NYC Winter Outing, Tillamook CEO on Expansion

New York uh NYC and Company. It is the official place to go for those looking to promote what's going on around the city and really a great place for all of us to check out if we are looking for something to do. So let's get to our guests. Yeah, we got Tiffany Townsend with us, executive vice president for Global Communications at NYC and Co. With us on zoom

right here in New York City. Okay, So before we we we get to you know, what's going on this weekend, I want to take a step back and just think about what you guys do over at NYC and Co. Because your your job is essentially to market New York City to the to the rest of the world, and it's a job that has changed a lot over the last couple of years with with the pandemic and with international travel leaving in coming back. Where are things right now? Well, um,

we are certainly in rebound mode. And I think, you know, I think it's always a good bet to bet on New York City. It always tends to rebound. You know. I've had the good fortune of working within my scene company for a number of years now and have seen things, you know, such as recovering from September eleventh, recovering from the financial crash, And I think what we've always seen

is that New York always does rebound. And so wherey are right now is that we saw roughly fifty seven million visitors nearly fifty seven million visitors um come to New York City at the end of two and so that represents about eight of what we were in twenty nineteen, which is a which was a record a year just before the pandemic. And that's also a seventy one roughly increase in travel to New York City over one So we are continuing to make significant gains. Travel is coming

back so etainly to New York. So okay, so almost back to normal, which is a really good thing. I mean, are people who are coming back doing kind of the same stuff that they were doing pre pandemic. I think, yeah, they are. There are certainly a lot of sort of hallmarks to visiting New York City, whether again you know it's your first time or your tent. People want to go to places like Times Square, they want to do Broadway, they want to stay in certain yars the city. We

are always constantly pushing all of five burrows. And I think just as people do come back and they do return, they maybe they're actually looking for a mix of both. They are looking to explore maybe a little something new, but the hallmarks will always be there. What is the what is the best time to visit the city? There's never a bad time to visit New York. But nobody's here, nobody here, but that New York is really a place

to visit all your own. I think every part of the or every season of New York has something different to offer. Being able to be outside during the summer and hang out in the park gives you certainly one feeling on one type of experience. But right now, what we're seeing in winters, there's so many wonderful experiences that you can do indoors. Certainly, I'm outdoors and that's really

what our whin you're programming is all about. And so you have Broadway, which is obviously great all year round, but then you also have our attractions. You have what we're offering from Mussy Week, you have Restaurant Week, so you have all of those things. But you know, as I said, there's really never been time to visit New York City, well to that end. And we did speak with you a little over a month ago, Tiffany. Um,

you know, right right around the holidays. And I remember a few days after we spoke, I was actually in Times Square for right before New Year's Eve because we're going to a show. And I was so surprised. I haven't been there in years. When was this. This was like late December, right before New Year's Eve? Okay this

year this year? Yeah, And I was walking walking to a show, walking through the area, so it was right before the ball drop, you know, a couple of days, and um, I heard so many different languages, people from all over the world coming to New York City, and I'm thinking to myself, why are you coming when it's like the shortest days of the year. The coldest time to be here. But I guess, you know, people want

to be here year round. I live here year round, so well, it is in New York are pretty incredible, right, I love you a year around. It's you know, as I said, it's it's it's never a bad time, and there's there's just so many things to do. There's so many options that I think, you know, it never really dissuades anybody. And I think that also. You have to remember,

New York City is a very aspirational destination. It is a bucket list destination for so many people, and so it doesn't really matter to them whether it's raining, whether it's snowing, or whether it's what you might perceive as inclement, whether it's something that people you know, it's a place that people want to come to and there's things that they want to do here, and so a lot of it is you know, coming seeing the holiday lights, doing Time Square for New Year's even so that's that's really

something that's really exciting for a lot of people, exciting for even for us who live here. Tiffany, I have to say, my daughter and I have a tradition that we come in Christmas. Even it was so cold this Christmas Eve, but we do it. We want to see the tree, we want to just you know, be in New York because this city doesn't like no other. Having said that, one of the things that's really cool that we do a couple of different things is New York

City UH NYC Restaurant Week. Talk to us about that and the kind of momentum, because this has been going on for a while now it has. Indeed, we're now in our thirty first year for NYC Restaurant, which is pretty incredible and so started back in the nineties and here we are thirty one years later and we have over five hundred restaurants across all five borrows that are participating, which I think is it's just so impressive. And we've probably got somewhere in your sixty cuisine, so I really

feel that there's something for everybody. And we've got set price points thirty dollars, forty five dollars, sixty dollars, and that's across both lunch and dinner, so two courses for lunch, three courses for dinner, so really affordable. It just continues to be a really good deal. I know, I'm jumping all over the place. But this is New York. She can keep up with anything. You did say that you're promoting all five Burrows. So I'm curious to where people,

you know, we know, we really want to go. Really are you know no, I know, well, I know where I am in Brooklyn. I see Taurus all the time. Brooklyn Bridge, in South Brooklyn and then by Brooklyn Park is full of Taurus. Uh. And it's increasingly seeming like people are, you know, finally venturing past those parts of New York City that you know, people who live here don't actually visit unless they have family come and visit, and you know, they want to go to those those

touristy places. Where are you seeing people go in other boroughs right now? I think they're really just getting further, you know, further, further and deeper really into Queens. People are going up to matt Hen and the Bronx. They're getting deeper into Staten Island and um exploring St. George and sort of mid Shore and south Shore, certainly throughout Brooklyn.

