Backyard Farms celebrates 10th anniversary

Backyard Farms has launched a new website to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the company's first shipment of fresh tomatoes. "January 29 was the official anniversary date but we want to celebrate this important milestone with our customers all year," said Jim Darroch Director of Marketing at Backyard Farms. "At 10yearsoftomatoes.com our customers can view a thank you video featuring employees from every department, explore other interesting milestones in Backyard Farms' history and enter a contest where we're giving away coupons for 10 free boxes of cocktail tomatoes to a different winner every week."

Over 100 Backyard Farms employees offer their heartfelt gratitude to the customers who made the 10-year anniversary possible

The literal and figurative heart of 10yearsoftomatoes.com is the video where over 100 Backyard Farms employees offered their sincere gratitude to the retailers, wholesalers, vendors, food service customers and consumers who made the 10-year anniversary possible. Filmed at the Madison, ME greenhouse over the course of a single, -4 degree day in December, the video brings together employees from crop care, picking and packing to marketing, human resources and finance to share the company's collective appreciation. "Like everything at the greenhouse, it was a total team effort," Jim Darroch explains. "It's important to us that our customers know how much each and every Backyard Farms employee truly appreciates their business and support. We never take either for granted and this video is just the beginning." Over the course of the year, Backyard Farms will be sharing more messages of gratitude on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as in the footer of 10yearsoftomatoes.com.

In addition to the video and website, Backyard Farms has also released a 10th anniversary cocktail box that includes the message "Celebrating 10 Years of Growing Together."

As a special thank you to the shoppers of the company's first customer, Backyard Farms printed and shipped stanchion signs to seventy-five Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

"We've sent 10-year anniversary signs to all of our retail partners that use vendor-supplied signage including Shaw's/Star Market, Market Basket and independent grocery stores but we wanted to do something special for Hannaford," Darroch said. "That includes the Specialty tomatoes we grew exclusively for Hannaford. This limited run features four varieties of heirloom-inspired tomatoes which will only be available through March."

Prized for their beautiful colors, rustic shapes and exceptional flavor, heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular with food lovers in recent years. Backyard Farms' Specialty tomatoes come from Gautier Semences, a third generation, family-owned seed company in France. The varieties include a mild tasting brown tomato called Marnero, a sweet tasting yellow tomato called Margold, a robust tasting red tomato called Marbonne and a heart-shaped tomato called Cauralina.

"It's going to be an exciting year for Backyard Farms," Jim Darroch concluded. "We're excited to celebrate our 10-year anniversary with our customers on social media, at their favorite stores and in surprise visits to restaurants and businesses from Maine to New Jersey. You never know where one of us will show up with a case of cocktail tomatoes!"

For more information:
Backyard Farms
131 River Road
Madison, ME 04950
tel: 207-696-5300
www.backyardfarms.com