From the Top of the Tree

Marco Casol

Marco CasolHappy New Year! As you return from the holidays and settle back into your day-to-day business, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on 2009 and welcome in 2010.

I would be shying away from the obvious if I didn’t mention the economic difficulties, as I believe we have all felt them one way or another. While specialty desserts remain an affordable luxury, businesses and job losses in many communities have affected us all. But in times like this, our efforts need to focus on the opportunities created – to try new things and better position ourselves in the industry. It’s also a time to find creative and enduring solutions to our challenges, not just answers to our questions. That’s, of course, where PreGel fits in.

Here at PreGel, we have recognized the opportunities available, and I am pleased with what we have accomplished. After much anticipation, I am able to share with you that we have begun production at PreGel AMERICA in Concord, N.C. To ensure that quality remains uncompromised, we will implement it in several stages. The decision to open a second production facility here in the United States was based on the need to fully commit our efforts to provide superior ingredients in the most timely and efficient
way possible.

I am also very excited about our pastry endeavors and what this means for you, our customers. The addition of world-renowned pastry chef Frederic Monti to our staff has provided the opportunity for you to not only learn from a top chef at our training center, but also have access to recipes illustrating how you can use our products in multiple applications.

As many of you may have heard, our 5-Star Chef Series has been launched, and we have had the honor to host several top pastry chefs at our facility. From sugar showpieces to chocolate masterpieces, these chefs create works of art that inspire advanced and aspiring chefs alike.

Our marketing team has also been working hard this year, and I encourage you to take advantage of our free Marketing-in-a-Box kit. This kit was created exclusively for our customers to help assist marketing efforts for your business. Don’t miss out on continued savings in our seasonal Spotlights promotions and Clearance Catalog.

2010 will bring more unique and exciting opportunities, so look for these in our new PreGel AMERICA eNewsletter. If you haven’t registered to receive this yet, visit www.pregelamerica.com and click the Sign Up link located at bottom right of the homepage.

I look forward to continuing the relationship we have with each of you as we continue to offer creative solutions to assist you in the best and worst of times. As always, I welcome your feedback so we can provide the resources that you need, e-mail your comments, ideas and concerns to viewsfromthetree@pregeamerica.com.

Marco Casol,
President and CEO