A Conversation With Steve Fay
In January 2012, Berner Food & Beverage recorded a production milestone. The Roscoe, Ill.-based company — which manufactures dips, ready-to-drink coffee products, pasta sauces and more for retailers' store brand programs — produced more pounds of product that month than it did during any other month in its 70-year history.
Since then, things have continued to look pretty bright for Berner. The company secured a number of new business contracts that joined already-existing business to solidify "an excellent 2012." And Steve Fay, executive vice president and sales team leader, is excited about new areas of growth for the company in 2013.
Private Label ⇨ Store Brands asked Fay to discuss what's going on with his company, as well as to talk about his first novel, which he published in December 2012.
Private Label ⇨ Store Brands: I understand that Berner has undergone tremendous growth in the past two decades. Tell us more about it.
Steve Fay: Our growth has been spectacular. In 16 years, we grew from around 5 million pounds of production to more than 120 million pounds of production. It is a great joy for me to see all of our people grow and prosper.
PLSB: I also have heard that Berner is working on furthering its reach into new channels. Please elaborate.
Fay: We have had a convenience store initiative in progress for the last two years. Thus far, it has been a very pleasant surprise and a good complement to our retail grocery store brand business.
PLSB: What is your favorite Berner product?
Fay: Our iced coffee product; it is a great afternoon pick-me-up.
PLSB: What is your fondest memory in your
Fay: Definitely the people, relationships and friendships. I can barely believe I got to do this and have this much fun for 30-plus years. I have especially enjoyed my business partners, who have shared the dreams and visions. Someone once accused my CEO and I of sharing the same brain. I laugh, but it is pretty much true.
PLSB: Who is your greatest hero, and what makes him or her such an inspiration?
Fay: On the non-deity side, I would have to say my late wife. She faced cancer with courage and resolve until she passed away. No matter how hard it got, she never lost her perspective. She continued to love the people around her — and not just her family. She was loving and kind to caregivers and all those who crossed her path. When I am tempted to feel sorry for myself, I think of her and the way she conducted herself as she walked through the valley of the shadow of death.
PLSB: I understand that you recently published your first novel. Could you tell us a little more about it?
Fay: Thank you for asking. I will be shameless in plugging it because the proceeds from it are going to a good cause. The book is titled Storms on the Sea of Tranquility — A Foster Child's Journey. I grew up in foster homes, and even though the book is fictional, the experiences are very real. It deals with a young lady who suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness in the early 1950s. It follows her journey as she cycles from manic states to depression and back to normalcy. She bears three children by separate fathers, and ultimately loses them into the foster care system. Although the principal topic is dark, the book is not. It is a celebration of the interveners who take time to reach out to some of the most vulnerable of those among us, foster children, and make a difference in their lives.