Hazelnut Growers of Oregon Announces Joint Venture Prospect for Skilled CPG Business
Partnership Will Construct on Early Good results of HGO’s Retail Hazelnut Purchaser Merchandise Company in the Swiftly Growing Healthier Snack Category
Hazelnut Growers of Oregon (HGO) and its mother or father business Wilco have announced they are searching for a partner with a monitor file of constructing great models to sort a joint enterprise to improve HGO’s retail hazelnut shopper item company.
As the country’s premier hazelnut processor, the Oregon-based mostly company device of farmer-owned cooperative Wilco represents a lot more than 200 hazelnut growers who collectively personal in surplus of 20,000 acres of orchards, accounting for around 20% of the hazelnut orchards in the United States.
The spouse will assist HGO even further broaden the access of its suite of hazelnut-centered pure, seasoned and confectionery customer goods, which are at the moment presented less than the “Oregon Orchard” manufacturer.
The current market opportunity for hazelnuts is comprehensive, as they replicate the critical solution characteristics individuals seem for these days – healthful, tasty and world-welcoming – offering unique promise in the promptly developing balanced snack classification.
As a nutritional powerhouse, hazelnuts are superior in protein, fiber, folate, antioxidants, nutritional vitamins B and E, and omega-6 and 9 — and also reduced in sugar, gluten-totally free, and keto- and paleo-pleasant. Sustainably developed on relatives farms in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, in which the average weather, enough precipitation and abundant volcanic soil offer best expanding circumstances, hazelnut trees are self-pollinating and bee-pleasant and use considerably much less drinking water than other domestic nut crops. The hazelnuts are non-GMO accredited and are steam pasteurized, making use of no chemical compounds.
Regardless of these benefits, hazelnuts stay a mainly untapped opportunity, accounting for just 7% of complete U.S. nut income. In actuality, for each capita intake of hazelnuts is nine periods greater in Europe than in the United States, presenting an fantastic chance for expansion.
“We have experienced outstanding early sector traction with our Oregon Orchard customer brand name, but to maximize this line we have to have the guidance of a greater participant with proven working experience in buyer item manufacturers and means to invest in the partnership,” states Greg Thorsgard, Main Working Officer of HGO.
The joint undertaking will provide the husband or wife a quantity of gains, most notably access to an up-and-managing production facility an current products line a compelling new product roadmap and potent merchandise development, working and gross sales groups. The spouse will have control above branding, income and functions.
HGO is nicely-positioned for results with a new SQF-3 licensed facility that maintains the maximum stages of meals safety criteria and traceability at every single phase, and can effectively procedure total kernel, sliced, diced, meal and paste/butter structure of hazelnuts.
“HGO has built a significant financial commitment in the procedure and is in a sturdy place to help travel the enterprise ahead together with a strategic partner,” Thorsgard states. “The joint enterprise will provide HGO’s lover with the capacity to quickly and successfully supply HGO’s items below the partner’s branding into a escalating current market without a substantial upfront financial commitment,” he explained, incorporating that their likely is largely untapped, with no leading countrywide manufacturer solely involved with hazelnuts as a snack food items.
Amid the items completely ready for assistance are 36 SKUs of savory, confectionary, and purely natural hazelnut merchandise 7 SKUs of meals support hazelnut merchandise and 26 SKUs of hazelnut-primarily based ingredients to day, with new merchandise in the pipeline.
Interested get-togethers should really get hold of Bob Wiggins of the Mountain Group, which is advising HGO and Wilco Farmers. Bob Wiggins can be achieved at [email protected].
About Hazelnut Growers of Oregon (HGO)
Launched in 1984, Hazelnut Growers of Oregon, a enterprise unit of farmer-owned cooperative Wilco, has a lot more than 180 growers who collectively very own more than 20,000 acres of primary hazelnut orchards. Oregon’s Willamette Valley has the excellent weather for expanding the world’s optimum high-quality hazelnuts. It is in this special corner of the planet where by temperate ocean, mountain and river climates meet up with with wealthy volcanic soils to make key hazelnut-expanding place.
In 2016, Hazelnut Growers of Oregon merged with Wilco and by 2018 concluded its 120,000 square-foot hazelnut method facility in Donald, Oregon. HGO processes both of those in-shell and kernels and serves food stuff support offer corporations, confectionaries, snack meals makers, and bakers around the world. The new processing plant also has 30,000 square feet of storage area. For additional information and facts visit https://www.wilco.coop/hazelnuts/.
Perspective supply model on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/house/20210426005791/en/
Contacts
Bob Wiggins 971-404-7561 [email protected]