Dakota Growers Pasta (DGP) roots are deeply cultivated among the finest durum wheat growers in the world. Farmers planted a seed of an idea in 1990 to build their own durum mill and pasta production facilities. Today, Dakota Growers is a thriving enterprise supplying premium pasta products primarily to retail, foodservice and ingredient markets throughout North America and beyond. Dakota Growers Pasta is serious about quality at every level at Dakota Growers. We are the only pasta company to staff agronomists who are developing durum wheat varieties that have superior pasta cooking qualities. Our quality assurance department monitors quality at every level from grain delivery to packaged pasta at the shipping dock. Our customer service staff proficiently handles each customer with personal care and service. Our chefs create culinary masterpieces that you can duplicate in your kitchen.
             Dakota Growers Pasta has experienced increased competitive rivalry from its closest competitor American Italian Pasta Company (AIPC). For reasons mostly attributable to both firms' objective to utilize a specific wheat ingredient, known as durum. However, the high quality of durum makes this resource expensive. Furthermore, high durum wheat prices in recent years resulted in semolina flour accounting for 30-40% of total pasta cost of goods sold. Thus, DGP and AIPC have been able to meet their product goals but have not yet addressed the issue of low yields.
             In order to contend with this particular issue, DGP must reassess their collective skills within product development. It may be worthwhile to search for alternative types of wheat and/or ingredients, or develop new means of collecting durum that will lower costs and increase productivity. DGP can also concentrate on getting newly conceived products past the R&D phase and out into the market quickly. On product distribution, low process costs and attaining a strong network of distributo...