Our History
The Evolution of Giraffe Foods
A clear look into our past offers a bright view of our future! Then and now, Giraffe Foods has always found plenty to inspire pride in where we’ve been, and in the custom-flavor solutions we just keep on creating for our customers all over North America. Take a look at some highlights of our history, then join us on the journey into even better days ahead!
Eugene and Efat Powell immigrate from the UK to Canada and invest in The Mansion House – a pub-style restaurant in St. Catharines, Ontario, where their children Ari and Michelle grow up learning the business.
Eugene and Efat establish Harpo Beverages to distribute fountain-soda concentrates to restaurants in the Golden Horseshoe area. Giraffe Beverage Inc. is set up to manufacture products for Harpo.
Ari builds a manufacturing plant in Burlington, Ontario to help decrease lead times for customers. We also introduce private-label options so customers can market their own branded products.
The Powell family sells Harpo Beverages, shifting focus to North American manufacturing and launching Zestferno Hot Sauce (later rebranded to OG Hot Sauce). Ari travels the continent to introduce the classic flavor to new customers. Giraffe expands to a 20,000-square-foot facility on Selby Road in Brampton, Ontario.
Innovation intensifies with our first emulsified dressing, a Blue Cheese product for a pizza brand, starting with jugs and expanding to cups and single-serve portions for takeout. The brand's sauce lineup soon includes Thai Chili, Buffalo, Teriyaki, and Barbecue sauces. Our Barbecue Sauce garners multiple first-place awards at barbecue festivals across Ontario.
Escalating demand fuels development of new custom sauces and dressings for larger restaurant chains and food distributors throughout North America. New packaging equipment allows for large flexible pouch packing.
Giraffe Food & Beverage expands to a massive, state-of-the-art, 45,000-square-foot facility on Drew Road, Mississauga and rebrands as Giraffe Foods – including a logo showing a spoonful of sauce with an orange drip.
We begin making our mark as the industry's go-to for custom flavored sauces and dressing solutions, a business that rapidly surpasses our legacy beverages. Giraffe adds portion pouch capabilities as a means to explore new market segments. Expansion continues with a 20,000-square-foot distribution center.
Giraffe Foods rebrands as Giraffe Foods Inc., complete with a new abstract logo reflecting the complexity of our products and our business. A new, 65,000-square-foot warehouse on Drew Road manifests our growth. Being named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies marks a milestone, with more accolades to follow in the years ahead. We add an extra 45,000 square feet at Tranmere Road, and bolster our team to approximately 180 members.
The Powell family works with Graham Partners, a Philadelphia-based private-equity fund, sparking new ventures and taking our customers on a journey into uniquely flavorful food ideas.
Giraffe acquires Lounsbury Foods Inc., whose product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities broaden our offering to foodservice, industrial, retail, and many more segments. We craft tailor-made solutions to help customers' brands stand out with a more diverse and flavorful range of products.
We unveil our state-of-the-art R&D Culinary Innovation Center, providing a complete sensory experience and endless opportunities to explore value-added possibilities for customers' brands.
Now, Giraffe Foods celebrates 25 years of guiding customers through the delicious world of food and flavors. Happy 25th Anniversary to our 250 talented team members – and thanks our honored customers everywhere!
Symrise AG – a flavor, fragrance, natural nutrition and cosmetic ingredients solutions company publicly traded on Germany’s Frankfurt Stock Exchange – acquires Giraffe Foods Inc. The move strengthens the Symrise market position with a strong forward-integration in their value-chain and a fast-growing customer base in North America.
A strategic partnership calls for a new logo: a co-branded mark incorporating brand identities from Giraffe and Symrise.
