Carmel company elevates profile through IndyCar and coffee shops

Carmel-based Heartland Food Products Group purchased the global brand Splenda in 2015, but the company didn’t take its famed sucralose sweetener and coast to a checkered flag, to borrow auto-racing imagery.

Heartland owner Ted Gelov is turning to IndyCar to build the brand of Java House, a cold brew coffee product that debuted in 2018.

In September, Gelov joined Ed Carpenter Racing as a co-owner of the Indianapolis-based team. Java House’s logo and a black-and-orange color scheme debuted on Alexander Rossi’s car when the former Indy 500 winner and new driver on Carpenter’s team participated in October testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Gelov, a Chicago native who doesn’t have a background in motorsports, offered a pragmatic perspective on Heartland’s new venture.

“There’s a commercial application to it as much as there is a desire to be involved in the highest level of a sport, which is IndyCar,” he said. “It has direct sponsorship, and I think brands can benefit from the exposure. I think the team can benefit from what our brands bring. So it’s a really good business marriage.”

Java House is attempting to increase public awareness of cold brew coffee, which can be served either hot or cold. The coffee is brewed using cold water, not hot, and has a reputation for a mellow, less-acidic taste.

Heartland employs more than 1,200 people in the United States, Mexico, Colombia and the Netherlands. In addition to its corporate office in Carmel, the company operates manufacturing and distribution facilities on the northwest side of Indianapolis.

The privately held company does not disclose financials, but it makes 13 billion packets of Splenda per year, Gelov said.

Carpenter, a three-time pole winner for the Indianapolis 500, founded Ed Carpenter Racing in 2012. The team’s ownership group is made up of Carpenter, Gelov, Magnolia Health Systems founder Stuart Reed and Tony George—Carpenter’s stepfather and former CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series season, Ed Carpenter Racing will feature Rossi and returning team member Christian Rasmussen as drivers. Carpenter plans to drive in the Indy 500 for the 22nd time.

Butler University alum Carpenter said Gelov’s addition has contributed to a unique offseason for the team.

“It’s brought a different level of energy and anticipation,” Carpenter said. “It’s kind of reinvigorated everybody, and we know we have a bright future ahead.”

Away from the track, Java House increased its visibility in Indiana by growing its number of cafes, or “coffee bars,” from one to 12 in the past five years. The roster of locations includes eight in Indianapolis and its suburbs, plus four in Lafayette and West Lafayette.

The first Java House shop opened below Heartland’s headquarters at Clay Terrace shopping center.

“I thought, ‘This would be a neat spot for a coffee shop, really for our employees and then maybe as a bit of a test kitchen for our coffee platform,’” Gelov said. “It was a tremendous success right off the bat, so we started to open more stores.”

Java House products include cold brew coffee bottles and peel-and-pour pods featuring coffee, tea, energy drinks and hydration beverages.

A Java House coffee bar features 20 taps that dispense beverages, said Michael Moe, Java House’s managing partner.

Moe and his wife, Cassandra Moe, oversaw the expansion of Java House coffee bars. Cassandra Moe is a daughter of Gelov and his wife, Angela Gelov. The family includes Cassandra and her three siblings: Jessica Lynch, Hanna Wroblewski and Christian Gelov.

Michael Moe presently is focused on placing Java House’s peel-and-pour pods in workplaces. The office service program is pursuing clients in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

“We have teams in the field, knocking on doors and introducing us as a new coffee company in the area,” Moe said. “Our purpose is to get out there, do tastings and eventually earn their business to be the preferred coffee partner in their break room.”

The pods are pitched as a single-serve solution that requires no machines for preparation.

“It allows you to get rid of your coffee equipment, which is generally pretty finicky, and it breaks consistently, and it costs a lot to service,” Moe said. “We’re saying, ‘Break up with your brewer and bring our products to your office.’”

Shop talk

During an interview at Ed Carpenter Racing’s facility near the intersection of West 71st Street and Georgetown Road, Gelov described himself as “a partner for life” in the auto-racing business.

“I’m invested for 100 years,” he said. “I expect what we’re doing is going to outlive me.”

Carpenter said he’s enjoyed the process of bringing Gelov up to speed.

“At a deep level, it’s hard to share different things about our sport with a lot of people because we’re protective of everything we do,” he said. “But now that we’re partners for life, as Ted pointed out, it’s easy and fun to get him integrated.”

