 |
Bolthouse Farms -- when it comes to quality and freshness, it's in the bag!
The Bolthouse family began commercial vegetable farming
in western Michigan in 1915...
 Farming was back-breaking work in those days. Land had to be cleared as soil was prepared for the first crop. From the very beginning the company was known for quality and innovation. Vegetable varieties were continuously improved, and the company advanced from field packing celery to storing onions for off-season supply. Before long, local canneries relied on William Bolthouse for carrots, celery, spinach, and onions. Who were those local canneries? They were companies like Gerber Products, The Campbell Soup Company, and H.J. Heinz. By 1950 Bolthouse Farms was a leading supplier of carrots to Midwest processors. |
|
 Carrots with the green tops attached were the standard in the 1940's and 50's, but consumers were interested in the added convenience of modern packaging. In 1959 William Bolthouse built a fresh carrot cellophaneT packing facility. With quality recognized by consumers, the company began marketing to the newly emerging chain stores and supermarkets. Even today the trade calls whole, bagged carrots "cellos!" |
|
 The chain stores relied on the quality of Bolthouse carrots, but there was one problem-- consumers wanted fresh carrots year 'round! William H. Bolthouse, son of the original founder, searched America for just the right location to harvest carrots every day. In 1972 he decided that Bakersfield, California, had the right combination of sun, soil, and climate. Growing carrots in Bakersfield was anything but the "conventional wisdom" back then. To the surprise of many, the new packing plant grew quickly, as consumers enjoyed superior carrot quality in any season of the year. |
|
 The consumer appetite for freshness grew with the need for convenience. In 1990, William J. Bolthouse, grandson of the founder, introduced SHORTCUTS®. Ready-to-eat SHORTCUTS® are cut and peeled in our gleaming new processing facility. SHORTCUTS® were just what consumers wanted. Demand was so great that a much larger plant was added in 1994. And yet another plant was added in 1999! Today, the third and fourth Bolthouse generations operate one of the largest carrot operations in the world. In fact, you might be eating Bolthouse carrots in your packaged salad, your favorite restaurants, in vegetable beverages, or in a variety of prepared foods. |
|
 Things aren't really all that different than they were in the beginning. Farming is still hard work, we kept on listening to our customers, we're still innovating, and we still insist on quality every day. Now, Bakersfield, California is the U.S. carrot capital and supplies nearly 80% of all the fresh carrots in the U.S.! After four generations, the Bolthouse tradition continues: freshness, health, convenience, and value all in one bag! |
|
|
|
|
