Dan Dillon, CEO of Welch Foods

Welch Foods saw its purpose as building long-term value in the cooperative and releasing that value back to the grower-owners over time and to provide a reliable market for their grapes through excellence in product quality, customer service, market responsiveness and consumer satisfaction. Welch's processed 50 percent of Concord grapes and 80 percent of Niagara grapes produced in the United States into juices, jellies, jams and other products. The objective of this executive interview is to introduce Dan Dillon and Welch Foods and describe challenges faced by a producer-owned cooperative in the 21st century. The interview was conducted at the 2003 Farmer Cooperatives program in Kansas City.