Giraffe Food & Beverage
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Rising above the competition - Giraffe Food & Beverage attracts customers through quality and organic growth
Giraffe Food & Beverage Inc. has always been able to attract attention—and not just because of its catchy name. Known for “sticking their necks out,” the Canadian-based food and beverage company has become well-known for offering some of the best foodservice products on the market.
Established more than a decade ago, Giraffe Food & Beverage Inc. is truly a family business. Started by her in-laws, Ellen Hurwitz, director of R&D, told George Media that the company is owned by her husband, sister-in-law, and father-in-law, and several family members comprise the management team, including her brother-in-law. The family aspect of the business certainly has helped shape it—and Hurwitz is more than happy to share how closely Giraffe’s growth is related to its organic corporate structure.
“With our own distinctive strengths and personalities, the family management team works smoothly and addresses the needs of both our customers and employees” Hurwitz says, as they guide the company growth together.
Giraffe’s continued growth has required the company to move into a larger, state-of-the-art, high efficiency manufacturing and research facility in Mississauga, ON—and the expansion doesn’t stop there. The company also intends to expand U.S. operations, which currently make up 60 percent of existing business and growth. “Up until 18 months ago, we were pretty much ready to go and then, everything just backed up in the U.S. market,” tells Michelle Powell, vice-president of operations at Giraffe Foods.
In 1996, the foodservice company tapped into the U.S. markets around the same time of its inception and, hasn’t looked back since. “At that point in time, the dollar was very much in our favor with the currency situations, and this was especially the case for Canadian exporters in general. That has since changed, obviously as the dollar is now at parity it is a bit different,” tells Powell.
One of the ways this company has made itself stick out in the market is by doing all the dirty work to make a high-quality product, many of which are manufactured in-house and distributed in environmentally-friendly recycled jugs. Yes, those jugs you see if you ever visit the kitchen of a restaurant that are filled with the wing or sauce flavors you know and love.
Giraffe’s main customers are mid-sized restaurant chains and foodservice distributors. The market has changed for the company since they started in 1997, and now Giraffe products are found all over the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean Islands. Giraffe products are available under their own label or under a customer’s.
Catering to niche market
With the company’s emphasis on value, delicious production and innovation, it has carved out a place in niche market with its very specialized products under its Private Label foodservice products (think of a restaurant chain’s wing sauce to understand how mainstream their products are). “That’s why we are still able to be very competitive in the U.S. market even though we are dealing with an on par dollar,” explains Powell. For both U.S. and Canadian consumers, not only is the price right but the quality is what stands out. The figures speak for themselves; more than 90 percent of what they export falls under the private label service.
Customers typically request specialty items to be made specifically for its food franchises or fast-food chains. Sticking to this customized approach has proven to churn out high-quality products, thanks to the company’s fully-staffed R&D team of Food Scientists who are ready to adapt to customers’ ever-changing needs—whether it is whipping up a sauce, dip or beverage. Powell explains that the company’s strategic approach in positioning itself in the U.S. market is simple: “we don’t skimp on ingredients and our turn-around time is pretty quick, which is important to customers and cost-effective as well. “
In the hands of experts
One unique service offered by Giraffe is their re-creation of customers’ top-secret recipes on request. Such house recipes, tells the company, are often time-consuming for restaurants and food stores, and often have variable results. “We specialize in scaling up of the back of the house recipes,” says Hurwitz, Giraffe’s head of R&D. Giraffe is also members of different food organizations, like Institute of Food Technologists and Research Chefs Association, and these memberships help them stay on top of what industry demands.
Going green
The foodservice company is making plans to reduce its carbon footprint as much as possible, starting with the operations standpoint. Some of the ways, the company says, it will do this is starting with cutting back on printing paperwork as well as raising awareness among staff on eco-friendly office policies, such as sending faxes through a computer.
Giraffe Foods' move into a new facility signals another green opportunity. “We are looking at the profitability of using solar energy for our energy requirements,” tells Powell, adding Giraffe Foods is re-positioning itself to be a green company. “In the next 18 months, we’d like move towards using solar energy.”
Meanwhile, the foodservices company is keeping an eye out for some opportunities in the southeast in the Carolinas, hinting at the possibility of opening a R&D facility in the U.S. “Mostly [we are looking at] some manufacturing facilities...but that is something on the table,” she tells. But regardless of whether or not the food and beverage is risky at times, Giraffe will always move forward and upwards, taking on the next challenge. Hurwitz’s message to potential customers: she guarantees that “for those who are not familiar with our products, try us out, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
www.giraffefoods.com
Giraffe Food & Beverage Inc. has always been able to attract attention—and not just because of its catchy name. Known for “sticking their necks out,” the Canadian-based food and beverage company has become well-known for offering some of the best foodservice products on the market.