You know, as far as what you're seeing getting deeper into Queens, going to Flushing, really exploring everything that's there, whether they were doing something in the summer, like going to the to the to the Open, or going to a baseball game, but everything that's around. They've just got some really great dining options as well. Yeah, like the best thing to do when you're going to the Open or like going to a Mets game or something, going

and checking out the restaurants and flushing. They're awesome. We love the Open, we love covering, and we do shows from there. Um, what else, like, is there anything specific about this time where there are just some great offering,

some great deals that are out there. We think we do this program in January and February because typically these are the slower months of tourism to New York City, and so this is really one way that we're looking to continue to attract inbound tours and really also bring

a boost. You know, these programs are really um important and supportive to so many businesses across the city, certainly to so many small businesses, and so this is our way of continuing to support the local economy and ensure that tourism continues to really be an economic driver for New York City, which long has been. When people come to visit you from out of town, where do you take them. Good question. Okay, So while I live I live in Manhattan. I live on the East Side, so

I've got a lot of great stuff here. I can do the hallmarks, I can do Empire State Building. Um, I've been exploring. Now, We've got the Tin Building down downtown, You've got Brookie Brookville Place. I think I kind of do the you know, is it your first time. I might give you to one thing. Are you a regular visitor? I might steer you toward, you know, something else. I really also try to just be in a medating hosts. So if there's something you really want to see, I'm

going to try to make it happen for you. All right, Tiffany, what do you do in this weekend? What am I doing this weekend? I Am taking my toddler around to whatever he wants to do. So we will hit the playgrounds if it's if it's warm enough, we'll absolutely hit the playground and and and actually go out to you. You might find me a bolements this weekend. We're not taking We're not taking our toddler anywhere to eat. You guys start him young, because then they get used to

the restaurant. Well, I think it's too. Absolutely, he's not used to it. He was going Toddler, Man, it's not pretty if we do that. Tiffany, really good to check in with you. It's a nice beginning to our weekend. Um, take care of Tiffty Towns and executive vice president for Global Communications at NYC and Company, joining s V and New Zoom in New York. What are you doing this weekends? I'm working on taxes. Still. That's what you did for

the long weekend. It's complicated. I'm sorry, say no more. I don't want you to be implicated at anything. You know, it's all the up and up. It just you know, it's a process. It's a process. We'll find something fun to do. Ok. Pizza nights, so sorry, pizza night. Yeah, I'm actually the place cheese on the pizza. Okay, alright. A piece of advice, don't go to the Tillamook website when you're really hungry and you still have a broadcast to do and you still have about eighteen minutes to go,

because it just makes you even hungrier. Well, that's what we're gonna do. It's our bad news. I'm sticking with the website. Uh. If you've spent any time in the dairy aisle of the supermarket. You have definitely seen cheese, yogurt, butter, and more from Tillamook. It's a dairy co ops started back in the early nineteen hundreds. Today is a one billion dollar brand that sells products everywhere from Albertson's to Target, to Walmart and so much more. And we got the

CEO with us. Patrick Kreitzer, the CEO of Tillamook. He joins us now via zoom from Oregon. Okay, Patrick, We're gonna talk about a lot. We're gonna talk about the business. We're gonna talk about inflation, We're gonna talk about what you see in the economy. But first, what the heck do you put in the ice cream? Because everyone I talked to, including you know myself, because I love to

tell him, like ice cream, huge fan. Jason Kelly, our colleague, when he found out I was interviewing you, he said, you have to try the ice cream. And I'm like, I know, we've already talked about the ice cream. What's up with the ice cream? Well, there's lots of cream in it. We put a lot of dairy in the in every one of those ice cream cartons. A lot of a lot of love goes into making that, and I'm glad you appreciate it. So the secret is is is the dairy like it's an extra serving of dairy

or something, right? It is, yeah, lots of extra cream. And when you make ice cream, uh, you know, you you determine how much cream to put in there, and almost also how much sort of how much to fluff it up. And we do a little less fluffing and

a little more cream and it tastes fantastic. What's weird, though, is and this is a business question, it's not like it's much more expensive than sort of competitors right there in terms of how you how you think about how it's presented, because it comes as like a big you you get a lot for your money. It's like still a good value. How do you make that? How do you oculate that move? Because the dairy part is the expensive part. It is, you're right, the expensive part. And

