Marzetti Co Stock Price, News & Analysis

The Marzetti Company (Nasdaq: MZTI) is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty food products in the packaged foods industry, operating within the consumer defensive sector. The company serves both the retail and foodservice channels, reflecting a business model built around branded products for consumers and products supplied to restaurant and foodservice customers.

According to company disclosures, The Marzetti Company’s retail portfolio includes Marzetti dressings and dips, New York Bakery garlic breads, and Sister Schubert’s dinner rolls. The company also holds exclusive license agreements for Olive Garden dressings, Chick-fil-A sauces and dressings, Buffalo Wild Wings sauces, Arby’s sauces, Subway sauces, and Texas Roadhouse steak sauces and frozen rolls. These brands and licensed products position the company in categories such as refrigerated dressings, produce dips, frozen garlic bread, dinner rolls, sauces, and other specialty foods.

In the foodservice channel, The Marzetti Company supplies sauces, dressings, breads, and pasta to many of the top restaurant chains in the United States. This activity is reported through a dedicated Foodservice segment, while the consumer-facing products are reported through a Retail segment. Company segment information in public financial reports identifies these two primary reportable segments: Retail and Foodservice.

Corporate evolution and branding

The Marzetti Company name reflects the heritage of the Marzetti brand of dressings and dips. A company news release states that effective June 27, 2025, The Marzetti Company became the new name of the former Lancaster Colony Corporation. The rebrand followed a long period in which Lancaster Colony had focused on specialty food products and built a portfolio of family-founded food brands. The announcement notes that Lancaster Colony acquired the Marzetti business in 1969 and later exited non-food businesses, positioning itself as a manufacturer of specialty food products sold into both retail and foodservice channels.

In a rebranding announcement, the company describes the Marzetti brand as among the market leaders in the refrigerated dressings category and the leading brand in the produce dips category. The same announcement highlights other brands in the portfolio, including Sister Schubert’s dinner rolls, New York Bakery garlic bread, and Reames noodles, as well as the expansion into licensed retail products associated with restaurant brands such as Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby’s, Subway, and Texas Roadhouse.

Business segments and channels

The Marzetti Company reports results through two main segments:

• Retail segment – Includes branded products such as Marzetti dressings and dips, New York Bakery garlic breads, Sister Schubert’s dinner rolls, and licensed restaurant-brand sauces and dressings sold through retail channels. Company commentary notes that growth in this segment has been supported by distribution gains for products such as Texas Roadhouse dinner rolls, club channel sales for Chick-fil-A sauce, and volume growth for New York Bakery frozen garlic bread, including gluten-free Texas Toast products.
• Foodservice segment – Supplies sauces, dressings, breads, and pasta to national chain restaurant accounts and other foodservice customers. Company reports indicate that this segment’s performance can be influenced by demand from quick-service restaurant customers, inflationary pricing, and the mix of national chain restaurant accounts served.

In public financial summaries, the company also discusses non-GAAP measures such as Adjusted Consolidated Net Sales, Adjusted Foodservice Net Sales, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Margin, and Adjusted Operating Income. These measures are used to separate core operations from items such as non-core sales under a temporary supply agreement associated with the acquisition of a sauce and dressing production facility in Atlanta, Georgia, and restructuring and impairment charges related to manufacturing network optimization.

Manufacturing network and operations

The Marzetti Company’s financial disclosures describe ongoing efforts to optimize its manufacturing network. For example, the company has reported restructuring and impairment charges associated with the planned closure and subsequent closure of a sauce and dressing facility in Milpitas, California. These charges have included impairment of property and operating lease right-of-use assets, one-time termination benefits, and other costs. At the same time, the company has discussed cost savings programs that contribute to improvements in gross profit and gross margin.

The company has also disclosed the acquisition of a sauce and dressing production facility in Atlanta, Georgia from Winland Foods, Inc. A temporary supply agreement related to this acquisition has generated non-core sales that are identified separately in the company’s reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures.

Dividend history and shareholder returns

The Marzetti Company has highlighted a long history of regular cash dividend payments. Company news releases state that it has paid consecutive quarterly cash dividends since September 1963 and has increased its regular cash dividend for more than six decades. In recent announcements, the company notes that it is one of a small group of U.S. companies with more than 60 consecutive years of regular cash dividend increases.

Board actions disclosed in news releases and Form 8-K filings include the declaration of quarterly cash dividends and, on November 19, 2025, a decision by the Board of Directors to raise the regular quarterly cash dividend to $1.00 per common share, with a specified record date and payment date. These dividend decisions are presented in the context of what the company describes as a continued strong financial position.

Governance and shareholder matters

The Marzetti Company is incorporated in Ohio and files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Commission File Number 000-04065. SEC filings describe matters presented to shareholders at annual meetings, including the election of directors, advisory votes on executive compensation, approval of equity incentive plans, and ratification of the independent registered public accounting firm.

An 8-K filing dated November 20, 2025 reports that shareholders approved The Marzetti Company 2025 Omnibus Incentive Plan, which provides for a range of equity and cash-based awards, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares, performance units, cash-based awards, and other stock-based awards. The same filing reports the election of directors for three-year terms and the ratification of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending June 30, 2026.

Financial reporting and performance metrics

The Marzetti Company publishes quarterly and annual financial results, including net sales, gross profit, selling, general and administrative expenses, restructuring and impairment charges, operating income, and net income. Segment information is provided for the Retail and Foodservice segments, with net sales and operating income reported for each. The company also provides condensed consolidated balance sheets that summarize assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity.

In its discussion of non-GAAP measures, the company explains that Adjusted Consolidated Net Sales, Adjusted Foodservice Net Sales, Adjusted Cost of Sales, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Margin, and Adjusted Operating Income are intended to facilitate year-over-year comparisons by removing non-recurring items or items that management believes do not directly reflect underlying operations. These measures exclude, for example, non-core sales and related cost of sales under the temporary supply agreement with Winland Foods, Inc. and certain restructuring and impairment charges.

Mission and company purpose

In its public communications, The Marzetti Company states that its mission is to make every meal better through high-quality, flavorful food. The company also describes its purpose as to nourish growth with all that we do. According to company statements, thousands of team members are dedicated to creating great-tasting food and cultivating long-term relationships, reflecting a focus on both product quality and stakeholder relationships across retail and foodservice channels.