Is The Marzetti Company a Buy?

The Marzetti Company is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty food products for retail and foodservice customers across the United States. Formerly known as Lancaster Colony Corporation, the company adopted the name of its best-known brand and now trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker MZTI. Its product range covers refrigerated and shelf-stable salad dressings, dips, sauces and croutons, as well as frozen garlic breads, Texas toast and dinner rolls, along with pasta and other specialty items. The business is organized into two segments: Retail, which sells branded and licensed products to grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores and other outlets, and Foodservice, which supplies national chain restaurants and distributors with both branded and custom-made products. Core owned brands include Marzetti, New York Bakery and Sister Schubert's, complemented by licensing agreements that bring well-known restaurant sauces and dressings to supermarket shelves. The Marzetti Company employs around 3,500 people and is headquartered in Westerville, Ohio.