In the world of consumer brands, “trust is everything,” according to Howard Holmes, president of Chelsea Milling Company, the company that makes “JIFFY” baking mixes. He joins Liz Galloway in this episode to share his thoughts on leadership, handling the challenges of a multigenerational family business, and adapting to shifting trends in the foodservice industry.
Howard reflects on his rise through the company, emphasizing how his hands-on experience shaped his approach to leadership. Can practical experience truly define leadership, especially in a family-run business? For Howard, it’s indispensable. It’s allowed Chelsea Milling Co. to maintain tight control over quality and vertically integrate their operations, giving them a unique competitive edge.
Howard shares how the pandemic rekindled interest in home baking and pushed the company to invest further in new product development, making innovation more important than ever. The challenge? Balancing tradition with the need to evolve. For Howard, the challenge is to maintain the company’s core values while fostering innovation and giving customer service top priority in a market that is becoming more and more dynamic.
Tune in for sharp insights into leadership and business strategy, showing how family-owned businesses can thrive by staying true to their roots while embracing the future.
Quotes
- “I think sales is a great place to start any career. You have to know how your products are made. You have to know your customers and your consumers, and all the merchandising agreements and opportunities that can exist there.” (03:41 | Howard Holmes)
- “We’ve been around for a long time, and there’s a lot required to do that. It’s not just having a great product; it’s having the right facilities, the willingness to reinvent yourself, and the willingness to invest in your organization, which we’ve done in a variety of ways. Having the right people is important. I think, as a family business, we’re always focused on the future and what we can do to be around for another 100 years, as opposed to what we can do to make our report to Wall Street next quarter as polished as possible.” (14:36 | Howard Holmes)
- “Trust in the world of consumer brands is everything… I think during the pandemic, what we recognized was that it’s critical to stick to what we do best, and that’s meeting people’s expectations and being there for our consumers. It worked for 130 years, and I’m pretty confident that it’ll work for another 100 years.” (22:11 | Howard Holmes)
- “Our definition of culture is the process surrounding how you communicate and the process surrounding how you make decisions. That, I think, is a fair definition of just culture in general. So the process surrounding how we communicate is extremely collaborative.” (36:39 | Howard Holmes)
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