Member News

It wasn’t your typical father-in-law/son-in-law relationship, Wendie DiMatteo, the current CEO of ASK Foods Inc., said. Rather than being at odds or awkward around one another, Wendie’s father, Robert B. DiMatteo, and grandfather, Abraham Shelley Kettering, were the perfect business duo.
   Robert DiMatteo met Wendie’s mother at Ft. Indiantown Gap in Annville and the two moved to Boston after they were married. However, Kettering desperately missed his only daughter, and gave Robert an offer which he couldn’t refuse: 50% ownership of a wholesale food distribution business if Robert and his wife moved back to Palmyra, PA. Robert accepted the offer and in 1948 the father- and son-in-law pair opened a food distribution business called A. S. Kettering Company. At the time, the company mainly handled the distribution of meats and cheeses to local stores and farmers markets.
   Robert and Kettering soon noticed that they were getting a number of requests for deli salads. Seeing a need in the market for these products, A. S. Kettering Company started to manufacture their first deli items in the 1950s, including potato salad, chicken corn soup, and beef barbecue. The company’s deli line grew and in 1978 A. S. Kettering Company became incorporated under the title ASK Foods Inc.
   This year, ASK Foods celebrates its 67th anniversary. The company is a third generation organization; Wendie has been the CEO of the business for the past 25 years, overseeing its marketing, operations, and the company’s strategic planning. Originally a psychotherapist, Wendie decided to move back to the area and take on the family business after her brother, Joel DiMatteo, was tragically killed in a car accident. Wendie fell in love with the company and has been expertly guiding it through the retail food industry ever since.
   ASK Foods Inc. has two plants located in Palmyra, the East Plant and the West Plant. They also operated a retail store in Palmyra until recently. Toward the end of July, ASK Foods announced it would be closing its Today’s Chef retail store on August 29, 2015. The former retail store location will be transformed into corporate office space. ASK has approached local retailers about expanding their selection of ASK products to ensure that local customers still have access to the foods. One of these retailers is Country View Grocery located on Route 322. Country View will carry over 30 ASK products and is open to requests from customers for additional favorites.
   What sets ASK Foods apart from other retail food companies is that it is one of the only companies in the country that offers an entire product line of natural products free of preservatives. In fact, in 2013 ASK Foods was named Processor of the Year by “Refrigerated and Frozen Foods” magazine for their preservative-free prepared foods.
   Making these products can be a challenge, Wendie explained. The recipes have to be carefully crafted and shipping/manufacturing logistics have to be taken into account since the shelf life will be shorter than if the product contained preservatives. Manufacturing the product in the best environment possible while paying the utmost attention to food safety also helps to extend a product’s shelf life. ASK Food’s Palmyra plant located on North Hetrick Avenue is a multi-million dollar, USDA plant focused on environmentally-controlled manufacturing, freezing, and warehousing operations.
   “There was one specific major act passed by Congress in 1990 that was implemented in the 1990s…it was called the 1990 Nutritional Labeling and Education Act and it focused on educating consumers…, ” Wendie explained. “This was a turning point for our consumers. We had to list everything that is in our products. People see that they taste better without preservatives, and that it’s better for you. The consumers really embraced our products.”
   ASK Foods ships to approximately 25 states, with most of their business centralized on the East Coast. Frozen food products are shipped to states farther west. Wendie stated that approximately 75% of ASK Foods’ business is with retail, grocery, and convenience stores. The remaining 25% of their business consists of institutional sales, including food service operations such as hospitals, restaurants, colleges/universities, etc.
   Creating new recipes and products is a constant task at ASK Foods. Each year the company creates hundreds of new recipes, including custom, private-label recipes for proprietary customers. There are four chefs at ASK Foods who are responsible for recipe and product development and who try to keep ahead of what is new and trending in the food industry. Regional differences also help to account for the large number of recipes. Wendie explained that a number of different companies may want a potato salad recipe, but what a southern company wants in theirs may be different than what a northern company wants.
   Deciding which of the hundreds of recipes make it into the official ASK Foods Inc. product line (which features over 300 fresh & fresh-frozen items) is a combined process of which ASK’s Product Development Team is an integral part. This team is comprised of cross-departmental members – such as someone from production, quality assurance, marketing, chefs, finance, labeling, and even Wendie herself.
   The team helps with every step of the product development process. The marketing team gets feedback from clients about what types of products they want. Then, the finance team takes this list and narrows it down based on price point. Next, the products are assessed by shelf-life to determine which are best for manufacturing. In the end, only a handful of the very best recipes are presented to the marketplace.
   ASK Foods has a core of approximately 60–70 staple products that always stay the same, including potato salads, pasta salads, etc. However, part of Wendie’s job is making sure that her company is always staying ahead of trends and is at the forefront of change and innovation. Some of the newer trends include deli salads made with grains and beans and other sources of fiber, including edamame, faro, couscous, and quinoa. Another trend is including fruits in deli salads. Deli salad flavors rotate seasonally, with lighter flavors in the spring and summer and heavier flavors in fall and winter.
   ASK Foods is also continuously working on a number of ethnic food products, specifically a Hispanic line. They introduced 22 items from the Hisplanic line into the marketplace last year, and will continue to add more items as they are requested by consumers. Since there is such a broad range of flavors and styles in the Spanish markets, ASK’s chefs have been busy conducting research to decipher the authentic flavors of Latino dishes.
   “It’s been fun for the chefs, and interesting for them to study what makes food authentic and popular,” Wendie stated.
   In addition to making changes in their product line, ASK Foods made some new changes in their company culture. The company employs approximately 225 individuals with a temporary workforce of around 40 that fluctuates throughout the year. ASK Foods recently went self-insured and initiated a new wellness program for employees. Through this program, ASK offers an event every month to promote health and wellness. These events feature any number of topics, from blood pressure screening, to tobacco cessation, to the importance of being heart healthy and staying active. Wendie hopes that by offering these programs, the company can create a workplace lifestyle that is proactive and makes a difference in the lives of its employees.
   The wellness program has also been combined with a community component. Every month, ASK Foods and its employees support a local nonprofit. Employees save soda tabs for organizations, donate old phones and eyeglasses, buy presents for those in need at Christmas, etc.
   “It gets people thinking about others,” Wendie said. “It makes people want to give back.”
   Anyone interested in learning more about ASK Foods Inc. can call their office at 800-879-4275 or visit their website at askfoods.com.