Land O'Lakes, Inc. executives honored as Top Women in Grocery by Progressive Grocer

ARDEN HILLS, Minn., June 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Land O'Lakes, Inc. executives, Heather Anfang and Melanie Reiland, have been named Top Women in Grocery in the June 2014 issue of Progressive Grocer. Now in its eighth year, Progressive Grocer's Top Women in Grocery Awards honors more than 300 women from top organizations across the U.S., recognizing the leading roles women play in all aspects of the retail food industry.

"Heather's and Melanie's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to excellence are an integral part of our ongoing success in the Dairy Foods business," said Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes, Inc. "Under their leadership, our Dairy Foods employees have continued to innovate and deliver value-added, branded products that meet our customer's needs. This award is a well-deserved recognition of the top talent that is fueling our record growth." 

During her 15 years at Land O'Lakes, Inc. Anfang, vice president of marketing for US Dairy Foods, has held a number of management positions with increasing responsibility. Under Anfang's leadership in 2013, the Dairy Foods Retail Team posted record results, contributing significantly to Dairy Foods division receiving the President's Award for 2013. Her teams also received the 2011 Insight into Action Award for their work on the Half Stick Butter Platform and New Product Development and the 2011 and 2012 Foss & Swift Awards for Land O'Lakes Dairy Foods Marketing excellence.

As the director of the retail customer marketing department, Reiland contributed to three consecutive years of record volume, profit within Retail Dairy Foods and trade optimization across all Retail Foods Businesses. In 2013, she was part of the Dairy Foods team receiving the President's Award, the 2012 President's Award for the Kozy Shack Integration, 2011 Excellence in Action Sales Award and the 2010 Excellence in Action Sales Award.

"Heather's and Melanie's dedication and achievement set them apart as important leaders in this industry, and we are very proud to have them playing such key roles here at Land O'Lakes, Inc. Their hard work in Dairy Foods helped deliver record results in 2013 for our Dairy Foods business," said John Ellenberger, senior vice president and general manager of U.S. Dairy Foods. "Their insight, innovation and determination drove sales and market share increases across multiple dairy channels as consumers demanded more products made with wholesome, simple ingredients such as LAND O LAKES Butter."

All of this year's Top Women in Grocery winners will be honored at a gala awards celebration November 12, 2014, at InterContinental Chicago O'Hare, Chicago (Rosemont, Ill.).

About Progressive Grocer
As the voice of the retail food industry for more than 90 years, Progressive Grocer's core audience targets top management at headquarters and key decision makers at store-level. From chain supermarkets to regional and local independent grocers, supercenters, wholesaler distributors, manufacturers and other supply chain trading partners, readers rely on PG for its authoritative, comprehensive, relevant, research-based editorial content and need-to-know news. By anticipating, reporting and interpreting the grocery industry's top trends and information, Progressive Grocer fulfills its mission to stay Ahead of What's Next.

About Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of America's premier agribusiness and food companies, is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from farm production to consumer foods. With 2013 annual sales of more than $14 billion, Land O'Lakes is one of the nation's largest cooperatives, ranking 199 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 93 years of operation, Land O'Lakes today operates some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including LAND O LAKES® Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition and WinField. The company does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Land O'Lakes, Inc. corporate headquarters are located in Arden Hills, Minn.

SOURCE Land O'Lakes, Inc.