Earthbound Farm to manufacture and market Pride of San Juan products
Earthbound Farm to manufacture and market Pride of San Juan products
San Juan Bautista, CA-based Earthbound Farm has agreed to acquire San Juan Bautista neighbor Pride of San Juan's manufacturing operations in an effort to expand its reach in the foodservice market with specialty salads, herbs and edible flowers.
Pride of San Juan will retain its farming operations and will supply Earthbound Farm with volume to fulfill orders for the Pride of San Juan labels.
Effective April 3, Earthbound Farm will assume responsibility for managing PSJ's manufacturing and marketing operations. The transition to the new operation coincides with the resumption of full operations in San Juan Bautista in April, following the winter season in Yuma, AZ.
Stephen Wyrick, founder of PSJ, said the two companies have been "neighbors and respectful competitors" for quite some time.
"I've admired Earthbound Farm's tremendous success in manufacturing and marketing, and I can't imagine a better company to turn those functions over to, knowing my customers will continue to get the high-quality service they've grown accustomed to," Mr. Wyrick said. "This lets me refocus my energy on what my family has done so well for five generations: growing the best quality produce."
Doug Wyrick, who is in sales and marketing for PSJ, said that there are no plans as yet to do away with the "Pride of San Juan" label. As well, PSJ will continue to grow for private labels and may grow product destined for the "Earthbound Farm" label, he said. PSJ has a few organically grown products -- such as baby spinach and spring mix -- but the rest of its products are conventionally grown.
Doug Wyrick said that PSJ was not yet prepared to talk about the ramifications of the acquisition as relates to PSJ's popular "Emeril's" line, the partnership with renowned celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, which includes prepackaged salads and other items. Earthbound President and Chief Executive Officer Drew Goodman said that there "are lots of parts of the deal that need further discussions" including the "Emeril's" line, but that he's "excited about the lines" associated with PSJ.
Doug Wyrick also said that except for employees working in the grower end of PSJ's operation, all PSJ employees will become employees of Earthbound. There are no layoffs planned, Mr. Wyrick said, adding that PSJ employees assimilated into Earthbound will have the advantage of all that is entailed in a payment/benefit package offered by a larger employer. He conceded, however, that it remains to be seen how well the synergies between the two companies work out regarding employment needs and specific positions. Any PSJ layoffs -- as yet unanticipated -- under a consolidation are more likely to occur on the manufacturing side as opposed to sales, marketing or administration, he said.
Mr. Goodman said that there is a "surprising amount of complementary" roles on the farming side of operations and that there "seems to be a spot for everyone" throughout overall operations.
PSJ customers should continue to contact their salespeople through normal channels, Mr. Wyrick said, adding that PSJ's focus is to assure that all PSJ customers in both retail and foodservice retain the same level of service as before.
With facilities about a mile apart, Earthbound plans to ship all foodservice orders for the combined business volume from the PSJ facility at 1275 San Justo Road, while shipping all retail orders out of Earthbound's facility at 1721 San Juan Highway.
"We are confident that having one facility dedicated to loading foodservice orders and another dedicated to loading retail orders will give us the opportunity to provide better, more efficient customer service for all of our customers," said Earthbound Farm Chief Operating Officer Charles Sweat.
Earthbound's San Juan Bautista facility has been expanded every year for the past eight years to accommodate the company's growth - from 25,000 square feet in 1998 to 203,500 square feet today, including 20 loading docks. Earthbound's desire to expand, combined with PSJ's close proximity, is a favorable circumstance. PSJ recently completed an extensive expansion of its San Juan Bautista facility, bringing the total square footage to 165,000 with 11 loading docks.
"To accommodate our rapid growth, we were planning to expand our San Juan Bautista facility once again this fall," Mr. Sweat said. "We anticipate that the addition of the Pride facility will satisfy Earthbound Farm's need for expanded production capacity for several years."
