From expanded brand launches to a whole new name, Sandridge Crafted Foods® continues to demonstrate true culinary excellence 

Proud of its longstanding family legacy, Sandridge Crafted Foods (Sandridge) is the pinnacle of culinary excellence. Famous for its portfolio of prepared fresh foods, Sandridge’s product offering caters to every customer, crafting everything from deli salads to grains, pastas to sauces, and soups to sous vide proteins. Beyond Sandridge’s extensive private label offering, where its mission is to protect its customers’ brands, the company also has three brands of its own – Grandma’s Kitchen™, 1st & Main Deli, and Seasonal Selections, with two more set to launch in 2025 – where every single dish is expertly crafted by a team of experienced chefs. Combine that with Sandridge’s substantial scope of capabilities and you have all the ingredients needed to elevate your brand and make your business shine.  

Sandridge’s journey began nearly 65 years ago and has since been nothing short of a true American success story – one that is defined by ambition, hard work and love. From a simple coleslaw, the company’s commitment to culinary craftmanship has led it down a path of development and innovation, constantly evolving with new technologies, methods and capabilities. Today, the business remains owned and operated by the Sandridge family, with its close-knit values remaining paramount to the company’s continuing success. At the helm is the family’s third generation, brothers Jordan and Dane Sandridge, who lead the business as Co-Presidents. Food Chain sat down with Jordan and Dane to learn more about Sandridge’s story and what exciting developments are in store for the next chapter.  

“Our company was founded in 1960 by our grandfather, Vincent Sandridge, when he began selling deli meats in vacuumed retail pouches,” Jordan begins, reflecting on the company’s history. “He later acquired a small Deli Salad Manufacturer in Cleveland, Ohio and Gourmet Salads was born. His hard work and ambition enabled us to successfully expand into the cold salad business within a few years. I think it took a lot of guts to start a business with no idea of how you’re going to grow it, but it was so rudimentary back then.     

“When our father, Mark, joined the company after graduating college in 1976, he saw a wonderful opportunity to work with his father and utilize his food science education to lay the groundwork for our company’s food safety culture. Our uncle Mike joined the organization a decade later to grow and nurture what have become some of our longest-lasting customer relationships.  I can still remember when grandpa and dad bought the company’s first semi-truck. We were little kids, around ages four and six, and we felt immense pride that it had a sleeper cab! Even at such a young age, we knew that was a significant milestone for the company. They parked it in the driveway at our house and we slept in it for two days. Up to that point, it was pretty much the coolest thing we had ever seen!” Jordan states with a laugh.    

“When dad took the reins as Chief Executive Officer in 1997, the company had evolved so much that the decision was made to change its name to Sandridge Food Corporation,” Dane continues. “Under his leadership, our company’s strategic direction was shaped by his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to food safety and innovation. He expanded our manufacturing capabilities to include kettle soup and sauce production, and sous vide cooking. Additionally, dad championed and achieved making a huge investment to bring High-Pressure Processing (HPP) into our facility to help differentiate ourselves in the way we produced our food.   

“This company has been our life. When we were little boys, our parents took us everywhere so we had a lot of exposure to the business, they would even have us helping at food shows! Once we were teenagers, there was no question that we would get part-time jobs working for the company. Jordan was my first boss – my job was cleaning mayonnaise totes and if I was late to work, I got grounded at home. Jordan joined the company full-time in 2004 and I came on board in 2008, holding various roles to truly learn the nuances of the business while working our way up within the company.   

“Over the past two decades, we have collaborated closely with our dad and our talented executive team to implement innovative technologies, optimize operational efficiency, craft contemporary recipes, and position Sandridge as a leading innovator in food safety-first manufacturing and culinary excellence to guide the company into the future,” he adds.    

Passion for people

Family heritage is something that Sandridge holds dear – something that continues to be one of the company’s biggest strengths. The business views its workforce as an extension of its family, nurturing a strong corporate culture that centralizes its core values and is fully committed to supporting and empowering employees to be the best they can be.  