Gelov said he’s gravitated to the technical aspects of IndyCar. Dampers, for instance, help a car maintain its grip on the track surface. The equipment that’s key to a smooth ride is open for development from team to team—a rarity in the IndyCar Series known for universal specifications.

“That excites me, as geeky as that sounds, to learn a lot more,” Gelov said. “They’ve promised me a one-on-one introduction to the damper program.”

Carpenter said he’s looking forward to a new television deal that places all 17 IndyCar races on the Fox network. IndyCar will become the only major U.S. racing series with all events airing on network TV.

“Between network and cable, your bigger audience is always on network,” said sponsorship consultant Ken Ungar, principal at Indianapolis-based sports marketing firm Charge and chief of staff at IMS from 1997 to 2001. “That is a huge deal for IndyCar. It will be a huge deal for Ed and Heartland.”

Ted and Ed

Gelov founded Heartland Food Products Group as a 24-year-old in 1991. The company initially made packaging for private-label condiments—salt and pepper shakers as well as packets of salt, pepper, sugar and other dry condiments and seasonings.

He played football at Purdue University, where he was a receiver catching passes from Jeff George. His son, Christian, is a Purdue quarterback in his senior year.

For a leader of a multinational company, Gelov keeps a relatively low profile. However, customers can find “The Tedster,” a salted caramel latte, on the menu at Java House coffee bars.

“I have a wonderful family, and I spend time with my four kids and now 12 grandkids and a beautiful wife of 35 years,” Gelov said. “I haven’t been all that public. The business has a public brand, and certainly Ed Carpenter Racing is a very public entity. But I don’t have an ambitious goal to be anything other than who I am.”

Now 58, Gelov said 43-year-old Carpenter is a popular boss at ECR.

“He’s likable, intelligent, competitive, optimistic, uplifting, a great family man and stable,” Gelov said. “He’s just the kind of people you want to have in your life.”

Carpenter said he and Gelov have bonded over family parallels. Gelov owns a ranch in Wyoming, the state where Tony George spent time as a youngster on a ranch owned by his parents, Elmer George and Mari Hulman George.

Gelov’s daughter Hanna competed as a pole vaulter at the University of Michigan. Carpenter and his wife, Heather Carpenter, are parents to daughter Makenna and sons Ryder and Cruz. Makenna is a pole vaulter at Cathedral High School.

“It makes it easier to spend a lot of time together and not have uncomfortable silences,” Carpenter said of his partnership with Gelov. “Whether we’re talking about business or life or our passions, we have a lot of things in common.”

Moe, Gelov’s son-in-law, said family ranks No. 1 for Heartland’s owner. In business, Gelov doesn’t make missteps, Moe said.

“He’s really good at moving fast and making things happen,” Moe said. “But it’s intentional. He does his research. He knows what he’s doing by the time he’s doing it.”

Sweet support

Gelov’s biggest move to date was the purchase of the Splenda brand from Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Nutritionals LLC for an undisclosed sum nine years ago.

Splenda is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a low-calorie sweetener in the United States, where the brand outpaces its competitors. According to 2019 research published by data platform Statista, Splenda possessed more than twice the market share of Sweet’N Low and Equal.

Gelov said Splenda doesn’t necessarily need to introduce itself to consumers. In 2017, Splenda partnered with the Emmy Awards as a sponsor. Three years later, Splenda’s stevia brand aired a 60-second ad during the Golden Globes telecast.

Will Splenda’s distinctive yellow become the main color on an Ed Carpenter Racing car in 2025?

Carpenter said it’s too early to say. But the Splenda logo did appear on Rossi’s car during testing at IMS.

“We didn’t have much time to get prepared for that Indy test,” Carpenter said. “By the time our [Heartland] partnership was solidified, we made the car all black and made it look as good as we could with the time constraints. But everyone said, ‘Man, the car looks good.’ My response was, ‘Well, this is temporary.’”

Sponsorship consultant Ungar said Indiana-based companies have improved their standing by spending money on local sports entities. In 2008, Lucas Oil Products purchased the naming rights for the Indianapolis Colts’ home stadium. The price tag for the 20-year agreement was $121.5 million.

Zionsville-based financial services company Group 1001 made multiple naming-rights deals for its subsidiary Gainbridge Insurance Agency LLC. Gainbridge Fieldhouse is home to the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. Gainbridge also is the presenting sponsor of the Indy 500.

“Sometimes proximity to a corporate headquarters is good for a brand,” Ungar said. “It’s not only about consumer awareness. It’s about employee engagement and employee morale, because there’s a lot of pride when you see your company’s name on something like that.”•