Earthbound was on track to exceed $400 million in sales in 2006, with about 30 percent in foodservice. As a result of this deal, Earthbound's revenue for 2006 is now projected to exceed $450 million. Though Earthbound is committed to organics, Mr. Goodman said, the company does sell conventionally grown items in bulk and conventional items at retail that are not under the "Earthbound Farm" label. Earthbound's conventional segment is greater in revenue that PSJ's entire operation, he said.
PSJ's organic segment is a "very small" portion of its overall production, Mr. Goodman said. Earthbound will need to further examine PSJ's organic land base, he said, noting that the addition of organic product from PSJ adds "geographic diversity" on the grower side of operations.
Mr. Goodman said that PSJ's dedication to supplying gourmet produce to the foodservice industry is an exciting expansion of Earthbound's offerings to foodservice. Like PSJ, Earthbound traces its early success to growing gourmet greens and culinary herbs for top chefs.
Mr. Goodman said that what PSJ has accomplished in foodservice is similar to what Earthbound has accomplished on the retail side of the business with organics: continued growth, new product innovation and overall success that have set the standards for the industry.
"There's great synergy here with tremendous capacity for innovation and growth," Mr. Goodman said.
The engine for Earthbound's remarkable growth -- a 45 percent compound annual growth rate between 1988 and 2005 - - has been its focus on organics, but it has always been a leading producer of specialty salads, primarily for foodservice customers, Mr. Goodman said.
Demand for organic food has seen strong growth in retail for several years, and the foodservice industry is just beginning to see a similar trend. In 2005, Earthbound enjoyed a 20 percent increase in sales of organic items to its foodservice customers, and the trend is continuing in 2006.
The alliance between Earthbound and PSJ will increase access for the combined foodservice customer base to reliable, year-round supplies of organic items, increase product offerings overall to foodservice customers, increase the geographic diversification of its acreage base and bring greenhouse production capabilities to its farming operations, Mr. Goodman said.
Launched in 1984, Earthbound Farm has more than 100 organic salads, fruits and vegetables that are farmed on nearly 26,000 certified-organic acres.
The Wyrick family - one of San Benito County's original farming families - has been farming since 1892.
Pride of San Juan was founded in 1995 and has become a leading producer of premium gourmet greens, herbs and edible flowers. PSJ has grown to be the largest conventional spring mix grower in the industry.
Pride of San Juan will retain its farming operations and will supply Earthbound Farm with volume to fulfill orders for the Pride of San Juan labels.
Effective April 3, Earthbound Farm will assume responsibility for managing PSJ's manufacturing and marketing operations. The transition to the new operation coincides with the resumption of full operations in San Juan Bautista in April, following the winter season in Yuma, AZ.
Stephen Wyrick, founder of PSJ, said the two companies have been "neighbors and respectful competitors" for quite some time.
"I've admired Earthbound Farm's tremendous success in manufacturing and marketing, and I can't imagine a better company to turn those functions over to, knowing my customers will continue to get the high-quality service they've grown accustomed to," Mr. Wyrick said. "This lets me refocus my energy on what my family has done so well for five generations: growing the best quality produce."
Doug Wyrick, who is in sales and marketing for PSJ, said that there are no plans as yet to do away with the "Pride of San Juan" label. As well, PSJ will continue to grow for private labels and may grow product destined for the "Earthbound Farm" label, he said. PSJ has a few organically grown products -- such as baby spinach and spring mix -- but the rest of its products are conventionally grown.
Doug Wyrick said that PSJ was not yet prepared to talk about the ramifications of the acquisition as relates to PSJ's popular "Emeril's" line, the partnership with renowned celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, which includes prepackaged salads and other items. Earthbound President and Chief Executive Officer Drew Goodman said that there "are lots of parts of the deal that need further discussions" including the "Emeril's" line, but that he's "excited about the lines" associated with PSJ.
Doug Wyrick also said that except for employees working in the grower end of PSJ's operation, all PSJ employees will become employees of Earthbound. There are no layoffs planned, Mr. Wyrick said, adding that PSJ employees assimilated into Earthbound will have the advantage of all that is entailed in a payment/benefit package offered by a larger employer. He conceded, however, that it remains to be seen how well the synergies between the two companies work out regarding employment needs and specific positions. Any PSJ layoffs -- as yet unanticipated -- under a consolidation are more likely to occur on the manufacturing side as opposed to sales, marketing or administration, he said.
