Baensch Food Products Co.
1025 E. Locust St., Milwaukee
Industry: Food
Employees: 8 to 16 (depending on season)
www.mabaensch.com
Polish tradition says good luck comes to those who eat herring as the first bite of the New Year, and Milwaukee-based Baensch Food Products Co. has been serving up this traditional good luck food under the Ma Baensch brand for the better part of a century.
Ma Baensch, founded in 1932 by the Baensch family, has been located in the same place on East Locust Street in the city’s Riverwest neighborhood since 1945. Kim Wall purchased the company from the Baensch family in 1999, and Lena “Ma” Baensch’s “secret recipe” has remained the same.
“We’re doing pretty much everything they were doing back when I bought it, and probably back into the 1950s,” Wall said.
Herring continues to be a holiday tradition for many families in the Midwest, with Christmas and New Year’s being the most popular times of year for Ma Baensch, followed by Lent and deer hunting season.
With a food that is rooted in tradition, maintaining consistency is important, Wall said.
“I always say we’re McDonald’s, not Burger King,” she said. “Our herring should taste the same way every time you open the jar.”
Brand identity is a big part of sustaining the tradition. While other companies in neighboring Midwestern states have their own loyal customers, Ma Baensch remains the “primary brand of herring in the state of Wisconsin,” Wall said.
The herring comes in two varieties – Wine Sauce and Sour Cream & Chives. With each variety, employees marinate the fish for 24 hours in tanks, and freshly chopped onions and liquid spice extracts are then added to create a distinct seasoning blend.
Both 12- and 24-ounce jars of the marinated fish are sold in all Roundy’s stores and at Piggly Wiggly, Sentry, Sendik’s and Woodman’s. The company also sells one-gallon and five-gallon pails of herring.
The fish itself is caught off the coast of Nova Scotia. Herring is usually about 12 inches long, and each fish generally produces about six pieces of saltine-sized herring. The herring is fileted, cut, refrigerated and packed in a special salt brine exclusively for Ma Baensch before being shipped to Milwaukee to be sorted and prepared.
The number of full-time employees working at the Locust Street factory ranges between eight and 16 based on the season. Some of the work is automated, but much of it is still done by hand.
Most of the employees, Wall said, are from the Riverwest neighborhood. She also works with the court system to hire ex-offenders for seasonal employment, to give them an opportunity to get a job on their resume.
“It’s pretty (well) known that I do this and I think we’re a good, reliable company to be on someone’s resume,” Wall said. “It helps the ex-offenders. There aren’t a lot of companies willing to partner with the probation offices, so they like us.”
Since purchasing the company, which is a division of Wild Foods Inc., Wall has promoted the health benefits of the fish, which is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and calcium.
Baensch Foods is a member of the National Fisheries Institute, the main trade organization for the U.S. seafood industry, where Wall serves on the Future Leaders Committee.
Wall founded Wild Foods in 1991 to formulate healthy natural flavorings and seasoning blends, and she continues to serve as owner and president of Wild Foods and Baensch Food Products.
