Industry Food Manufacturing | Founded 1940 | |
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Predecessor George Renfro Food Company Founder George and Arthurine Renfro Headquarters Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A. Area served U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and the U.K. Products Salsas, sauces and relishes | ||
Renfro Foods, Inc. is a privately owned, award-winning food producer of salsas, sauces and relishes, including 30 Mrs. Renfro’s products, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Founded in 1940 as the George Renfro Food Company, Renfro Foods is now owned and managed by the second and third generations of the Renfro family. Its products can be found in leading supermarkets, gourmet food stores and gift shops in all 50 states, the Caribbean, Canada and the U.K.
Contents
Renfro foods announces new products
History
Renfro Foods was founded in 1940 as The George Renfro Food Company in the north Fort Worth, Texas garage of George and Arthurine Renfro, starting as a packaged spices and pepper sauce business.
In 1948, the company bought a local syrup manufacturer and Dixieland Syrups soon had wide distribution throughout Texas grocery stores. Four years later, Renfro acquired the formulas of Gold Star Foods and reworked the ingredients to make them taste more like family recipes. Before long, the company entered the jelly, preserve, vinegar and chow-chow business as well. By 1963, company sales had more than quadrupled.
In 1972, shortly after incorporating under its current name, Renfro Foods, Inc., the family purchased the recipes of Olé Foods, a Mexican-style hot sauce maker, and quickly made plans to ride the wave of interest in Mexican foods. Anticipating that customers' tastes were changing, they re-worked the basic taco sauce ingredients of Olé Foods, and created a richer and tastier salsa recipe.
Following George's death in 1975, Arthurine and sons, Bill and Jack, led the company into its greatest growth period yet. Consumers’ love of hot and spicy foods was escalating, and the product line soon expanded from the original hot or mild sauces to a variety of picantes and medium-style sauces.
Products
In 1995, after determining that consumers' tastes were becoming more sophisticated and somewhat adventurous, Renfro Foods introduced two gourmet salsas - Black Bean and Habanero. In 1997, Peach, Chipotle Corn and Roasted salsas were added. Garlic salsa joined the product line-up in 2001. At the same time, Renfro Foods began labeling in French and Spanish to increase its global presence with product distribution in new international markets. In 2003 Raspberry Chipotle Salsa was introduced, followed by Mango Habanero salsa in 2006, solidifying the demand for “sweet heat.”
Three new salsas were launched in 2009 - Pomegranate, Tequila and Pineapple, the latter a Scovie Award winner, taking first place honors at the 2010 Fiery Foods & BBQ Show’s Scovie Awards Competition, the world's leading recognition for hot and spicy products.
Identifying a growing demand for more heat, Renfro Foods debuted Ghost Pepper salsa in 2010, its hottest salsa to date. It is made with the Bhut Jolokia pepper, which has been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s hottest pepper. Ghost Pepper quickly became the company’s fastest-growing new product in its history and is also a 2011 Scovie Award winner.
Today, Renfro Foods, with sons Jack and Bill, and grandchildren Doug, Becky and James active in the day-to-day operations, is one of the nation’s five largest family owned and managed salsa manufacturers. Its Mrs. Renfro’s salsa ranks as one of the nation’s top five best selling salsas distributed by specialty food distributors, and the company continues to be the nation’s largest producer of chow-chow, a southern relish made of garden vegetables, vinegar and spices.
Awards and Recognition
Mrs. Renfro’s Pineapple salsa and Ghost Pepper salsa took first place and third place honors (in its categories), respectively, at the 2010 and 2011 Fiery Foods & BBQ Show’s Scovie Awards Competition, while Mrs. Renfro’s Habanero salsa was named among the “Best 125 Packaged Foods for Women” by Women's Health (magazine) (October, 2010).
As a company, Renfro Foods has been recognized for its business ethics, receiving in 1993, Baylor University’s “Small Business of the Year Award, and in 2008, the Greater Tarrant Business Ethics Award from the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.
Community Involvement
In 2007, Renfro Foods launched its Pink Lid Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every October, a group of select salsas are re-fitted with a pink lid and pink lid label, and a portion of the sales from these products are donated to institutions and organizations involved in breast cancer and cancer research. To date, Renfro Foods has donated more than $50,000 to these entities in the United States and Canada.
Renfro Foods and the Renfro Family have been featured in multiple publications for their family values, product ingenuity and community service, including the Fort Worth Business Press, Dallas Business Journal, Fort Worth, Texas Magazine, Southern Living, and TCU Magazine.