Mr. Goodman said that there is a "surprising amount of complementary" roles on the farming side of operations and that there "seems to be a spot for everyone" throughout overall operations.
PSJ customers should continue to contact their salespeople through normal channels, Mr. Wyrick said, adding that PSJ's focus is to assure that all PSJ customers in both retail and foodservice retain the same level of service as before.
With facilities about a mile apart, Earthbound plans to ship all foodservice orders for the combined business volume from the PSJ facility at 1275 San Justo Road, while shipping all retail orders out of Earthbound's facility at 1721 San Juan Highway.
"We are confident that having one facility dedicated to loading foodservice orders and another dedicated to loading retail orders will give us the opportunity to provide better, more efficient customer service for all of our customers," said Earthbound Farm Chief Operating Officer Charles Sweat.
Earthbound's San Juan Bautista facility has been expanded every year for the past eight years to accommodate the company's growth - from 25,000 square feet in 1998 to 203,500 square feet today, including 20 loading docks. Earthbound's desire to expand, combined with PSJ's close proximity, is a favorable circumstance. PSJ recently completed an extensive expansion of its San Juan Bautista facility, bringing the total square footage to 165,000 with 11 loading docks.
"To accommodate our rapid growth, we were planning to expand our San Juan Bautista facility once again this fall," Mr. Sweat said. "We anticipate that the addition of the Pride facility will satisfy Earthbound Farm's need for expanded production capacity for several years."
Earthbound was on track to exceed $400 million in sales in 2006, with about 30 percent in foodservice. As a result of this deal, Earthbound's revenue for 2006 is now projected to exceed $450 million. Though Earthbound is committed to organics, Mr. Goodman said, the company does sell conventionally grown items in bulk and conventional items at retail that are not under the "Earthbound Farm" label. Earthbound's conventional segment is greater in revenue that PSJ's entire operation, he said.
PSJ's organic segment is a "very small" portion of its overall production, Mr. Goodman said. Earthbound will need to further examine PSJ's organic land base, he said, noting that the addition of organic product from PSJ adds "geographic diversity" on the grower side of operations.
Mr. Goodman said that PSJ's dedication to supplying gourmet produce to the foodservice industry is an exciting expansion of Earthbound's offerings to foodservice. Like PSJ, Earthbound traces its early success to growing gourmet greens and culinary herbs for top chefs.
Mr. Goodman said that what PSJ has accomplished in foodservice is similar to what Earthbound has accomplished on the retail side of the business with organics: continued growth, new product innovation and overall success that have set the standards for the industry.
"There's great synergy here with tremendous capacity for innovation and growth," Mr. Goodman said.
The engine for Earthbound's remarkable growth -- a 45 percent compound annual growth rate between 1988 and 2005 - - has been its focus on organics, but it has always been a leading producer of specialty salads, primarily for foodservice customers, Mr. Goodman said.
Demand for organic food has seen strong growth in retail for several years, and the foodservice industry is just beginning to see a similar trend. In 2005, Earthbound enjoyed a 20 percent increase in sales of organic items to its foodservice customers, and the trend is continuing in 2006.
The alliance between Earthbound and PSJ will increase access for the combined foodservice customer base to reliable, year-round supplies of organic items, increase product offerings overall to foodservice customers, increase the geographic diversification of its acreage base and bring greenhouse production capabilities to its farming operations, Mr. Goodman said.
Launched in 1984, Earthbound Farm has more than 100 organic salads, fruits and vegetables that are farmed on nearly 26,000 certified-organic acres.
The Wyrick family - one of San Benito County's original farming families - has been farming since 1892.
Pride of San Juan was founded in 1995 and has become a leading producer of premium gourmet greens, herbs and edible flowers. PSJ has grown to be the largest conventional spring mix grower in the industry.
