As part of a strategic growth strategy, US apple grower Richland Hills has finalised a rebranding effort that includes renaming the company Richland Hills Farms – a mve that it says 'best reflects what the company does and where it’s going along'.
In addition, the Wisconsin-based group has also introduced its new Honeycrisp sliced apples and additional peeled and sliced apple packages.
“For over two decades we’ve been more than a grower, we’ve been an early adopter in the fresh-cut apples business,' explained Sarah Cottrill, vice-president of sales and marketing for Richland Hills Farms. “It’s this part of our business that has built us a reputation for great fresh cut apples, but people often overlook that we are growers first. The renaming to include Farms in our name is a reminder to our customers that we are more than a manufacturer – we are also the farmer.”
The move not just for renaming, but for rebranding marks the next step in the continued growth of the family company into the retail arena.
Richland Hills Farms has focused nearly exclusively on institutional foodservice sales since its inception. During that time they have grown from local to regional, servicing the upper Midwest and providing fresh sliced apples to schools, hospitals, restaurants and more, but those apples have been packed in individual packs and bulk packaging with limited branding.
“As we began to talk about our future we felt that the next logical step for our company was to add retail packaging to our sales programme,” said Cottrill. “But we understand that the market already has good suppliers so we focused on getting back to our roots and doing what we do best; we couldn’t just be another sliced apple – we had to be different and better.”
