NEW YORK — The Bolthouse Farms gang is back together, and they’re pumping out new product lines that embody the new company mission: Plants powering people.
AJ Bernstein, vice president of marketing, visited Manhattan Feb. 13 to talk about 25 new products the company has created in little more than six months. In June, Los Angeles-based private equity company Butterfly acquired Bolthouse, which grows and sells fresh carrots and beverages, from Campbell Soup Co.
Butterfly partner Jeff Dunn is CEO of Bolthouse, a position he had at Campbell’s fresh division when Bolthouse was there, and at Bolthouse before Campbell bought it in 2012.
“He got the band together,” Bernstein said, “and we’re very excited to be back, driving this mission. We’re now an independently held, private company.”
Bolthouse Farms is returning to its core competencies: customer service, product quality and innovation. “Those historically had been real power drivers for our business,” Bernstein said.
All of the new products were created while keeping in mind function, health and taste, including:
- Yogurt-based salad dressings: lemon basil, pomegranate poppy seed and honey barbecue ranch;
- Protein keto beverages in dark chocolate, coconut, coffee and matcha;
- Carrot, ginger turmeric juice blend using the produce from the company farms;
- Protein Plus shake in Dutch chocolate banana; and
- Bolts — functional shots for immunity, digestion, energy, wellness and metabolism.“Each of these helps bring that mission to life in a different way,” Bernstein said.
The fresh carrots division comprises about half the company’s business. It can be hard to increase sales in such a mature market, she said, but the team is energized to think about fresh carrots in innovative ways.
The company continues to work on the Crunch Out ad campaign with the California Fresh Carrot Advisory Board in Cincinnati and Sacramento, Calif.
“We think of it like ‘peace-ing out.’ It’s a fun campaign, and we’re excited to see what it does in those two test cities,” Bernstein said.
Bolthouse is discontinuing its lower-sugar beverages and its 1915 organic juice line.
There will be more new products announced at Natural Products Expo West March 3-7, in Anaheim, Calif.
Related news:
- Tune in and Crunch Out with carrots
- Butterfly completes Bolthouse Farms acquisition
- Bolthouse debuts functional shots, cbd beverages at Fresh Summit