Established more than a decade ago, Giraffe Food & Beverage Inc. is truly a family business. Started by her in-laws, Ellen Hurwitz, director of R&D, told George Media that the company is owned by her husband, sister-in-law, and father-in-law, and several family members comprise the management team, including her brother-in-law. The family aspect of the business certainly has helped shape it—and Hurwitz is more than happy to share how closely Giraffe’s growth is related to its organic corporate structure.
“With our own distinctive strengths and personalities, the family management team works smoothly and addresses the needs of both our customers and employees” Hurwitz says, as they guide the company growth together.
Giraffe’s continued growth has required the company to move into a larger, state-of-the-art, high efficiency manufacturing and research facility in Mississauga, ON—and the expansion doesn’t stop there. The company also intends to expand U.S. operations, which currently make up 60 percent of existing business and growth. “Up until 18 months ago, we were pretty much ready to go and then, everything just backed up in the U.S. market,” tells Michelle Powell, vice-president of operations at Giraffe Foods.
In 1996, the foodservice company tapped into the U.S. markets around the same time of its inception and, hasn’t looked back since. “At that point in time, the dollar was very much in our favor with the currency situations, and this was especially the case for Canadian exporters in general. That has since changed, obviously as the dollar is now at parity it is a bit different,” tells Powell.
One of the ways this company has made itself stick out in the market is by doing all the dirty work to make a high-quality product, many of which are manufactured in-house and distributed in environmentally-friendly recycled jugs. Yes, those jugs you see if you ever visit the kitchen of a restaurant that are filled with the wing or sauce flavors you know and love.
Giraffe’s main customers are mid-sized restaurant chains and foodservice distributors. The market has changed for the company since they started in 1997, and now Giraffe products are found all over the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean Islands. Giraffe products are available under their own label or under a customer’s.
Catering to niche market
With the company’s emphasis on value, delicious production and innovation, it has carved out a place in niche market with its very specialized products under its Private Label foodservice products (think of a restaurant chain’s wing sauce to understand how mainstream their products are). “That’s why we are still able to be very competitive in the U.S. market even though we are dealing with an on par dollar,” explains Powell. For both U.S. and Canadian consumers, not only is the price right but the quality is what stands out. The figures speak for themselves; more than 90 percent of what they export falls under the private label service.
Customers typically request specialty items to be made specifically for its food franchises or fast-food chains. Sticking to this customized approach has proven to churn out high-quality products, thanks to the company’s fully-staffed R&D team of Food Scientists who are ready to adapt to customers’ ever-changing needs—whether it is whipping up a sauce, dip or beverage. Powell explains that the company’s strategic approach in positioning itself in the U.S. market is simple: “we don’t skimp on ingredients and our turn-around time is pretty quick, which is important to customers and cost-effective as well. “
In the hands of experts
One unique service offered by Giraffe is their re-creation of customers’ top-secret recipes on request. Such house recipes, tells the company, are often time-consuming for restaurants and food stores, and often have variable results. “We specialize in scaling up of the back of the house recipes,” says Hurwitz, Giraffe’s head of R&D. Giraffe is also members of different food organizations, like Institute of Food Technologists and Research Chefs Association, and these memberships help them stay on top of what industry demands.
Going green
The foodservice company is making plans to reduce its carbon footprint as much as possible, starting with the operations standpoint. Some of the ways, the company says, it will do this is starting with cutting back on printing paperwork as well as raising awareness among staff on eco-friendly office policies, such as sending faxes through a computer.
Giraffe Foods' move into a new facility signals another green opportunity. “We are looking at the profitability of using solar energy for our energy requirements,” tells Powell, adding Giraffe Foods is re-positioning itself to be a green company. “In the next 18 months, we’d like move towards using solar energy.”
Meanwhile, the foodservices company is keeping an eye out for some opportunities in the southeast in the Carolinas, hinting at the possibility of opening a R&D facility in the U.S. “Mostly [we are looking at] some manufacturing facilities...but that is something on the table,” she tells. But regardless of whether or not the food and beverage is risky at times, Giraffe will always move forward and upwards, taking on the next challenge. Hurwitz’s message to potential customers: she guarantees that “for those who are not familiar with our products, try us out, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
www.giraffefoods.com
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