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Home / Growth/Expansion / Success Stories / Jiffy Mix
Jiffy MixJiffy Mix CEO Uses Auto Racing to Drive 120-year-old National Milling BusinessHow does a successful Indy racecar driver utilize that unique experience to become chief executive of a 120-year-old, 325-person business that sells muffin and cake mixes across North America? That was the task put to Howdy Holmes, CEO of Chelsea Milling, maker of Jiffy Mix, and a retired Indy racing driver who had a 20-year career in racing and now is in his 20th year at Jiffy with the past 12 as CEO. "The experience of having my own business while young, and in learning the race car business from the engine on up was invaluable to me when I came back to work in the business established by my ancestors and run by my Father for 60 years until he died in 2001," says the folksy and affable 59-year-old executive. "I learned in racing that business is really all about marketing – targeting the people to help you get to the end consumer, which in our case is anyone who eats, and provide them ingredients at the best price – that’s value." "Our muffin mixes have been known by home-bakers since they were introduced in 1950. Now, more and more of the national food distribution companies are buying them because chefs in restaurants and bakers are producing them to meet their customers' desires," he explains. Jiffy is a name known to people across North America. The company, Chelsea Milling, is a true down-home business managed and manned by people who reside around the destination town of Chelsea, some 20 miles west of Ann Arbor. "We all know each other by our first names, always have and always will," says Holmes, a fixture in this residential and business community "We live in the same community, go to the same restaurants, churches and schools, know each other’s issues and believe in helping one another." "A lot of our management is home-grown – people who have taken advantage of our growth needs to become trained in new techniques and procedures that benefit the business," Holmes explains. "But we also realized that we needed outsiders to join us and bring modern models of business and creative new thinking into the picture." The Jiffy brand is identified for by its small blue & white box. Most products sell for less then the price of a candy bar! Holmes' experience in racing taught him that in marketing yourself and your abilities, little remains the same. You have to adapt to new technologies, new situations with competitors and different needs that you must adopt to remain competitive. "This experience led us to investigate a whole new marketing channel – food service – and we have established a great relationship with one of the nation’s premier food distributors, Gordon Food Service," explains Holmes. "In this move, we are able to reach the chefs and bakers that need large size products to create their offerings to customers in restaurants, bakeries and other retail outlets." While the move to a new market channel does not mean a move away from the traditional channel of home baking, it does offer some evidence of the success of Chelsea's practice of circle communications and interdependent decisions. "People here want success and we are always seeking ways to challenge them with new innovative thinking – and to encourage their contributions to improve the business," says Holmes. Chelsea is the major player in its $250 million retail prepared baking mix market. The company has 59 percent market share and remains proud of one very significant fact: it does no advertising. Its competition is significant – such food service giants as General Mills and Pillsbury. "We do not spend a dime on advertising, but we certainly can turn on a dime when it comes to changes in our competitive landscape," explains Holmes. "No advertising means our prices stay low." An 8.5-ounce box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix is 40 cents! "And being privately held, the firm does not have to report quarterly earnings and revenues and be beholden to what some analyst thinks we should be doing." Rather, Holmes notes, "Our reputation is based on highest quality ingredients at the best price – and generations of good will in America’s kitchens." Holmes sums up the success of the 120-year-old homespun business like this: "We have an innovative combination of aw-shucks family business and professional management, much of it developed internally. This serves us very well and we are able to remain nimble and highly competitive in our market niche."
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