Offering items such as dips, sauces, condiments, preserves, crackers and snack foods, Robert Rothschild Farm sells to 6,500 retail locations across the country.

Robert Rothschild Farm was founded in 1976 under accidental circumstances. Founders Bob and Sara Rothschild moved to Ohio to start a raspberry-picking business in a 170-acre corn belt. After several years, the Rothschilds noticed that the raspberries weren’t picked fast enough, so they partnered with a local farmer and his wife to gather some raspberries and make preserves for a gourmet food show.

That purchase was the birth of the gourmet food line, and raspberry preserves are one of 100 products Robert Rothschild Farm currently sells to 6,500 stores across the country. The company is focused on four product lines: dips, sauces, condiments and preserves. It also offers crackers, pretzels and snack foods to complement its product lines, which are distributed in specialty and specialty grocery stores nationwide. 

Being innovative continues to be the company’s focus. It introduces new items three times a year: at the beginning of the year, spring and fall. “We have made significant investments in product development,” he says. “[Ideas come from] a combination of consumer panels and input from customers. We take their recommendations to the kitchen and start going to work.”

For instance, the company introduced several new hummus flavors this fall – jalapeno, roasted eggplant and pepper, roasted garlic, and sweet and spicy red pepper. “These items are shelf stable,” CEO Jim Gordon adds.

Exotic Taste
Robert Rothschild Farm sets itself apart in the industry by keeping itself updated on its customers’ taste preferences. “People today have a very robust taste profile,” Gordon says. “There are some trends around international flavors. People like things that are a little more exotic.” For example, Indian and Thai-flavored items, such as plum garlic and Tandoori, are in demand, he notes.

Director of Marketing Robin Coffey says media like Food Network and the Travel Channel have increased the popularity of international flavors. “People see all these wonderful places,” she explains. “They may not be able to go, but want to bring the flavors into their homes.”
The company also depends on its suppliers to know what’s popular. “We meet with them on a regular basis to bring us unique ideas and trends,” Gordon says.

Coffey adds that 90 percent of its products are kosher, 88 percent are gluten-free and 66 percent are all-natural. “Consumers want to know what’s in there,” she explains. “For instance, we redid our preserves family and we wanted to make sure that fruit is the first ingredient in the product label. With jams and jellies, sugar is not the first ingredient people want to take into their homes.

“We also watch super foods that provide health benefits [such as pomegranate],” she says.
However, Gordon says the company’s focus will continue to be on dips. “At the end of the day, we are a dip company,” he stresses. “We’re going to focus on our dip product line and continue to present flavors and ideas. We’re constantly looking for opportunities to apply our business and complement our product line.”

Core Competencies
The economic conditions have forced Robert Rothschild Farm to cut costs and realign its product line. “The company is doing better this year than last year, and we’ll continue to see improvement,” Gordon says. “We’ve cut some costs and have made some decisions around rationalization.”
For example, the company has eliminated some of its product lines. “We stopped manufacturing products that didn’t sell well and decided to develop and focus on our core competencies,” he explains.

The company acknowledges that its employees are a main reason for its success. It has 50 employees between its manufacturing and distribution facilities, both in Urbana, Ohio. “They are all important to our success,” he says.

Robert Rothschild Farm has a strategy in place to continue to be successful in the industry. “We’re increasing our focus on our core specialty food business by expanding distribution, developing new products and investing in sales and marketing,” he explains.