Article published May 21, 2007
Toft's making moose tracks to bank
Thriving Sandusky dairy battles for freezer space
Emilie Soule scoops ice cream at the Toft's next to the factory in Sandusky. Ice cream accounts for nearly 40 percent of sales. Toft's also handles milk, cottage cheese, ice tea, and lemonade.
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THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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By GARY T. PAKULSKI
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
SANDUSKY - Introduced in 1995 at Toft's Dairy Inc., it took just one year to achieve super stardom.
Moose tracks.
"It's right up there with vanilla," Chuck Meisler, company treasurer said of the flavor that combines vanilla ice cream with fudge and peanut butter. "In a year, moose tracks beat butter pecan."
Let GM's Rick Wagoner fret about developing competition for the Corolla; Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, the next edition of Windows; NBC's Jeff Zuker, a response to American Idol.
Toft's Dairy sells its products in 1,200 stores, hospitals, and other institutions in northern Ohio and southeast Michigan.
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THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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Chuck Meisler and his father, Eugene, president of Toft's Dairy, get the sweet assignment of green-lighting the next expansion of a 70-flavor stable that includes Tons of Turtle, Herd of Cows, and Cotton Candy Confetti.
Founded in 1900 by Eugene Meisler's grandparents in this Erie County city 55 miles east of Toledo, Toft's Dairy has grown into an $18 million-a-year processor and distributor of milk, ice cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, ice tea, and lemonade.
Today ice cream accounts for 40 percent of sales, up from 5 percent in 1983 when Chuck was hired as the firm's first full-time salesman.
| SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE |
• Company: Toft’s Dairy Inc.
• Headquarters: Sandusky
• Founded: 1900
• 2004 revenues: $18 million
• Employees: 80
• Top executive: Eugene Meisler, president
• Type of business: manufacturer and marketer of milk, ice cream, and other dairy products |
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Toft's sells to 1,200 stores, hospitals, and other institutions, primarily in northern Ohio and southeast Michigan.
Its ice cream can be found at Kroger and Meijer in the area as well as the Toledo Zoo, Fifth Third Field, and other venues.
The company's sole plant, built in 1986 on the west side of Sandusky, buys about 350,000 gallons of milk each month from local farmers.
Over the last 25 years, the number of route drivers has more than tripled to 18. The firm employs 80 people full-time.
Chuck Meisler, who is 46, doesn't hide the delight he gets from helping come up with new ice cream flavors.
"We have a lot of fun with that," Mr. Meisler said. "We make it a team effort."
Anna and Don Fridayof Mt. Gilead, Ohio, eat ice cream at Toft's in Sandusky, Ohio. Summary.
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THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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Besides producing dairy products, the firm runs an ice cream shop next to its factory. Two other Toft's ice cream shops, in Catawba and Fremont, are independently operated.
The firm was founded when Chris and Matilda Toft began delivering milk to Sandusky by horse cart. Their daughter and son-in-law, Edna and Carl Meisler, joined the company in 1935.
The Meisler family has run the operation since.
In addition to its own products, the firm sells 120 ice cream novelty items made by other firms.
One of Toft's biggest challenges is winning sufficient space in store freezers, especially at large national chains.
"They'll say, 'Put in your best 20.' But that makes it difficult to offer exotic flavors like Peaches 'n Cream and Blueberry Waffle Cone," Mr. Meisler noted.
One of his goals is to increase sales in Columbus, where Toft's Ice Cream is sold only in stores of The Andersons.
If the firm can snag more customers there, it will make delivery runs more cost-efficient, he said.
Under a unique marketing approach developed by the firm's advertising agency, Gauthier Marketing, of Toledo, Toft's is the exclusive ice cream offered at several local venues, including the Toledo Art Museum.
Toft's developed individualized flavors for each place. Pablo Pistachio is sold at the art museum, for example.
"It sells," said Dave DiCola, director of visitor services. "It's very good. We sell a lot of their soft-serve ice cream too."
Contact Gary T. Pakulski at:
gpakulski@theblade.com
or 419-724-6082.
Small Business Profile is a weekly feature on local companies. To be considered, send information about your company to Small Business Profiles, Business News, The Blade, P.O. Box 921, Toledo, Ohio 43697-0921.
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