In 1961, several small glass and related housewares manufacturing companies combined to form Lancaster Colony Corporation. Two years later, the Board of Directors initiated a strategy to reward shareholders through annual dividend increases. Lancaster Colony has paid consecutive quarterly dividends since 1963. Lancaster Colony went public in 1969. That year also saw the company enter the specialty foods business with the purchase of the T. Marzetti Company. In 1972, Lancaster Colony posted sales in excess of $100 million.The company exceeded $1 billion in annual sales for the first time in fiscal 1998. Today, Lancaster Colony is positioned as a diversified marketer and manufacturer in two product groups: Specialty Foods, the largest and fastest growing division and Glassware and Candles. These groups operate autonomously, allowing each to focus on their specific customer base and market opportunities.

Sodexo, Inc., is a leading foodservice operator in North America, serving 10 million customers consisisting of corporations, health care, long-term-care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, government entities, and remote sites. Sodexo company also provides office-beverage and convenience-store vending services. In addition to foodservice, Sodexo provides outsourced facilities-management services (or, as the company calls it, on-site service solutions), which includes cleaning, grounds-keeping, and uniform and linen supply. Sodexo Inc. is the North American operating arm of French foodservice giant Sodexo.

PM Beef Holdings is a leading processor and supplier of meat products to consumers, retailers, and foodservice operators. Its PM Beef Group supplies private-label and branded (Nature's Pride and Angus Beef Preferred Stock) case-ready beef to food retailers, as well as other specialty meat products for restaurants and other hospitality operators. The company also sells a variety of steaks and other beef cuts direct to consumers through its Web site. It has operations in Minnesota and Virginia. PM Beef was started in the 1990s by billionaire John Kluge (founder of holding company Metromedia) and James Ukrop (Ukrop's Super Markets).

European food retailers naturally look to Distriborg Groupe for specialty foods. A subsidiary of Dutch food group Koninklijke Wessanen, distriborg groupe is Europe's top distributor of organic, gourmet, and ethnic specialties (which includes foods from Europe, the Far East, India, the Mediterranean, and the US). Distriborg Groupe company distributes to supermarkets and health-food outlets throughout Europe, the franchised La Vie Claire organic-food shops in France, and various other specialty stores. Distriborg also has its own brands, such as Bonneterre, Vivis, Equilibrance, and Bjorg.

General Mills gets its Kix trying to grab the spotlight as the US's #1 breakfast cereal maker (wrangling for the top spot every year with uber-rival Kellogg). But #1 or not, the company has supermarket-aisles-full of kid-friendly products. Its Big G Cereals include the well-known brands Cheerios, Chex, and Wheaties. Its products are manufactured in 15 countries and available in more than 100. General Mills operates 70 production facilities (down from 79 in 2008, the closures were a cost-controlling measure) -- 44 in the US, 11 in the Asia Pacific region, three in Canada, seven in Europe, four in Latin America and Mexico, and one in South Africa.

Founded in 1910, Organic Bean & Grain is owned and operated by the fourth generation of the Vollmar family. Organic Bean & Grain goes with the grain, not against it. Organic Bean agricultural company grows and harvests organic, non-genetically modified corn, spelt, and wheat, as well as soybeans, navy beans, and black turtle beans. Organic Bean & Grain also produces flour, meal, and oil products, and it purchases organic crops from other Michigan farmers. Organic Bean company sorts, cleans, and packages organic goods, and it markets them to food manufacturers and consumers.

F. B. Purnell Sausage manufactures processed meat products under the Old Folks brand name. The company operates a processing facility in Kentucky; its products, including frozen breakfast and dinner sausages made from pork, beef, and turkey, are distributed to grocery stores and restaurants throughout the US, as well as in Mexico. The company offers value-added sausage products such as sausage and biscuits, country sausage gravy, and jeat-and-serve sausage patties. In addition to its "down home" American-style sausage, F. B. Purnell also makes brats, Italian sausage and chorizo. The company was founded in 1932 by Fred and Clara Purnell. It is still owned and operated by the Purnell family.

Eleva Alimentos (also known as Avipal) keeps Brazilians well-fed. The company provides a variety of meat (chicken and pork), dairy, and grain (soy, corn) products. Processing about 1 billion liters of milk each year, Eleva sells a line of dairy products including milk, cheese, and butter under brands such as El Vaquero and Dobon. The company offers poultry and swine, which it processes at its three meat-processing sites. Founded in 1959, Eleva markets its products in Brazil and regions abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and the Middle East. The company operates four distribution centers in Rio Grande do Sul, Sao Paran, and Rio de Janeiro. Eleva is a subsidiary of Brasil Foods.

Hickory Foods produces pre-formed, frozen BUBBA Burgers and BUBBA Hickory Smoked Bacon for retail grocery customers. Best known in the southeastern portion of the US, the company's products are available throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, as well as worldwide through the US military commissary system. BUBBA Burgers come in a range of styles and tastes, including jalapeno, reduced fat, sweet onion, and Texas-shaped varieties. Walter "Bubba" Eaves founded the company in the 1990s and continues to oversee burger production, although he sold the company to partners and executives, William Morris and Steven Coon in 2000.

COFCO East Ocean Oils & Grains Industries (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd (formerly Eastocean Oils & Grains Industries) has found its fortune in oil -- the edible kind. The company manufactures, processes, and refines soybean, wheat, and rice from which it produces oils, flour, and a variety of other foods. It sells its products under the Fortune, VITOIL, and Four Seas brand names. In addition to serving the domestic market, the it exports selected products throughout Asia. COFCO East Ocean Oils & Grains Industries (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd is a joint venture between Chinese companies, the state-ownedChina National Cereals, Oils, and Foodstuffs (COFCO) and Wilmar International.

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