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Kansas City, Kan.- based independent Balls Food Stores was founded in 1923 by current chairman and CEO David Ball’s grandparents Sidney and Mollie Ball. From the beginning the two were committed to the community they served and the people they worked with. Those values were passed down to their children and grandchildren, including David, who started working in the business at just 6 years old. By 12, it was official: he wanted to be a grocer when he grew up.

Balls Food Stores president and CEO David Ball, whose grandparents founded the company, announced plans to transfer ownership to “teammates” at a 100th anniversary celebration earlier this year.

Although the company has evolved quite a bit during the past century — Balls Food now includes 25 locations under four different banners — the vision has not. “We still want to be the best-run, friendliest supermarkets in town, where teammates are passionate about providing excellent customer service and where customers love to shop,” says Ball.

That commitment is one of the reasons company leaders decided to mark the company’s 100th anniversary by announcing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). “By making our teammates owners, we’re preserving the company’s culture and values — while creating a sustainable growth strategy for Balls Food Stores,” said Ball in a press release.

To learn more about the company and what’s happening in its frozen and refrigerated departments, we chatted with Ball and center store specialist Kendall Milner. Here are excerpts from our conversation.

FRB: Balls Food Stores has not just survived but thrived for more than 100 years as an independent. Beyond the company’s early affiliation with Associated Wholesale Grocers, what is the secret to your longevity?

DB: My grandparents…were really servant leaders. The culture that they created back then just permeated throughout our organization and [still exists] 100+ years later. Our philosophy is very simple. We call it teammate-centric. (We have teammates, not employees)… I learned at a very young age that if you take care of your teammates like you would your family and treat them with respect, they, in turn, will do the same with customers. And then customers will take care of the company by coming back and shopping with us. So it comes full circle. That really is the cornerstone of our culture and our philosophy.

FRB: Is that what led to the ESOP?

DB: We call it a TSOP, not an ESOP. Things have changed very quickly [in the grocery industry]. But if we believe in our vision, which is to be the friendliest, best-run supermarket in town where teammates and customers love to shop, [then we need] teammates who are passionate about providing excellent customer service. And if we really truly are teammate-centric, we need to continue to look at ways to engage them and to enhance their quality of life… We think this will be a game-changer for everyone who works at Balls Food Stores, something that will impact them for generations to come… It all kind of came together over the last few years but it fit nicely with our 100 years celebration.

‘I learned at a very young age that if you take care of your teammates like you would your family and treat them with respect, they, in turn, will do the same with customers.’

FRB: Was that anniversary also the impetus behind the creation of your five-year strategic plan BFS 2030?

Center store specialist Kendall Milner (left) joins cash office manager Michelle Jones (center) and store director Rania Atra at the Balls Food Price Chopper in Shawnee, Kan.

DB: Sort of. Like in a lot of family-owned independents, we learned this business “around the campfire” with one person passing the stories along to the next. But after a while, they’re not quite the same stories anymore… This new BFS 2030 project is doing the same thing but in a more formal way. So instead of trying to pass information down through generations, we’re writing it down so that we can start being more efficient, take costs out of the system, and continue to keep our prices competitive.

I like to compare it to a company physical. It’s a five-year strategic plan that focuses on four key pillars: people, culture, operations and growth. And from those four, we developed 60 charters that support them. But it was built from the bottom up by our teammates, not by me pushing it down… We interviewed all of our teammates, our customers, our suppliers and vendor partners and got a really good baseline on how we’re perceived by them and then how we execute in the community. It was a six-month deep dive — a year of planning altogether. But now we’re three months in to the first six charters.

KM: It’s very difficult to add space because those cases are set. But what we have done is allocated more space to dinners. That’s the biggest thing we’ve seen — the amount of dinners and sides that hit the frozen food department… We’ve [brought on] completely new lines of dinners. We’ve added probably eight to 12 feet. The store I’m in right now has 20 three-foot doors, so 60 feet of dinners. We’ve seen an expansion of sides, too. Those two have kind of taken space away from frozen desserts — Cool Whip and pies. Frozen snacks has also expanded; there is just so much more innovation. But one thing we have noticed in both dinners and snacks is more interest in multi-serve/family-size options.

‘It’s very difficult to add space because [frozen] cases are set. But what we have done is allocated more space to dinners.’

FRB: What’s the fastest growing frozen food category, and what’s driving that growth?

