history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

that made his culture (Aurotech) which had invited Doblin
to join them. He thought that, being a culture company,
they would be experts on quality control. He also thought
they were the only ones who could help. So they started
producing the product at the end of Jan. and after 2 weeks he
had 3 weeks of spoiled product, which drove the product off
the market. And he only produced a portion of the amount
ordered, refusing to work overtime. Doblin sued them 5
months ago to try to get back his equipment, but the judge
is moving very slowly and the case has still not been settled.
The contract calls for arbitration in Chicago. Aurotech had
had a share in the business. Doblin did not sell them the
business, but just arranged with a contract for them to work
somewhat like a co-packer. They a minority share of stock
and no voting stock. Everyone agrees that the equipment still
belongs to Cream of the Bean. When Aurotech realized the
serious problems with spoilage, since they had other things
happening, they wanted to forget Soygurt existed. Aurotech
did not have any interest in the product, only in the money
it could make or loose them. Doblin wanted to take his
equipment back to his Illinois plant and get the product back
on the market quickly. Aurotech said no. Aurotech would
like to give Doblin his equipment back and call it even. They
are afraid Doblin will sue them for lost business.
Doblin is now putting together a new business plan (it
will be ready by Oct.) and looking for new investors. The last
straw is that Aurotech has called other soy dairies [such as
Ambrosia Soy Co. in Connecticut] and asked them to go into
business together. He has already spent $15,000 on lawyers
who now couldn’t care less and the case hasn’t even gone
to court. The one piece of equipment he really needs is the
fi lling machine, which he bought in England for more than
$70,000 and which Aurotech won’t let go of. Aurotech also
has a $64,000 check of his, a refund from the mixer from
England. And Doblin has $15,000 in debts.
Doblin moved to Wisconsin from Gurnee, Illinois
(which is 10 miles south of Wisconsin) after the transfer
to supervise marketing. He has an offi ce in his house on
Lake Michigan. Aurotech (Phone: 414-251-0086) was
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 305
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, 60 miles from
Gurnee and from Pleasant Prairie. He now has a post offi ce
box in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Soygurt will be back.
Many people with money have contacted him recently.
Lots of big money want to get into this fi eld. The product
is being redeveloped by a new microbiologist. It needs
more nutritional punch. (Note: Soyfoods Center heard one
report from a health food store in Colorado that Soygurt
now contains or will contain vitamin B-12). From now on
Doblin will make his own cultures, with an in-house lab
and microbiologist. Address: P.O. Box 77, Pleasant Prairie,
Wisconsin 53158.
836. Golbitz, Peter. 1989. Soya interview: Tom Timmins,
soyfoods visionary. Soya Newsletter (Bar Harbor, Maine).
July/Aug. p. 4-6.
• Summary: Timmins was one of the founders of Tomsun
Foods 12 years ago. In 1982 the company was named to
the INC. Magazine 500, as one of the fastest-growing small
businesses in America. “During 1985 the company launched
Jofu, a revolutionary tofu and fruit product, and rang up total
sales of over $2.5 million.” In April 1989 the company fi led
for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. It is now being managed
by a very skilled and experienced new team and has just
re-released Jofu to a receptive market. Recently Timmins,
“sensing that the time was right for him to make a move
personally, decided to step away from Tomsun and form the
Timmins Group, a consulting fi rm...” that focuses on helping
small food companies with strategic planning, fi nancing,
staffi ng, marketing, and joint ventures. Timmins is still a
major stock holder in Tomsun.
Looking back, if he could do things differently, Timmins
would stretch the launch of Jofu over a 2-year period.
Entering the huge New York market as they did stressed
the company to the extreme. “We went from 3,000 cases a
week to 20,000 cases, within 6 weeks... We were never able
to completely fi ll all our orders. And when we did fi ll the
orders, we were not able to fi ll them with an adequate profi t
margin.” The stock market crash made subsequent raising of
capital diffi cult.
Advice to soyfoods companies in the 1990s: Make sure
that your cash pool is adequate. Find a profi table, regional
niche and build on it. Concentrate on product quality. The
greatest potential lies in second generation products. In the
future, companies should think seriously about international
markets in East Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
During the past decade, growth of the soyfoods industry
has been hampered by lack of invested capital. The ratio of
sales to capital investment is not very favorable. But there
was great mass marketing, as with Tofutti.
For the 1990s, Timmins foresees some large companies
acquiring existing soyfoods companies, injecting capital,
doing more advertising, and putting the products in major
distribution channels. Address: Timmins Group, 105 Beacon