Cuisine Solutions Inc. / FZN
An employee measures out ingredients one of the company's chef-created recipes. (Photo: Courtesy of company.)
About Cuisine Solutions Inc.
85 S. Bragg St., Suite 600, Alexandria, Va. 22312
www.cuisinesolutions.com
| 703-270-2900
| Founded: 1972
Industry: Manufacturing | Category: Top 100 Companies
The company's fortunes were hurt by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but bolstered by the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The air-travel downturn after the attacks crippled the business, which relied heavily on supplying food to airlines. The company diversified by seeking new clients.
Now, the U.S. military accounts for 20 percent of Cuisine Solutions' sales, and retail consumers, who buy the company's frozen osso buco, chicken roulade Roma and beef barbacoa at stores such as Costco, make up 41 percent of company sales. The company uses a process known as sous-vide, which involves slow-cooking in vacuum-packed plastic bags.
Last year, the company continued its climb back from the 2001 slump. Sales for fiscal 2006, ended June 30, grew 39 percent, to $64 million, and its profit nearly doubled, to $1.71 million. The company's stock bottomed out in 2006 at less than $5 per share in the summer but closed the year trading at more than $7 per share.
In April, the company bought a new production facility in France that will triple European output. In June, the company added 18,000 square feet of production space to its Alexandria plant, upping its output by 60 percent.
President Thomas Gregg, who helped lead the turnaround, announced in March that he is stepping down to move to Paris and take over as chairman and chief executive of the company's FiveLeaf subsidiary, which makes high-end frozen entrees.
2007 Financial Data
Total employees: 302 | Local employees: 250Did You Know
Cuisine Solutions Inc. began life as Vie de France bakeries and restaurants but has since become a provider of high-end frozen foods to the airline industry, cruise ships and the military, as well as to consumers. The company sold its bakeries in 1991 and restaurants in 1994. In addition to its Alexandria factory, the company has two factories in France and owns part of a fish facility in Chile.
