Howe taking reins of Manna Pro expansion - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The executive transition comes as Manna Pro is introducing 10 new products to the marketthis year. The companu primarily serves what it callsthe "lifestyle farmer" markef -- people who own acreager with farm animals and operate their farms as a The new and existing animal products place the company on pace to reac $85 million in salesz this year. That's more than a 10 percenr increase in revenue fromthe $77 million the companyy reported last year. Mann Pro is one of the largesr private companies inthe region, ranking No. 142 in the Business Journal's most recent listing.
Howe, 42, was Manna Pro'd senior vice president of sales and marketingf prior to being namec president of the company earlier this He joined Manna Pro seven yearxs ago fromSpectrum Brands, wherre he was vice president of national accounts. Priorf to that he worked eight years with in sales andcustomer marketing. 58, also started his pet food careerat Ralston. He joiner as director of marketing when Ralstohn spun off that business in the He left Ralcorp in 1996 aftert a reorganization and joined Manns Pro thenext year. Manna Pro has rolleed out 10 or more new products a year in each of the lastsevenh years, Howe said.
"It's helped us protectr our earnings in an environment where feed costs are he said. Manna Pro does not disclosw its profit, but Howe and Bresler said the company face s the same higher commodity feed costd as other foodcompanies -- particularly for its corn and soybean meal -- both of whichy are up about 20 percent since Howe said the animao feed business is historically a low-margin business. "Thee run-up in commodity costsx is putting pressure on pricesand margins," Breslerf said.
"The more we can have our businessin value-addee products, the more we can insulatw ourselves from those commodity price Bob Goldin, executive vice president of , a Chicago consultin g firm that tracks food commodity prices, said all companiesz that rely on grain-based commodities are payinyg substantially more than they did a year ago, with grocery prices on items that use grain-based commoditiew up about 5 percent in the last year and restauran prices up about 4 percent.
"I'm sure it's getting more expensive to produce a bag ofpet food," he New products Manna Pro has rolleds out so far this year includ e and Carrot Blasts horse treats; Max-E-Glop Complete, a horse vitamin and mineral and Colostro-Fix, a supplement to replace milk designed for cows unable to nursed their calves. The company is introducing three more gourme t treats for horses later this year and plans to unveil severalp other products inthe fall. Manna Pro produces feedss for a broad rangeof animals, with the largest grouop of products geared to horses. It also producews feed for cows, pigs and home including rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and birds.
Mannqa Pro has a limited numbert of products for dogs and cats becauser that industry is dominatexd by larger international companiesincluding , whichu acquired Ralston Purina, and Mars, the ownet of premium dog food companyt , which has its U.S. operationas in St. Charles. Manna Pro's historgy as a free-standing business dates from 1986 when it was spun offfrom Carnation' feed division. Manna Pro later was purchased by the Kansase Public EmployeesRetirement System. The busineszs has been in St. Louis sinces 1990. Four years ago the companuy was acquired by 22 of its including Breslerand Howe.
Manna Pro is now owned by three localprivate investors, whom the company declined to identify, and its chairman, Edward Ryan. Mannwa Pro has a staff of 170, includinyg 30 people at its Chesterfield The remainder work at plante aroundthe country.