“The primary benefit of being a family-owned business is that we can care on a personal level,” Jordan affirms. “It goes way beyond the food with us, we have the ability to foster an environment where people care for each other’s success, both professionally and personally, and we take that opportunity seriously. We view our employees as an extension of our family. We are passionate about giving them more than just a paycheck – we want them to have the freedom to decide how they want to live their lives, and we support that with intentional purpose. Communication flows easily between colleagues with a special kind of humor that arises between generations, all while treating each other with a high degree of care. We weather the ebbs and flows in the business and aren’t forced to make decisions purely based on financial gains. We also have the flexibility to inform our decisions based on what we feel is right for our employees and the company in the short and the long term.”  

Sandridge’s passion for its people has been instrumental in fostering an open environment for collaboration and growth, evident through its continuous innovation as a business. Between a name change, a new location and two brand launches, it’s been an incredibly exciting time for Sandridge, and Dane and Jordan are thrilled to share these developments with its customers. The rebrand from Sandridge Food Corporation to Sandridge Crafted Foods, for example, further solidifies the company’s commitment to quality as it moves into the future.  

“We’d been marching toward changing the company name for a long time; we wanted a name that better represents who we are and what we live and breathe every single day,” Dane explains. “To us, ‘crafted’ represents the quality, care, and attention that goes into every item we produce from the field to the fork. We’re obsessed with every aspect of creating safe, high-quality food that delivers a superior eating experience, to the point where we even deliver it with our own fleet of 43 trucks that deliver coast to coast. As a family, we’ve never strived to be the biggest in the industry; we simply want to create food that we’re proud of and that will help our customers be successful. The name change felt like a natural evolution.”  

To complement this evolution, Dane reveals details about Sandridge’s upcoming brands:  

“We have a new brand and expanded fresh refrigerated products hitting the retail market this year. One is called Simply Crafted, and it’s a line of retail soups and sous-vide proteins that capitalize on the popular consumer trend of comfort food with mainstream appeal, driving strong category growth. This brand was created in collaboration with the Folds of Honor Organization – their mission is to provide educational scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s fallen or disabled military members and first responders. We are proud to share that a portion of the proceeds from every sale of Simply Crafted products will be donated to Folds of Honor. The other brand we’re expanding is Casa Cocina, which includes dips, soups, and sous-vide proteins that tell a story of Latin American-inspired authentic recipes and fresh flavors. Leveraging the consumer trend in Latin American-inspired foods, these products offer bold, authentic tastes that meet the growing consumer demand for convenient, restaurant-quality meals at home.”  

Commitment to excellence 

Having acquired a new location in New Oxford, Pennsylvania back in 2023, with an additional construction project underway at its Ohio campus, Sandridge is well-positioned to facilitate further expansion and development. Amidst the plethora of exciting changes, it’s clear to see that Sandridge has no intention of slowing, and we look forward to seeing how the business will continue to evolve, both under its current leadership and that of future generations. Concluding our conversation, Dane and Jordan unveil their plans for Sandridge’s next chapter.  

“Our path forward may sound cliché, but we simply want to live up to our basic principles,” Dane says. “We want to honor our roots by remaining humble, treating everyone with respect, and taking care of our people, while creating meaningful moments by crafting great food that brings people together and inspires lasting memories. We want to embrace teamwork through collaboration with diverse skill sets and a shared passion for excellence, leading with cutting-edge innovations that shape the future of fresh foods.”  

“We aim to always deliver consistent quality, freshness and safety in all our products,” Jordan finishes. “If we can accomplish all these principles, then I believe we will be able to continue to build a community of people who want to help service our existing and new customers alike. Let’s be serious, the fresh food industry is incredibly challenging, yet we have the privilege of spending our days with incredibly talented individuals who create food that people genuinely love. That’s pretty cool!”   

www.sandridge.com