I'm glad you you recognize that. We we position the brand as it has been for over a century um as everyday premium, which means, yeah, you're gonna pay a little bit more for it. But there's a lot of value packed into that ice cream carton or into that package of cheese and uh. And so we're trying to make it accessible enough that you're gonna pick it up every week, enjoy it every week in your home. Um, but you'll appreciate the quality that you paid a little

bit more for. Hey, Patrick, you know you are in and out of I'm sure all of the stores that stuck your items. Um, there's a lot of competition out there, So how do you make sure that you do stand out? And I'd love for you to get into the relationship with your suppliers, meeting the farmers and the individuals that you work with directly. Yeah, absolutely, And um, those two things are very connected for us because it all starts with that relationship with the farmers. We are a hundred

and fourteen year old farmer own cooperative. UM. And in fact, che which is our primary product, is made the same way it was a hundred and fourteen years ago. And our farmers, uh, you know, require demand that that we that we keep the recipes the same and and as we were just talking about, put uh put a bit extra value in in every product and that's important to them. UM. And that's helped to stand out on the shelf as

we've expanded across the country. Up until two thousand fourteen, we were a much beloved Pacific Northwest brand, and then beginning in two thousand fourteen, we began expanding around the West. And now we've been very pleased with the acceptance we received around the country as we've expanded into as you said at the top of the show, here every market in the country, and we're now in one quarter of US households. But we've got a lot more people to introduced,

uh introduced to the Tillamook brand. Well, I have to say just our own personal experience and I did so my husband a quick message. I'm like, guess who we have on We have the CEO of Tillamook and he's like, love their ice cream. I have to say, the search for it sometimes in this markit UM is really tough. I was to Target recently and there was like only two cartons. I mean, so are you continuing to grow?

How do you like make sure that you can meet all the demand as you expand and yeah, yeah, thank you, Yeah, we are continuing to UM to expand. In fact, before two thousand eighteen, we were only west of the Rockies, So all the places that folks are are beginning to discover us. You know, there might not be quite as much on the shelf there as we'd like to like to have, and and we're we're trying to rectify that.

We're bringing product out there as fast as we can. UM. But you know, one thing I'll suggests is when you're in the store and you don't think there's enough Tillamo product, go talk to the store manager and that will help a little bit. Hey, Uh, do you guys only uh produce products at the headquarters in Telemaco, Rent Oregon. No, we've actually expanded a bit um since our early days of of all the production being in Tillamook. All of the dairy farmers uh that own the cooperative uh do

live and farm in Tilamo County. Uh. Many people that know our brand don't know that Tillamooks a town in a place actually the high school mascot is the Cheesemaker. So we're very much integrated into that community and and

owned by that community. UM. But as we've expanded around the country, we've partnered with other cooperatives and and and other manufacturing partners to make product to our very UH precise and high expectations and specifications in other places in the country, so we can make sure we're getting product into those stores where people are listen, is there any discernible difference between something they had in one facility with

with UH dairy from one area versus another area, There isn't. Um. You know, we do make all of our cheddar cheese, which is our core product. We do make all of that in Oregon, UH and then we moved around the country. We cut and rapid in a few different places, but it's fundamentally made all in Oregon and with our recipe. But where we do make other products for example, cream cheese or ice cream with partners where in those factories

are very close partnerships. In some cases our partners will put in equipment specific to the way we make product because of you know, we're not varying the way we make it so that you can't tell any difference. If you've come visit us at our visitor center in Tila, MC, Oregon, which a lot of people do. We We've had one point three million people visit us in a single year there in our factory on the coast become busit us there. The products gonna be exactly the same as you find

in Wigmans Patrick. What's the bulk of your business? Is that the ice cream or is it the cheese? As you say, your main product and where is the most growth. Most of our business is in the is cheese. Ice

cream has been our fastest growing product. It's it's turned out to be, you know, as we've expanded into new regions in the US, has turned out to be sort of the easiest entry point for consumers to kind of find us that you know, hopefully that big wall of a full door of of ice cream flavors with our bright colored packaging, UM kind of draws people into the brand. And then once they find us there, they like to move and discover our cheese and our cream cheese and

our other products. You know, consumer product company is always looking for a good brand. You seem like you would be ripe for UM. The taking UM, staying a coop, cooperative, staying private, still the plan and just got about five seconds. Yeah, that is the plan. Certainly we get those calls, but our farmers are very proud to own this brand and this company and and what it's meant to our local community,

well to come back soon. This is a great story and certainly something that is very relevant to our worlds. I'm sure Tim will have some ice cream to ice cream tonight, and I'm sure I will as I get the choco which at Mint that's my husband's. That's what I like to um. Patrick. Thank you so much. Patrick ritz Are, he's CEO of Telmo joining spa Zoom from Oregon. Really fun conversation. This is Bloomberg