Business Diversity Quarterly Report
Staying power
Robin Brooks won't accept second best in shaping her Bedford food company

by Lisa Prezioso Linnell
for Virginia Business
February 2007

When veteran business analyst Robin C. Brooks took a magnifying glass to her own company two years ago, the result was a shakeup. Some longtime employees at Bedford-based Brooks Food Group (BFG) left the company.

But Brooks believes that the changes she made put the company on solid footing for revenue growth and the introduction of new products. She is focused on the goal that she and her husband, Frank, had in purchasing the company in 1995: the creation of a world-class food service company. After all, she could have walked away from the business in 1999 when Frank died. "I stayed true to the vision," she says. "I feel like I have staying power. How you deal with adversity is very important. Yet it hasn't been easy."

BFG, which has 360 employees, makes appetizers and entrees for restaurant chains. Its products include cheese sticks for Red Lobster and Ruby Tuesday's, parmesan chicken for Olive Garden, and chicken tenders and onion rings for Burger King.

In 2005, the company's revenue crossed the $100 million milestone. But Brooks was concerned. While BFG was maintaining its market share, its profits were declining.

So Brooks decided to probe deep into the company's operations. "I call it really going through our 50,000-mile checkup," says Brooks.

Her analytic approach to the problem reflects her background. She has a master's degree in finance and economics and has held a number of executive positions involving debt restructuring and mergers and acquisitions.

Brooks called in consultants who scrutinized everything at BFG from the company's supply chain to its distribution system to the productivity of its employees at plants in Bedford and Monroe, N.C. "There was resistance with managers and employees saying, 'We're on the right track because we didn't lose market share,'" says Brooks. Her response? "If you're on the right track and you aren't moving, you're going to get run over."

ROBIN CASSELBERRY BROOKS

RESIDENCES: Miami (she commutes a least twice a month to the Monroe and Bedford plants) and Roanoke, where she has an apartment HOMETOWN: Lake Forest, Ill. EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in economics from Smith College; master's degree in finance and economics from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University FAMILY: Three adult children: Marc, a cell phone distributor; Tracey, a homemaker; and Nora, a producer of documentaries HOBBIES: Travel, golf, reading and exercising

Brooks has a home in Miami and an apartment in Roanoke, but she is no absentee company owner. She has been a hands-on manager since she and Frank Brooks (the founder of Brooks Sausage Co. in Wisconsin) acquired the Bedford plant from McCormick & Co. At the time of the deal, the plant - operating at less than 50 percent capacity - was losing money. Within a year after the acquisition, it returned to profitability and within two years production had nearly reached capacity.

To increase capacity, BFG bought the Monroe plant in 1999 from Wampler Foods. But it proved to be a bittersweet year. "We closed on the plant in March and in August Frank died," Brooks says with a sigh.

Despite her loss, Brooks was determined not to sell the business. "We were at a critical stage with an investment of millions and millions of dollars, so from a valuation standpoint, it didn't make sense [to sell]." She also was committed to fulfilling plans that she and Frank made in acquiring BFG.

The challenges that she has faced in the past seven years strengthened her resolve during the company's "realignment" in 2005. As a result of the process, some longtime employees left. That was a struggle for Brooks. "I tend to be very loyal to my people. Asking people to change the way they are doing things after 10, 12, 15 years is a difficult thing," she says.

But she realized that instead of protecting employees who were mediocre, she needed to support those delivering excellence. "What I've learned is people in key roles can have a tremendous impact," Brooks says. "I was doing a disservice to the motivated employees when I had these other people that were a drag."

The upshot of the upheaval is that today BFG is back on track, with production running at 80 percent of capacity. In December, BFG expected to finish 2006 with sales of more than $100 million, possibly hitting a targeted $103 million.

Brooks' struggles to keep her company on track are not uncommon, says Jeff Kohler, executive director of Virginia's Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership (a Virginia Tech-sponsored group that helps businesses with quality and cost issues).

"It's not an easy task for a smaller company such as hers to move forward as a world-class organization," he says "Certainly it's a credit to her that she recognized the need for that type of improvement and followed through."

Brooks' service to its customers didn't falter during the realignment, says George Hoffman, president and CEO of Restaurant Services Inc. (RSI), a cooperative of Burger King franchise holders. "Robin's an excellent business person," says Hoffman. "She's very hands-on, very involved in the business."

A key RSI objective is expanding its business with minority suppliers, such as BFG. "The fact that Brooks happens to be a minority supplier is great, but they have earned the business, fair and square," he says "They go head-to-head" with bigger suppliers such as Pilgrim's Pride,Tyson Foods and Gold Kist.

Brooks is conscious of the example she sets. "As a minority enterprise, it's important for me to be successful," she says. Brooks has received awards from many business groups, including the Na-tional Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women's Foodservice Forum. "Robin Brooks is a fabulous mentor for women," says Lee Ann Carr, president of the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce. "She's a role model who encourages and allows employees to do that, too."

In fact, more than half of the managers at BFG are women. One of them is Joanie Brown, the company's director of research and development. She sees Brooks as her mentor. "What never ceases to amaze me is that if we reach a sort of an impasse, Robin is not limited by boundaries," says Brown. "Her attitude is 'No mountain is high enough.'"

Brooks' growth strategy includes investing in new products. For instance, after 18 months in development, BFG recently introduced French Toast Rounds, a product made exclusively for Burger King. Plus, Brooks has arranged to retain a prominent chef - known for his creative dishes with major restaurants - to generate more products. "That's something that larger companies do," says Brown. "It will be expensive. That's what sets Robin apart as a long-term thinker. She is always willing to bring in other resources."

Brooks says new products will help the company meet "our stretch goal," a 10 percent sales jump for 2007. "What excites me is the prospect of trying to take the business to the next level," she says. "We continue to raise the bar."