House of Webster Thrives on Jams

House of Webster doesn’t mind getting into jams, literally.

The Rogers company produces more than 10 million jars of preserves every year, said Dale Webster, president and CEO of House of Webster. Its most popular product is strawberry preserves.

Dale Webster’s father started the company in Rogers in 1934 as a bakery. Back then, the company thrived during the holiday season by selling fruitcakes.

In about 1950, the family sold Webster Bakery but retained the gift segment now called House of Webster. Today, about 25 percent of the company’s annual sales come from corporate gifts.

The company sells more than 150 different items. Webster said 90 percent of its corporate segment is repeat business.

“I guess they like what we’ve got,” Webster said. “Most of our gifts are usable, practical gifts with a down-home flavor to them.”

The popularity of House of Webster has attracted the attention of one of the region’s largest jelly makers.

On Jan. 1, the 93-year-old Griffin Food Co. of Muskogee, Okla., will buy House of Webster for an undisclosed sum. The combination will give House of Webster a much larger presence in the retail section of the business, John W. Griffin, president and CEO of Griffin Food Co., said in a prepared statement.

“Griffin Foods will benefit in acquiring a diverse line of gourmet products,” he said.

Griffin primarily makes mustard, syrup, peanut butter and jelly products. Its condiments are for sale in a variety of stores, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Operations at both companies will remain the same, Griffin said. Griffin wouldn’t disclose any details on distribution, etc.

Griffin’s Web site boasts sales in the “multi-millions.”

Jam Packed

House of Webster can produce 30,000 to 40,000 Mason jars of product per day at its Rogers production plant. With some of the smaller jars, the company can produce 350 per minute. The company uses “a couple million” pounds of corn- and sugar-based sweeteners per year in its production, Webster said.

At peak production during Christmas, the company employs about 90 to 100 and reduces its staff to about 75 the rest of the year.

Nationwide, about 1 billion pounds of fruit spread is produced annually, according to the International Jelly & Preserve Association. Annual retail sales for jams, jellies, fruit spreads and preserves account for about $632 million.

The sweetest share of House of Webster’s sales come from its wholesale clients. Webster estimated the company’s wholesale sales segment has grown by about 10 percent per year in the last five years.

The company supplies to “a couple thousand” stores nationwide, he said.

Jelly and preserves account for 75 percent of total sales. The sausages, meats and other specialty items are brought in from outside vendors.

But they aren’t in the grocery business, Webster said.

Retail clients usually consist of small specialty-shop owners.

Many times, a House of Webster product might not come in its signature Mason jar.

That’s because the company caters to both the gourmet label and the “down home” customer, Webster said.

He said about 75 percent of the corporate gift sales are of the “down home” Mason jars labeled with blue scrawled script. Different labels appeal to a different market. A Mason jar might sell well at a country store, but a Lost Acres label jar will sell better in a gourmet gift basket.

The House of Webster makes more than 100 different private label products for its wholesale customers. Private label accounts make up 50 percent of the company’s wholesale business, with retailers making up the rest of the 75 percent.

Secret Ingredients

A typical private-label order can range from 50 cases up to 20,000. The company produced about 20,000 cases of a pepper jelly for a hot-pepper sauce company whose identity Webster didn’t want to reveal.

But House of Webster isn’t Smucker’s or Welch’s, and they’ve never tried to be.

“Our business is a niche business and we do a lot of things the bigger companies wouldn’t do,” Webster said. “It’s a business and unless you’ve got a niche, you’ve got to get out of it.”

For example, the signature Mason jar is square, which makes it harder to move through production than a round jar. That eats up production time and the equipment needed is different, Webster said.

Webster said the company’s smaller volume allows it to order a better grade of fruit.

“In the market we’re in, the buyer is not looking at whether it’s 25 cents cheaper, they care if it tastes good,” Webster said.

Webster said his company gets a lot of orders from attending the seasonal Fancy Food shows, which bring in an estimated 18 to 32,000 attendees and 800 exhibitors under one roof.