour General Mills sold with the exception of family flour. From there, the list of units Mr. Schlafer covered grew larger — first to include sales to in-store bakeries and then food service. The latter portfolio continued to broaden, including not only flour but mix, dough, ready-to-eat cereal, snacks,
16 / November 13, 2012 Milling & Baking News

yogurt and frozen baked products. “It’s our full portfolio of products,” he said. “When you buy a granola bar at a convenience store — that falls under the Bakeries and Foodservice umbrella. Most companies refer to this sector as awayfrom-home channels, which covers

“You don’t want 500 different flour s.k.u.’s,” he said. ‘We go in with a total category approach. We understand brands, and we have a large direct sales force.” Mr. Schlafer said the latter points are central to the company’s continuing success in the sacked flour market. “It is differentiation — brands and people,” he said. “Most of our business is branded sacked flour. We

‘We have learned a lot from being a consumer packaged foods company. Our ﬂour business over the last ﬁve years has become better at leveraging those tools.’
— Greg Schlafer, General Mills, Inc.

a wide range of outlets, from retail bakeries to gas stations.” Over time General Mills has been “reshaping” the division to right size it, expanding in certain areas and making divestitures in others “where opportunities were not as good,” Mr. Schlafer said. “After 10 years of change, we feel very good about how we are positioned for the future,” he said. “Our sales teams are fully up to speed, and we’re in a growth phase.” Asked how the milling business has evolved during his time at General Mills, Mr. Schlafer said it has become “more strategic.” “Keep in mind I was very junior 20 years ago, but it felt very regional in its orientation,” he said. “Today, we have a national approach with our customers and our brands. It is more brand focused. We have learned a lot from being a consumer packaged foods company. Our flour business over the last five years has become better at leveraging those tools. For example, we may help a distributor manage a flour category.” He said many distributors find the flour category complicated in part because of a tendency toward stock-keeping unit proliferation. If a chef or other customer requests a particular specification, an additional s.k.u. may result.

have terrific sales people. They are able to provide solutions in a difficult to understand category, something that resonates with customers. Our business has been growing nicely.” An added advantage the company is able to leverage is the breadth of the products it offers beyond its heritage milled products. “When we walk into a distributor, we discuss much more than flour,” Mr. Schlafer said. “We’re in all three temp states — dry, refrigerated and frozen. We have a broad conversation.” While these conversations may be a far cry from those in the days of the Washburn Crosby Co. (the former name of General Mills), flour milling still has an important place at the company, Mr. Schlafer said. “Mills are important to the business,” he said. “We have broad origination resources. In some cases we have vertical integration. The model works really well.” Emphasizing that the actual milling of wheat is far from an afterthought at General Mills, Mr. Schlafer noted the company has
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