| Devansoy, a Carroll-based company that produces and
markets soy products, continued to grow in 2003 as sales were up more than 70 percent,
according to chief operating officer Roger Kilburn. “It was a nice, nice year,”
Kilburn said. One of the major reasons for the favorable spike in sales
is the growing low-carbohydrate diet craze sweeping the nation. The Subway franchise
is recognizing the low-carb movement and using a soybased wrap for a new line of
sandwiches popular with customers, and other restaurants and food providers are following
suit, Kilburn said. For proprietary reasons Devansoy cannot release the specific names of products
that include its soy (Subway is not one), but the value-added agricultural company does
work with many of the major food companies in the U.S. “The number of soy products
introduced continues to grow,” Kilburn said. The Carroll Hy-Vee, for example, carries six different
varieties of soy milk. In late 2003 Devansoy created the brand name Benesoy to identify its Liquid Soy Proteins, Powdered Soy Proteins and Soy Flour. The Benesoy brand name is becoming recognized as the premier identity preserved and organic soy ingredient. In early 2004 Devansoy introduced two new Benesoy products. Benesoy 2100 and 1203, liquid and powder soy proteins that are higher in protein and lower in fat to compete in an increasingly cutthroat international soy marketplace. Kilburn and other members of the Devansoy staff were in Carroll recently for a quarterly staff meeting at their new location in the western part of the Tan Creti building north of downtown. They sampled for The Daily Times Herald soy roll-ups and a smorgasbord of other soy products and talked about ways to introduce soy into more foods and everyday products like soy skin-care lotion, which is now sold in more than 10 countries. The personal-care and health products are a major item for Devansoy, said Deb Wycoff, business development manager. “Those products are available in Carroll,” she said. Major health and pharmaceutical companies are also in the Devansoy universe. “There’s just tons of products out there,” Kilburn said. Founder and president Elmer Schettler, a Mount Carmel native who now lives near Pagosa Springs, Colo., and telecommutes, sees opportunity in demographics as more Baby Boomers age and look for healthy products — and younger people gravitate toward such purchases that lead to longer and healthier lives. Added marketing director Monty Kilburn: “This product would really target people mostly over 35.” But the company doesn’t focus solely on age. The health benefi ts of soy include possible reductions in cholesterol levels and lower risks for prostate cancer. Parents increasingly may look to soy as childhood obesity turns from the stuff of teen movie jokes to epidemic. It’s also a good product for people who are lactose intolerant. Relatively large percentages of the African-American and Hispanic communities are lactose intolerant, meaning there are major marketing opportunities there, company offi cials say. During the quarterly meeting Schettler noted that the Internet Age has allowed him to run an international business based in rural western Iowa. With the Internet, www.devansoy.com is at the fi ngertips of customers worldwide, regardless of what time zone they are in. With an Intranet, Devansoy personnel are in audio and print communication wherever they are. Kilburn hails from London, Ky. Technical consultant Jeff Liebrecht is from Ohio. |
Schettler is in Colorado and Wycoff and offi ce manager Donna Badding-Fleener live in Carroll
County. Director of marketing and sales Monty Kilburn is from Tennessee, and the company
recently launched a soy processing plant near Rock City, Ill., that employs about
20 people. “Iowa is still the largest soybean producing state,” Kilburn
said. “It’s a nice association to have. When most people think of Iowa they think of soybean
fields, cornfields or the caucuses.” Devansoy started in 1990 with a simple goal in mind:
“promote healthy living through diets rich in natural soy protein.” |
