Many Americans are eating at home more often to save money during rough economic times, and ConAgra’s stock is up nearly 60 percent since the spring of 2009.
When Gary Rodkin became the boss of Conagra Foods in 2005, after spending years at PepsiCo and General Mills, one analyst compared him to “a top draft choice going to a last-place team.” Since then Rodkin, 57, has cut costs and sold off assets, such as the company’s Butterball turkey division and its commodities trading business.
Indeed, after all the moves he’s made, he insists the turnaround days are over. Now it’s time to increase ConAgra’s $12.7 billion in sales, both domestically and around the world, he says.
No, there won’t be ConAgra-branded foods. “To try to make ConAgra its own brand would be very difficult,” Rodkin admits. But expect the continuation of an advertising campaign, started last year, designed to inform investors what, exactly, ConAgra is and does.
Rodkin sat down with SmartMoney at his office in Omaha and talked about the company’s strategy and the product he’s pinning much of its future growth on: sweet potato fries.
Highlight from the interview: Gary Rodkin on Sweet Potato Fries:
"There are plenty of people who don’t love the sweet potatoes their grandmother serves at Thanksgiving, but they love sweet potato fries. Plus, they have a health halo to them. When you think about how quick-service restaurants work, a huge portion of the profits comes from soft drinks and french fries. And where we have convinced the customer to add a second fry, whether it’s sweet potato or seasoned or curly-cut, there’s huge incremental growth. If we can get the operator to think about driving profitability by selling more french fries, we feel very good about the potential".
"There are plenty of people who don’t love the sweet potatoes their grandmother serves at Thanksgiving, but they love sweet potato fries. Plus, they have a health halo to them. When you think about how quick-service restaurants work, a huge portion of the profits comes from soft drinks and french fries. And where we have convinced the customer to add a second fry, whether it’s sweet potato or seasoned or curly-cut, there’s huge incremental growth. If we can get the operator to think about driving profitability by selling more french fries, we feel very good about the potential".
