The Pyramid –
MORONI– Moroni Feed Company, owner of the Norbest brand of turkeys and turkey products, is changing its name to Norbest, Inc.
The change will help the company simplify its organization and help it project a unified brand image. Founded in 1930 as the first turkey marketing cooperative in the United States, Norbest’s member-growers were once spread throughout the intermountain and northwestern states, but are now located exclusively in central Utah.
“Although the Moroni Feed Company name is very familiar in the Sanpete Valley, where we’re the largest private employer, the Norbest brand is well-known and valued by our customers throughout the U.S. and abroad, so it just makes sense to use that name consistently for everything that we do,” said Norbest Inc. President and CEO Matthew T. Cook.
“The Moroni Feed Company name has served us well since 1938 and there is historical attachment to it locally, but we believe it’s in the best interest of our member-growers, employees and the community to make this change to position us for a bright future,” Cook noted. Moroni Feed Company’s member-growers unanimously approved the name change at a meeting on June 11.
The Norbest brand has a long and storied history, including establishing the tradition of what is now known as the “annual turkey pardon” by the U.S. President just before Thanksgiving. This institution began in 1936 and is continued today by the National Turkey Federation.
The newly renamed Norbest Inc. is a fully integrated turkey producing and processing cooperative comprised of 42 member-growers. The group commercially grows five million turkeys a year, has sales of $125 million and directly employs 460 at facilities in Moroni and Salina.