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Hudsonville Creamery & Ice Cream Co. renovated a former traditional manufacturing space in Holland into a state-of-the-art food processing facility, complete with isolated sections for mixing and packaging the ice cream, CFO Ken Filippini said. PHOTO: JEFF HAGE

By Joe Boomgaard | FoodBiz
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HOLLAND — When it comes to making food products in West Michigan, few companies can boast that they have the legacy and brand loyalty that Hudsonville Creamery & Ice Cream Co. has had for nearly 116 years.

Ken Filippini, the company’s CFO, said that many of the drivers behind the company getting started in West Michigan still hold true even after all those decades.

“Michigan is a great place for food processors. With a great source of raw material — dairy, flavors and fruits — we have a great supply base here. And agriculture is a great piece of the economy,” Filippini told FoodBiz in an exclusive interview.

The company can trace its roots back to 1895, when a group of dairy farmers formed a co-op to buy and sell milk. In 1926, they began producing ice cream, and in 1946, Dick Hoezee bought a controlling share of the company and took it private. His sons eventually bought the company in 1972.

“The West Michigan community loved our product because it was made here and sourced here, but over the years, we’ve grown beyond West Michigan into the rest of Michigan, and parts of Indiana, Ohio and Illinois,” Filippini said. “There are lots of opportunities to have business relationships.”

A passionate advocate of the company’s products and of the food processing industry in West Michigan as a whole, Filippini credited the Hoezee brothers for keeping the business locally owned when they decided to retire from the company in 2003 and sold it to Landmark Group of Holland.

“They had a number of offers to buy the company and many of the large conglomerates would have taken us out of state and the region would have lost jobs. But we grew here and we want to honor those folks and keep our brand based here,” he said.

Not only did the new owners keep the company in the region, they expanded and upgraded its operations in 2007 with the opening of a new, 65,000-square-foot headquarters and processing plant in Holland.

Hudsonville Creamery & Ice Cream, which employs 26, has experienced 20- to 25-percent growth each year. It churns out 3 million gallons of ice cream annually and about 10,000-15,000 gallons per day of anywhere from three to five flavors. About 15 percent of the company’s business comes in making private label ice cream for various companies.

Filippini attributes the company’s success and low turnover, in part, to its investment in its team. The average team member has 18 years of experience with the company, but some have worked there for more than four decades. All members have studied at Penn State University’s creamery program to learn the technical details to making ice cream, for example.

“If we want to be great in ice cream, we need to invest in our team to get them to be as trained and equipped to be the best they can be,” he said. “Making ice cream is as much art as science, and we need to make sure they know what they do.”

Much effort goes into product consistency so that Hudsonville’s flavors always tastes the same no matter when it is made. The production team is required to quality check the product by tasting it every 30 minutes. If something in an ingredient isn’t up to standards, the members can shut down the line at any time.

Filippini said Hudsonville Ice Cream plans to continue its growth by targeting both new markets and market share. Last year, for example, it expanded into the Chicagoland area thanks in large part to a grassroots campaign that put Hudsonville Ice Cream ambassadors into local homes for ice cream parties for 20-30 people. He expects future expansion to reach into Wisconsin and Minnesota as well.

“We talk about the need to be unique and differentiated and how we need to be creative in new markets. ... We get a lot of requests to come (to new places) and be a part of their communities. When we talk about investing, we also invest within the community,” he said, noting Hudsonville has partnered with local United Ways in the past for “Random Acts of Ice Cream” events as a way to thank the nonprofit’s supporters. “Frankly, it helps us get exposure.”

He’s quick to note that it’s wonderful to get that exposure, but the real benefit comes in delivering quality products that make an impression on consumers. With national brand loyalty playing less a factor these days and compounded by the rise of store brand products, Hudsonville has focused on creating products and packaging inextricably linked to customer experiences and exceeding their expectations, Filippini said. While national brands have had to remove the term “ice cream” from their products after changing formulations — and shrinking their container size in many cases — Hudsonville has stayed true to its legacy and what got the company to where it is today.

“Our goal is to continue to give people a great experience with our product. Ice cream is fun, and as long as they keep eating it, we’ll keep making it,” he said. “People really want to have a great experience with ice cream, not just the cheapest product. They want a treat and they want to enjoy it. We compete on quality. We still make it the same way we always did.”

The recession hasn’t had much direct impact on the company since its product is “affordable” when compared to going out to dinner or to a movie, Filippini said. The company also increased its marketing activities, as well as recently debuted a new website focused more on customer experiences. “We want to let people know who we are, our brand promise, and how we’re different and unique.”

Moreover, the company has joined with other food processors in the greater Holland area in a work group hosted by Lakeshore Advantage. The goal is for executives at the various companies to network and further develop relationships within the region. Beyond plant tours, Filippini said the group provides an outlet for the leaders to discuss common problems and share best practices.

“We’ve really banded together. We’re in the same business, but we’re not competitors,” he said.

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