Less Is More

Hickory Farms, the purveyor of premium foods and specialty gifts, lost its image as well as 30% of its sales since 2005. CEO Mark Rodriguez, hired in 2007, found the company had not evolved with the times in terms of visuals, descriptions, packaging, and recipes. To reclaim the brand, he has poured $6 million since January 2008 into consumer research and design, a new photography library, replacing old packaging materials, a revamped website, and advertising. Rodriguez recently told BusinessWeek that an emphasis on environmental stewardship has been critical improving the brand perception. Hickory Farms has updated its packaging to use more recycled content and eliminate 94% of the plastic sheets inserted in gift boxes and displays. It also eliminated metallic foil boxes, reduced mailings, condensed catalogs and cut paper consumption by 76 percent. The jury is still out on sales and revenues, but Hickory Farms has been able to reduce its retail prices by 13 percent this holiday season.