2018 Annual Meeting Review
The Association for Dressings & Sauces’ (ADS) Annual Meeting, held at the Westin Denver in Denver, CO, October 13-15, emphasized the teamwork needed today to scale the summit to make it to the top in business. In all, 114 attended the Annual Meeting, which focused on management and marketing insights.
Thank You!
ADS offers a sincere “thank you” to all our Annual Meeting Sponsors:
DIAMOND SPONSOR:
Mizkan America, Inc.
EMERALD SPONSOR:
Fleischmann’s Vinegar Company, Inc.
RUBY SPONSOR:
Garner Foods SAPPHIRE SPONSORS:
Golden State Foods
Mold-Rite Plastics
AMETHYST SPONSORS:
Bell Flavor & Fragrances
Grande Custom Ingredients Group
Sunsweet Growers
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13
ADS members mingled at the Welcome Reception & Awards Dinner, where the 2018 Dressing, Sauce, Package of the Year and Package of the Year for Students Award Winners were announced:
- Dressing of the Year 2018: Chelten House Products, Inc. for its Orange Miso Dressing.
- Sauce of the Year 2018: Chelten House Products, Inc. for its Sweet Chili Korean Style BBQ Sauce
- Package of the Year 2018: The Clorox Company for its Hidden Valley Simply Ranch Dressing Package
- Package of the Year for Students 2018: Ryan Knudtson of the University of Wisconsin-Stout for his Break and Shake Dressing Packet
(Pictured, left to right: From Chelten House: George Arbocus, Corporate Manager Technical Services, Steve Dabrow, CEO. From CLOROX COMPANY: Miranda Helmer, Research and Development Director FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STOUT: Ryan Knudtson, Student)
Attendees enjoyed the winning dressing and sauces during the dinner. Congratulations to all winners!
To view photos of the winning products, visit the ADS Members-Only website.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14
ADS Chair of the Board, Jeff Noble of T. Marzetti Company provided attendees with “The State of the Association”, an update on ADS activities and the ADS strategic plan which is designed to advance the mayonnaise, salad dressings, and sauces industry through communicating product benefits, working with government agencies and consumer influentials, and facilitating the exchange of industry ideas.
Jeff then acknowledged ADS award winners, originally crowned during 
the Saturday Evening Awards Dinner, with another round of congratulations. Jeff also acknowledged Paula Klassen of TreeHouse Foods (pictured at right), winner of the ADS Technical Service Award for 2018, reminding others to nominate colleagues for the 2019 Award. Paula was presented her award during the 2018
ads review img 5Technical Meeting in Charlotte, NC.
Tamara Kleinberg, founder of LaunchStreet, reviewed what it meant to be “Moving At The Speed Of Innovation”. What made your company successful yesterday could make it obsolete tomorrow. She shared insights on the importance of differentiated value and provided examples of companies who have been disruptors, including the Dollar Shave Club. She shared nine triggers to innovate and the importance of challenging assumptions.
Michael Durwin showed attendees the importance of “Mind Reading: Using Social Data To Reach Your B2C And B2B Audience”. Today, there are more ways than ever before to get to know your customers. Your company Facebook page provides lots of details and provides information on consumers’ likes and dislikes, geographical footprints and how they spend their time. Harness this information to get to know your audiences, so that you can serve them better and offer new products and services tailored to their needs.
Culinary Challenge Networking Event and Reception
Burgundy Team: WINNER
(pictured left to right)
Rick Perez, Sunsweet Growers
Dave Beaty, Fleischmann’s Vinegar Co., Inc.
Luis Rivas, G.S. Dunn, Limited
Jeff Crace, California Garlic Company
Green Team:
(pictured left to right)
Ben Rucker, CRB
Kim Kennedy, Sunsweet Growers
Jessica Goldstein, Nu Products/Nu Spice
Ryan Brooks, Brooks Bottling Co., LLC
MONDAY, OCTOBER 15
Mike Hourigan began with “Riding The Waves Without Getting Wet: How To Manage Change In Today’s Workplace”. Taking the four primary forces behind change, Mike stressed the differences in communication styles between generations, the truth about change, giving employees permission to change, to think and to trust and how one goes through the four stages of change: 1) Denial, 2) Resistance, 3) Exploration and 4) Commitment. Integral in the change process is praise, which should be Immediate, Repeatable and Specific.
Stan Samples, ADS Communications Manager in his “ADS Communications Update” reviewed the 
progress to date in building awareness for the dressings, mayonnaise and sauces categories, including website content, social media and advertising. As he shared videos, articles and member products highlighted in content, he also reported on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Stan revealed the new ADS website, still in production and set to launch by year’s end.
Polly Johnson presented “Not Your Grandma’s Sauce: How Consumer Behaviors Are Shaping the Sauce Market Landscape”. Polly recommended watching trends and project how you can take advantage of them. With the increased interest in the foodie culture, chef-inspired flavors are on the rise. Multiracial, Asian and Hispanic segments are projected to be the fastest growing ones over the next decade. Polly also noted that nostalgic dressings and sauces, such as Green Goddess, Buttermilk Dressing, Honey Vinaigrette are gaining popularity at restaurants.
IN ADDITION
ADS Denver Excursions: In addition to educational sessions and committee meetings, attendees enjoyed a taste of Denver on Sunday with the Denver Dine Around Tour and on Monday toured two acclaimed venues: Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre and the Coors Brewery (attendees pictured at right), the largest single brewery facility in the world.
Congratulations to ADS Buck Recipients!
The following were awarded ADS Bucks during the Annual Meeting:
- Denny Wine, Taisei Lamick for his referral of Performance Automation
- Steve Dabrow, Chelten House Products, Inc.; Jeff Crace, California Garlic Company; and Jason DiNardo, Parker Plastics, Inc. for their referral of Golding Farms Foods
- Pete Leitner, Admix, Inc. for his referral of Apio, Inc.
- Michael Donovan, Sensient Natural Ingredients for his referral of Mincing Spice
Committee Meetings
Also taking place at the 2018 Annual Meeting were the following meetings: Board of Directors; Executive Technical Board; Membership Advisory Council; and Packaging Committee. If you have an interest in being a part of any of these Committees, please contact Headquarters for more information.
Association Business
Congratulations New Officers and Directors!
The 2019 ADS Officers and Directors were also elected during Monday’s general business session of the ADS Annual Meeting.
- The 2019 Officers: Jeff Noble, Chair, T. Marzetti Company; Brian Dick, Vice Chair, Golden State Foods; Wendell Christoff, Treasurer, Litehouse, Inc.; Ron Emonet, Secretary, Reily Foods Company; Steve Dabrow, Immediate Past Chair, Chelten House Products, Inc.
- The 2019 Directors: Mike Bauer, Unilever; Ryan Brooks, Brooks Bottling Co., LLC; Miranda Helmer, The Clorox Company; Joe Higgs, Ventura Foods; John Hilker, The C.F. Sauer Company; Mark Miner, Arcobasso Foods, Inc.; Steve Loftus, Treehouse Foods; Bob Merchant, Ken’s Foods, Inc.; Ryan Schuelke, Enercon Industries Corporation
Future Meetings
2019 Technical Meeting
April 28 – April 30
Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky
2019 Annual Meeting
October 5-7
JW Marriott, Austin, Texas
For more information, please log onto the Members-Only section of the ADS website at www.adsmembers.org. Please contact Headquarters if you need the username and password.
