North Country Charcuterie rebrands as Foris Extraordinary Meats
North Country Charcuterie is changing its name, though its salamis, sausages and bacon will be the same it has been creating for a decade now.
The Columbus-based company is now known as Foris Extraordinary Meats.
Duncan Forbes said he and his co-founders — brother James Forbes and mother Jane Forbes — had been pondering a brand change for a while now.
Several factors played into it but the biggest is that, though its origins are as a maker of salami and cured meats, the company now has a more diverse product offering with sausages, bacon and more.
“Charcuterie is more widely understood today than it was 10 years ago,” Duncan Forbes said. “When the consumer sees that today they think you make (charcuterie) boards or you’re a catering company. That’s not what we are. We’re a meat processing company.”
Roughly 75% of sales are the salamis and cured meats, with 25% being sausages and bacon. Growing the latter part of business is a big initiative.
Forbes said while charcuterie is a highly seasonal business, sausage and bacon offer steadier, year-round sales.
The products themselves are not changing. Names are the same. Recipes are unchanged, though new additions are coming, including the Northern Thai-Style Sai Ua Sausage. That product is flavored with red curry paste, lemongrass and more.
The new brand and packaging will begin rolling out now.
Forbes said the 10th anniversary of the business felt like the appropriate moment to pull the trigger on the change.
“It’s a little bittersweet, but we’re excited for the future,” he said.
Foris is Latin for “outside.” North Country already was a nod to the family’s love of the outdoors, specifically the Adirondacks in New York. But company leaders have found over time that reference was too “region-specific.”
Forbes said Foris makes the same connection to the outdoors and to the numerous farms they work with, but in a more general sense.
The "extraordinary" flourish was important as well.
“A lot of companies say they have ‘fine’ or ‘finer’ meats,” he said. “But we make extraordinary meats. The work James does with flavor is really what distinguishes us.”
The new tagline “Bold Flavors for Curious Folks” also pushes that message.
Foris’ dominate color is a bright orange, but the individual products will retain the same secondary color-coding as in the North Country packaging. Lupo will have a dark blue square, Fino a lime green, etc.
Forbes said that uniformity with the Foris orange was important and will make the brand stand out more in grocery stores, especially with several varieties of salamis or sausages grouped together in a block in case.
Foris worked with Portland, Oregon-based Ovo on the rebrand.
by Dan Eaton
Source: Columbus Business First, "North Country Charcuterie rebrands as Foris Extraordinary Meats"
