LOS ANGELES — Aryzta North America, which earlier this year was acquired by private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg for $850 million, has changed its name to Aspire Bakeries, a decision that reflects the company’s aim to “continue to move upwards.”
Following the completion of the transaction earlier this month, Aspire Bakeries said its strategies will remain the same, with a continued focus on its three core brands — La Brea Bakery, Otis Spunkmeyer and Oakrun Farm Bakery — as well as on quick-service restaurants, foodservice and retail in-store bakeries.
“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,” said Tyson Yu, chief executive officer of Aspire Bakeries. “Aspire Bakeries will execute a business strategy that focuses on continued innovation and growth across our beloved brands.”
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.”
“Aspire means to ascend, to soar, and that’s what we are aiming to do for our customers and our business.” — Christine Prociv, Aspire Bakeries
“We’re lucky to have such hardworking, motivated and creative employees working for us across North America, some of whom have been with the company for decades,” said Christine Prociv, senior vice president of marketing, innovation and R&D. “We wanted a truly collaborative experience when it came time to create a new name, and what better way than to involve all of our associates.”
Innovation will continue to be a key focus area for Aspire Bakeries, as the company said it will invest in its three brands to drive growth in both retail and foodservice. 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 launched a hybrid version of its muffin loaves and introduced frozen edible cookie dough, available through its fundraising initiative; 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.
“Aspire means to ascend, to soar, and that’s what we are aiming to do for our customers and our business,” Ms. Prociv said. “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.”