Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Lancaster Colony Corp. is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of consumer products. They operate in two segments: specialty foods for the retail and foodservice markets; and glassware and candles for the retail, floral, and foodservice markets. Trading on NASDAQ, the company went public in 1969. In that year, they entered the specialty foods business upon purchasing the T. Marzetti Company.
The company’s Specialty Foods division is the largest and fastest growing segment of Lancaster Colony Corp. This group produces national and regional brands made in manufacturing facilities throughout America. These products are for the retail and foodservice markets and Lancaster markets them under their brand names. They also sell them to private-label customers. Products from this segment include T. Marzetti salad dressings, croutons, vegetable dips, and fruit dips, as well as Chatham Village croutons. They also include New York garlic bread and Texas Garlic Toast, Sister Schubert’s rolls, and Reames egg noodles, among many other product offerings.
The company’s Marzetti Foodservice segment provides a full complement of dressings and sauces to the foodservice market. They offer brand name products and custom formulas for private-label customers. Lancaster provides their Marzetti products for foodservice in portion-controlled individual serving sizes and in bulk institutional sizes. The company’s New York Frozen Foods provides hearth-baked frozen breads and rolls to chain restaurants and casual dining establishments. Lancaster’s Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls offers premium breakfast rolls and dinner rolls, and their Marzetti Frozen Pasta noodles and pastas are packaged for foodservice customers.
Lancaster Colony Corp.’s Glassware and Candles segment produces and markets table items and giftware. They offer domestic glassware, imported glassware, candles, potpourri and related scented products, and glass floral containers. They also offer decorative and ornamental glassware products. The company sells these products to mass merchandisers, food stores, drug stores, department stores, specialty shops, and wholesalers. They also sell them to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools.
Last Week, Lancaster Colony announced that their board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 28 cents per share on the company’s common stock. This dividend continues at the higher level the company set nine months ago when they marked 45 consecutive years of increasing regular cash dividends each year. Lancaster Colony is one of only 21 American companies to have increased regular cash dividends each year for 45 years. Their corporate focus is on providing quality products to their customers while at the same time providing value for their investors.
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