No Name stakes sales growth on advertising effort in stores

The production room at the recently expanded headquarters of the J&B Group, where No Name steaks are produced, is chilly, about 38 degrees, and the bright red slabs of meat are a stark contrast to the white walls.

Some stops along the assembly line are attended by workers -- also dressed in white -- while others are fully automated. The machines, which trim the steaks and deposit them in a marinating tub that resembles a washing machine, can produce 3,000 steaks an hour.

Such efficiency will help J&B Group during its largest expansion to date. While other companies struggle with skyrocketing fuel and food prices, the St. Michael, Minn.-based company is expanding its No Name division. It has expanded the product lineup, is pushing into more grocery stores and is starting a new ad campaign to turn its generic-sounding name on its heels and try to create a brand that people will recognize and -- it hopes -- ask for by name.

The No Name line, which began as just steaks, now includes pork, chicken and seafood -- which is part of what keeps the company successful in the soft economic times.

"If you don't want chicken, we've got seafood," said CEO Bob Hageman. "And if you only got a few bucks, we got some wieners we can sell you. We've got the whole spectrum."

No Name currently accounts for just 5 percent of J&B Group's $500 million in sales. The company, primarily a food distributor, has been on a growth track, adding $175 million in sales since 2006. Its goal: $880 million by 2010, said Mike Hageman, company president and Bob's son.

No Name is expected to be a big contributor to that growth.

"We think there's a lot of headroom for growth," said Josh Henderson, No Name brand manager.

Eight No Name products landed in 100 Cincinnati Kroger grocery stores this month. No Name has worked before with Cincinnati-based Kroger.

But before the Cincinnati deal, No Name hadn't recently been in Kroger stores. Kroger is the nation's largest grocery store chain.

"It's really early to get any feedback," Henderson said of the Kroger test market. "But we know there's movement [of the product] through stores."

In the Twin Cities area, No Name is available in Cub Foods, Lunds/Byerly's, Rainbow Foods, Kowalski's and a number of independent grocers. In the Upper Midwest, the brand's core market, 2,500 retailers carry a range of products, from pork loin chops to meatballs to chicken cordon bleu.

If the foray into Cincinnati succeeds, the company will look at expanding to more markets or other retailers in 2009, Henderson said. But a botched expansion in the late 1990s to Western markets, such as Denver and Seattle, has taught the company some lessons.

"The growth really was too fast, and the business model didn't quite work," he said, noting that the line was pulled back and the products no longer are available there.

"I think growing too fast is always a concern," added Mike Hageman. "In the past, we've had some experiences where we've attempted rapid growth without having a strong business model. This next leg of growth is organized, it's methodical, it's 'planful.'"

Branding No Name

Even the ad campaign, designed by Wayzata-based Nelson Henry, is more muted. Instead of a full-fledged campaign, hitting airwaves and newspapers, it is focusing efforts on stores.

While Henderson admits that "there is irony in a brand being 'No Name'," the new advertisements use that to their advantage.

Slogans like "Just say No Name" and "no dinner ideas, no problem, No Name," will roll into stores throughout the summer.

The campaign will use signs and freezer window space, and also more elaborate displays, such as a Weber grill painted like a baseball with the logos of No Name and the Minnesota Twins to promote its Grill Pack.

For many people purchasing No Name products, "the point of decision is in store," Henderson said, which is why the company is amping up promotions that consumers will see as they shop.

No Name traces its roots to a St. Paul butcher shop, where customers of the local butcher kept asking for "the steak with no name," which he had developed and tinkered with in his back room. Mike Hageman said he discovered the butcher in 1993 during his days as a sales rep, and J&B Group bought the distribution and production rights to the steaks in 1993 and licensed the brand "No Name."

Although the industry has heard rumblings of product shortages, the team members at J&B say they aren't worried because their raw materials come from a number of sources.

Vice president Chuck Weum said the company has strong relationships with its suppliers, top producers such as Cargill.

Additionally, he said, the company has aligned delivery routes and frequencies to grocers and food-service companies to eliminate waste and control fuel cost.

While the processed food products are a small portion of the overall operations, Henderson said No Name is "the face [of the company] to the end consumer" and in a time of economic uncertainty, he thinks the familiarity of the brand is an asset.

"We do everything to communicate the story of No Name," he said. "It's from that place of quality that the brand springs from."

Emma L. Carew • 612-673-7405