PLYMOUTH, Wis. — This fall marks the 50th anniversary of Sargento Foods Inc., a manufacturer, packager and marketer of shredded, sliced and snack cheeses, ingredients and sauces based in northeastern Wisconsin.

The company, founded in October 1953 by two businessmen who played a significant role in the development of Wisconsin's cheese industry, has celebrated throughout the year both publicly and privately.

"We've been drawing attention to our 50th as an important point in time," says Lou Gentine, chairman and CEO, Sargento Foods, and son of founder Leonard Gentine Sr. "But we're also continuing to improve on the track we've been on."

Gentine credits his father with beginning the company down a long road of innovation and with being able to predict consumer trends. The senior Gentine, who was a funeral director, also operated a small gift shop and cheese counter in the late 1940s and saw that there was a growing demand and interest in Italian-style cheeses. He and Joseph Sartori, owner of S&R Cheese, combined both their expertise and their names to open Sargento, which the Gentine family assumed 100 percent ownership of in 1965.

Leonard Gentine Sr. invented a process for vacuum-packaging cheese to preserve freshness in the mid-1950s, and over the years the company has become particularly known for its consumer-size packages of cheese and innovative methods of marketing them. This included Sargento's introduction of Peg Bar Merchandising to the dairy case in the United States in the late 1960s, its launch of ZIP-Pak resealable packaging in 1986 and its launch of the Slide-Rite Advanced Closure system with a protective top-seal on its shredded and cubed cheese packages in 2001.

"Innovation is such an important part of what we've done," Lou Gentine says.

Some of Sargento's latest innovation has been in the celebration of its 50th anniversary, a celebration which the company has tied in with two Wisconsin icons: Lambeau Field and Harley-Davidson.

Sargento, which is headquartered near Green Bay, Wis., this year has partnered with Lambeau Field, the home turf of the Green Bay Packers, as the Official Cheese of Lambeau Field.

"When my father, Leonard Gentine Sr., founded Sargento in 1953, he based his success on his passion for providing the very best in cheese," Lou Gentine says. "We work very hard to live up to his legacy in everything that we do. That's why we are so proud to kick off our sponsorship as the Official Cheese of Lambeau Field by introducing an exclusive line of products featuring world famous Wisconsin Cheddar cheese."

Several special products have been developed exclusively for the partnership, with names like Titletown Tailgater (two 6-ounce football-shaped mild Cheddars and a 9-ounce summer sausage); Basket of Champions (three 6-ounce football-shaped Cheddars and foil-wrapped chocolates in a woven football-shaped basket); Six Pack Attack (six 6-ounce football shaped Cheddars in a "6-pack" complete with yard line markers); The Big Cheese (five 6-ounce football-shaped Cheddars and foil-wrapped football-shaped chocolates presented in a yellow foam cheesehead hat); Lambeau Field Commemorative Crock (limited edition 14-ounce crock of cold-pack cheese spread); and Slice of History (a cutting board engraved with the Sargento Official Cheese of Lambeau Field logo and a cheese slicer). These products are available as part of an online gift program; in addition, a different retail line of Official Cheese of Lambeau Field products are available in grocery stores. These green-and-gold labeled products include 8-ounce Sargento Wisconsin shredded cheese, 8-ounce Sargento Wisconsin sliced Cheddar cheese; 7-ounce Sargento Wisconsin Cheddar cheese cubes; 14-ounce Sargento Cheddar cheese spread in a commemorative crock; and a 6-ounce Sargento Wisconsin Cheddar cheese in a football shape.

"We've had a positive response. This type of thing hasn't been all that common," Gentine says.

In addition to the special cheese line, Sargento also is using its Official Cheese of Lambeau Field designation as a platform for its "Touchdown for Charity" program. To help fight hunger in Wisconsin, Sargento is donating $1,000 to the Milwaukee-based food bank Hunger Task Force for every Green Bay Packers touchdown this season.

This summer, as thousands of Harley-Davidson enthusiasts roared into Wisconsin for Harley's 100th anniversary, Sargento also celebrated with the Cheese Chopper, a 100th anniversary Harley Fat Boy with sidecar that was customized to look like yellow cheese and featuring Sargento's logo. The Cheese Chopper has been used at events and store openings, Gentine says.

The company also has communicated its anniversary on packaging and in store promotions.

Privately, the company also celebrated its anniversary by serving a full meal to all of its employees at its corporate and plant locations. On Oct. 23, the actual anniversary date, senior management of the family-owned company, including Lou Gentine and his brother Larry Gentine, president of the company's foodservice division, served dinner to third-shift employees from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Looking ahead to the future, Lou Gentine says Sargento remains "absolutely committed" to being a cheese company, focusing on cheese and cheese-based solutions. There are no plans to branch into other types of food, he says.

As it has in the past, though, the company may branch out into other cheese-related areas that it currently isn't in or doesn't have a great presence in, he adds. For example, in the late mid-1970s, Sargento added to its repertoire by founding a foodservice department in addition to its focus on consumers at retail. In 1994, Sargento Cheese Co. became Sargento Foods, with a consumer products division and a foodservice division. Gentine sees additional opportunities for the company in foodservice distribution networks as well as in the self-service deli.

In addition to innovation, which also has included a number of kid-focused products like Sargento SunBursts and Stars and Moons snacks introduced earlier this year, Gentine believes that being a family-owned company is an important strength for Sargento.

"A family-owned company has a different feel than a publicly-owned company," he says. "We've been able to attract talent looking for something different."

Larry Gentine will retire early next year and Sam Colson, a longtime Sargento employee, will assume his position as head of the foodservice division. But Lou and Larry Gentine, the second generation of the Gentine family to run Sargento, also are looking ahead to the third generation. Currently, Larry's son-in-law Mike McEvoy is in mid-management logistics and son-in-law Greg Strehlow is a sales manager. Lou's son Louie is a production manager.

The company also has new products planned and will continue to innovate by developing recipes — such as the hundreds readily available on its website — and other cheese-related conveniences for consumers.

"We have a passion for cheese at Sargento," Gentine says with a smile.

CMN