Tuesday, June 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
A fat-free milk made with natural ingredients that has rich texture, great taste and a 45-day shelf life?
"Say yes," president Charles Thomas answers emphatically, hoping his company's products catch on with health-conscious Americans.
Say Yes Foods, a public company founded in Las Vegas in February 1996, last month began stocking dairy compartments in local Smith's and Albertson's supermarkets and 7-Eleven convenient stores with reconstituted fat-free milk, chocolate milk and sour cream.
Since then, the company has secured contracts with supermarkets in Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Alaska.
Within a year, the company plans to have products on supermarket shelves in most states.
"We have structured ourselves to deliver a national fluid dairy program," said Rob Davidson, marketing manager. "We're unique in that regard."
In other words, Say Yes Foods wants to be the first milk company to supply its product throughout the nation, previously considered an impossibility because of the relatively brief shelf life of natural dairy products.
At stake is a share of the nation's estimated $30 billion annual dairy industry.
But to capture a portion of this lucrative market, the company must convince Americans to say "yes" to the idea of drinking a reconstituted milk product.
"Just taste it," beseeched Bob Donas, special advisor to the board of directors, as he poured a glass of Say Yes milk. "Isn't that great?"
Donas, 55, a Canadian businessman and investor, has been committed to Say Yes Foods since the first day he heard about the company.
"I got a call in December '93, about this company, and the next day I drove 400 miles through a snowstorm from Vancouver to Trail in British Columbia to meet with the guys who had developed the concept."
Danny Ferraro was among those who met with Donas in Trail, a small city in Eastern British Columbia.
Ferraro, 34, was among six supermarket owners who had pioneered a way to break down milk, remove the fat, and then reconstitute it naturally.
"Typically, to make a product fat free, you have to use chemicals," Donas said. "But the process they developed involves no chemicals."
"You take out all the fat and keep the taste," Thomas said. "That's the tough part."
Although Say Yes dairy products do contain calories -- 80 calories per serving of milk and 140 per serving of chocolate milk -- there is no fat.
"It's the fat that kills you," said Donas, who added that once he tasted the product, he was nonplussed.
"I couldn't belive it," Donas said. "I decided to devote myself fully to this product. An opportunity like this comes along once every 15 lifetimes."
Soon afterward, Donas, Ferraro and the other principals formed Say Yes Foods Inc., and began searching for a location to launch the new company.
Eventually, they chose Las Vegas.
"We think the world is coming to Las Vegas," Thomas said.
"This is a wonderful city," Donas said. "The taxes are low. The weather is good and there is also a favorable business climate."
Say Yes Foods, a Nevada corporation, has been approved by the Nevada Dairy Commission to distribute its product throughout the state, according to supervising auditor Ed Milker. The company also has been approved by the dairy commissions of 43 other states.
"There's a lot of interest in this product," said Susan Ruland of the International Dairy Foods Association, a trade association for manufacturers of dairy products. "It certainly fills a niche in the market, and it offers the consumers more choices, which we think is great."
Company officials refuse to discuss how the formula for Say Yes Foods was derived, or where the concentrate is made that forms the basis of all the company's dairy products.
Say Yes dairy products are packaged at Western Quality Foods in Cedar City, Utah, and the Smith Food and Drug plant in Tolleson, Ariz. From there, it's shipped to several states.
"Sales so far have been excellent," Davidson said.
"The figures are very encouraging," Thomas said.
Say Yes dairy products in development include flavored milks such as mango and kiwi, fat-free ice cream and cheese.
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