ELWOOD, Ind. — What food is around your table?
Red Gold Inc. says the demand for their tomato products in grocery stores has been growing since the beginning of the pandemic.
Vice President of Marketing Colt Reichart told Inside Indiana Business they took a page from the company’s history book to help them out with the demand.
“We were also founded during chaos. Red Gold was founded by my great grandfather during World War II. We’ve always been used to reacting fast and rising to those challenges.”
Reichart said their production of ketchup packets and dunking cups increased as fast-food restaurants kept operating, and their biggest demand came from people stocking up on canned goods.
“The 14.5-ounce can is the most popular retail size. Those were out nationwide, the empty ones. So, we pivoted and started packing 28-ounce sizes,” said Reichart. “Retailers were willing to take whatever and so were consumers.”
As a response, they were able to help employees by adding shifts to production output, the distribution center, and its trucking company.
In November, they even announced they were hiring about three dozen more workers for a newly installed, high-speed labeling line to keep up with demand with Red Gold products and private label brands.
Reichart says the increase in demand is not just the pandemic, but also the change in consumer behavior.
He said cooking at home has always been making a comeback.
“If anything good can come from this, it’s that more people got to spend more time with their families at home. Hopefully, they shared a meal together.”
