US – Aryzta North America, which earlier this year was acquired by private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg for US$850 million, has changed its name to Aspire Bakeries, a decision that reflects the company’s aim to “continue to move upwards.”
The company revealed that the name Aspire Bakeries emerged as the winning name from among 150 ideas submitted by some of the company’s 4,500 employees.
Alex Gillis, a bakery supervisor at the bakery in Brantford, Ont., recommended the name Aspire, saying, “as we aspire to be the best bakery in North America, what better name than Aspire to represent our desire to not only achieve our goals but exceed them.”
The company formerly owned by Switzerland-based global bakery company Aryzta said innovation will continue to be a key focus area even as it transitions to become Aspire Bakeries.
The company has committed to invest in its three brands – La Brea Bakery, Otis Spunkmeyer and Oakrun Farm Bakery – as well as on quick-service restaurants, foodservice, and retail in-store bakeries.
La Brea Bakery recently announced it expanded its Take & Bake portfolio to include six new flavors, available nationwide in grocery stores and on Amazon Fresh.
Otis Spunkmeyer, on the other hand, launched a hybrid version of its muffin loaves and introduced frozen edible cookie dough, available through its fundraising initiative.
Meanwhile, the Oakrun Farm Bakery, which until now has only served the Canadian markets, just introduced new flavors of Belgian Waffles (cinnamon and maple) at Walmart stores nationwide.
Tyson Yu, CEO of Aspire Bakeries, said: “Our brands established our North American business as a leader in baked goods, as they all have strong, long-standing reputations of providing customers with delectable foods across the artisan bread and baked goods categories.
“Aspire Bakeries will execute a business strategy that focuses on continued innovation and growth across our beloved brands.”
Christine Prociv, senior vice president of marketing, innovation and R&D, added: “Aspire means to ascend, to soar, and that’s what we are aiming to do for our customers and our business.
“We want to continue to grow so that we’re exceeding our potential to deliver high-quality baked goods to our retail and foodservice customers and to our loyal consumers who have played an integral part in our evolution.”
In a similar fashion, Chr. Hansen Natural Colours has also changed its name to Oterra- a latin word for earth- following its acquisition by Swedish private equity firm EQT.
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