Dingman’s Dairy
Joseph Belasco
191 Pennsylvania Avenue
Paterson, NJ 07055
Tel: 973-881-8622
Website: www.dingmansdairy.biz
Ann Marie Belasco and son Anthony are the owners of Dingman’s Dairy in Paterson, NJ. The company currently employs 50 men and women in sales, office, customer service, warehouse, and delivery positions. The Dingman family opened the business in 1955, and sold it to the current owners in 2007. Since the purchase, Dingman’s Dairy has grown from 4 delivery trucks to 17, and sales have increased five-fold.
As its name might imply, Dingman’s Dairy is a distributor of ice cream, ice cream mix, frozen yogurt, frozen desserts, cones, toppings, syrups, inclusions, sprinkles, paper goods and other related products. Customers include ice cream parlors, yogurt shops, restaurants, catering facilities, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and convenience stores. Major and more notable customers include Bodegas, Dairy Queen, Met Life Stadium, Sesame Place, Miami Seaquarium, Great Adventure, Jones Beach (NY), Santa Cruz Boardwalk (CA), local carnivals, the New Jersey State Fair, and many special events in the tri-state area.
In 2016, the Belascos contacted the NJSBDC at William Paterson University for counseling on a variety of important business matters. Since 70 percent of Dingman’s business is generated from April through September, discussions revolved around ideas to generate more business during the October to March time frame. Brainstorming topics included: Company acquisitions; new product categories; expansion of business to the Long Island, NYC metropolitan and Manhattan areas; sales process improvement; social media advertising; online ordering; enhanced distribution strategies; and other ideas on the Belasco’s agenda. “The SBDC,” according to the owners, “has been a sounding board, strategy advisor and business counselor to us over the past year on a variety of matters important to our growth and stability of the business.”
With the Center’s help and advice, Dingman’s expects to grow the business 15 percent in 2018 by adding new product categories, expanding sales areas, new sales personnel, and better marketing strategies. They are also adding a marketing specialist and hiring other personnel. Of great importance is the fact that the Belascos recently purch-ased land adjacent to company headquarters. The company will be building a state-of-the art distribution center to further enhance customer services and bolster product and sales growth opportunities.
