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About Vietti Foods and Its Founding Fathers
The history of the family’s Vietti recipes
The formative years of Vietti Foods were between 1898 and 1927 when Giuseppi Vietti, the great grandfather, first brought the family business of meat packing over from Torino, Italy to the United States. Pete Vietti, the son of Giuseppi Vietti, worked in the family business during his younger years and learned the family recipes as well as how to store the sauces into sealed cans made by hand.
Perfecting the family recipe
In 1927, Pete perfected the family recipes by selling his version of homemade chili soup and hot dogs with chili at the local Tennessee Fairgrounds concession stand in Nashville, Tenn. He was, at the time, one-third owner of Cascade Plunge, a swimming pool at the Tennessee Fairgrounds. His chili was so good that people began to ask him if they could buy large quantifies of just the chili. Pete then realized that he could make, can and sell his famed chili. It was at that pinnacle moment in time that the manufacturing of the famed Vietti chili was born which began out of Pete’s fairgrounds concession stand.
Vietti’s manufacturing plant was born
What started as a small side business turned out to become a legacy to his family’s heritage. Being the innovator that he was, Pete Vietti and his investors opened a Vietti Foods’ plant on Franklin Street that produced canned BBQ beef, pork and chili with and without beans. The business was incorporated in 1936.
By 1950, the business outgrew its manufacturing facilities. So, the Vietti Foods’ plant was moved to Bransford Avenue where other family members joined in the business.
Diversification of the Vietti brand was introduced
In 1957, Pete Vietti retired from the business and son, Joseph Vietti took over running the business. Joseph began to establish product variations to the family’s famed chili where he introduced in the 1960s hot dog chili sauce, capitalizing on what his father was known for. Again, the business outgrew its space and a new food manufacturing facility was built in 1968 where Vietti Foods currently occupies today on Southgate Avenue in Nashville.
Second brand introduced as Southgate
In 1979, under Joseph Vietti’s stewardship, Vietti Foods introduced a second food line under the product label of “Southgate,” named after the street the plant was located on.
In 1985, Joseph Vietti retired from the business and son, Brad Vietti, took over running the business.
Third brand acquired, Varallo Foods
Growth of the company’s product lines continued under the new leadership of Brad Viettti and its board of directors. In 1987, Vietti Foods bought a locally-owned canned goods packing company, Varallo Foods of Nashville, Tenn., from owner Jim Varallo, which included the rights to its brand name.
Established as USDA facility
In 1991, the facility was refurbished and become a training facility for federal USDA inspectors.
Changed from a family run business to professional management
Brad Vietti resigned in 1996 and the board of directors temporarily took over the administration of the business until they found a new president in 1997. Vietti Foods’ board of directors elected to hire a professional management team to run the business instead of being maintained by the family leadership of the Vietti name. This decision was a bold move but one the board of directors realized necessary to take the company to a new level.
Their search found Bob Cook who served as president for four years. The directive from the board was to develop and execute a long term strategic plan that offered innovation and marketing savvy to bring the company and its profits to a new level. Mr. Cook was a living testament for life as a heart transplant patient. He served as president for four years until an unexpected death on May 8, 2001.
The board led another executive search for a president. They identified veteran Philip Connelly from the consumer packaged goods industry. Mr. Connelly became president in December 2001.
“When I came onboard, I saw a company that had never changed its ways while the industry was changing around it,” said Mr. Connelly. “The equipment in the plant was no newer than 22-years-old. Up to 2001, Vietti Foods was merely manufacturing driven. The changing industry was forcing the company to review its approach to the business.”
And the company’s troubles were worse than he expected. When Mr. Connelly started his job, he was faced with two of their top five customers closing their local offices and distribution center, while a third filed bankruptcy. He was able to refinance the first year he was there to restructure debt. “Customers and employees were depending on us to be financially healthy,” he said, “We had to do whatever we could to make it through those times. In talking to the banker, I had to sell him on what Vietti was capable of doing in the future. Basically, we had to use the ‘fake it until we make it’ approach.”
Vietti emerges from latent manufacturer to innovative marketer
With an extensive marketing background in the food industry, Mr. Connelly aggressively began to reposition Vietti Foods for the long haul. He immediately began to explore such factors as emerging consumer trends, such as a demand for convenience. Those observations led him to the conclusion that Vietti Foods needed to focus on niche marketing as the future for revenue growth. “I continually asked myself how can we meet those trends and how can we do it,” he said. And he did just that.
Pivotal year of change
The year 2002 was a pivotal year of change for Vietti Foods: Management staff was re-aligned and new strategies were implemented such as establishing a new image through the redesign of its canned labels, launching new products and streamlining operations. Mr. Connelly instituted an aggressive strategic plan that transformed Vietti Foods from a latent manufacturer to an innovative marketer.
Between 2001 to 2004, Vietti Foods Company launched over 200 new items and broadened its portfolio of brands. Those were the first new retail products Vietti Foods had launched since 1994. He used guerilla marketing tactics to attract attention to their products. Included were introductions of biblical verses and select country music artists on the labels to promote Nashville as the Music City that it was. Distribution was within 30 states in the southeast. That initiative eventually became the popular “Vietti Vinyl” promotion that continues to this day. “I wanted to show that our company shared our consumers’ values,” said Mr. Connelly.
Concurrent with these innovative moves, Mr. Connelly led his management team to upgrade the production infrastructure by acquiring new manufacturing equipment to maximize output from the existing facility built in 1968.
In 2005, Mr. Connelly’s astute marketing tactics and sales appeal, coupled with the company’s broadened capabilities, positioned Vietti Foods Company to be able to respond to feeding disaster relief opportunities after Hurricane Katrina. Vietti Foods continued to gain respect in the industry.
Vietti acquired by Choice Food Group
Choice Food Group took notice of the company’s strong potential for growth and acquired the company on December 31, 2005.
Labels go through second redesign
In 2006, Vietti launched Phase II of its redesign of labels for the Vietti brand, including a bold, all natural designation and launch of “Vietti Vinyl” promotion that features emerging country music artists on cans and on website.
The end of Vietti Foods Company
As Choice Food Group began to acquire more food companies, the need for more restructuring among its business operations became necessary. So on January 18, 2007, Choice Food of America, Inc. and Vietti Foods Company, Inc. merged to become Choice Food of America, LLC. The merger then collapsed Vietti Foods Company. Mr. Connelly still remains engaged with the company as president of Choice Food of America, LLC.
In Summary
“Before 2002, Vietti Foods Company was struggling with remaining relevant in the market place,” said Mr. Connelly. “After 2002, we returned to relevance within the industry where Vietti was taken notice; and, we started to build greater shareholder value. Over the last five years, Vietti Foods went from a small, canned chili manufacturer with few knowing that it was around to becoming a company of relevance as Choice Food of America, with brand and marketing driven capabilities and state-of-the-art production.”