AWG recently brought in a number of products that Balls had to buy direct in the past, allowing the company to expand its authentic Asian program to all stores.

KM: It’s pizza. Because it’s a family meal. It’s easy to fix, no preparation. It’s also price driven. The pizza companies are getting very, very competitive in pricing. You’re seeing multiples pricing so you get, like, three frozen pizzas for the cost of going out and getting Pizza Hut once.

Also, because of COVID, people stayed home to eat. But they didn’t necessarily want to cook more, so they got pizza delivered or picked it up. That became the norm. The price of delivery pizza continues to rise, but consumers want to keep eating pizza. So now they purchase frozen and cook it themselves at home.

FRB: What about refrigerated?

KM: I think the price of the dairy has kind of slowed growth in dairy products… The only thing that we found is growing that we added [space for] is ready to drink coffee. Refrigerated teas and coffees seem to be the thing. We took space away from orange juice and other refrigerated drinks. We’ve also added additional space for creamers.

FRB: How do you handle specialty items like plant-based, gluten-free, organic and ethnic? Are they integrated with conventional items, or do you segregate them in a dedicated set?

KM: Organic is integrated, but we segregate the rest because that makes it easier to shop. When they’re integrated, you’ve got to look at every single item to find out which one is plant- based, which one’s gluten-free. So we actually have sections that are gluten-free and plant-based in every single frozen and dairy department. [Plus], there aren’t enough plant-based or gluten-free SKUs in each individual category to give them even a full door. So we actually have two to three doors with all of the plant-based, and all of the gluten-free.

FRB: What about ethnic?

Thanks to an influx of innovative new products, Balls added eight to 12 feet to the dinners and entrees set in most stores. Multi-serves have proven especially popular recently.

KM: We are at the forefront as far as bringing in authentic ethnic food — so authentic Asian, not Americanized Asian. We actually have a lot in frozen and grocery. For example, we had frozen potstickers that you couldn’t find anywhere else. We were buying them direct because we thought it was important to have more international food available for our customers. But we were able to convince our warehouse that the sales were there and they needed to bring these items in. So now we can get those frozen potstickers from AWG.

FRB: Is it merchandised in a separate section — an Asian destination?

KM: In frozen, yes. Actually, we just finished expanding authentic Asian to all of our stores, which we were able to do because our warehouse brought those items in. That was a big initiative this year. We also have a frozen Hispanic section. Interestingly, the store where Asian does best is in an area with a strong Hispanic population. When people shop at that store, they know they’re going to get some authentic Hispanic products, but they’re also wanting to try the Asian as well. It just has quite a variety of international foods.

FRB: Balls Food Stores offer mostly AWG private brands, Best Choice and Always Save. Have you seen a big increase in sales the past year or two as food inflation skyrocketed?

KM: We have seen significant growth recently. Obviously, a lot of it is price driven, with the economy the way it is right now and the price of groceries. But also, I think the quality of our private label has improved as well. So people trying it because of the cost are finding out that it is just as good as the national brands… Our private brand cheese shreds in particular really picked up because of the cost compared to [the national brands]. And our cheese is very, very good.

FRB: Although food inflation is finally starting to moderate, consumers are still struggling. Other than your private brands, how is Balls Food Stores helping them make ends meet? 

KM: We doubled the size of our monthly flyer, so it includes double the number of items, including dairy and frozen. We started it last year for the 100th anniversary, and we kept it that way because we’ve seen great success with it. Consumers really look for it now. And it really has given us a lift.

FRB: Is endcap space reserved for those deal items or is it used to cross-merchandise complementary items?

Ready-to-drink coffees and teas are heating up in the refrigerated section.

KM: Flyers and deals mostly. And with frozen, you’re kind of limited as far as cross-merchandising. But we do put frozen pies with Cool Whip and other holiday-type frozen foods together… Most stores have three to four frozen ends, but during the holidays, we try to focus three of them strictly on the holidays. One would be for all the holiday flavors of ice cream — pumpkin, peppermint, etc. The fourth one is usually tied up with pizza. We always have a pizza ad — all year round — but during the holidays, it’s mandatory. We support [those products] with endcaps so consumers don’t have to hunt for them off the shelf.

FRB: What do you think differentiates Balls Food Stores’ frozen and refrigerated departments from others in your market area?

KM: The variety, including the international products, which most stores around us don’t carry. While there are a lot more international people in the area, people in general are just more curious about and interested in trying different foods. We want to offer that selection. We want to offer them that opportunity.