Stretch Island Fruit
Leather...
"Always ready outdoors, at
home, at school, at work,
for sports, for travel".
Notice: Stretch Island Fruit Company was recently sold to Kellog's!
When Ron and Mary Sagerson first
visited Stretch Island back in January of 1972, they immediately fell in
love with the area. "Here we were in an absolutely beautiful little
corner of God's world," says Ron. "We looked at each other and said,
'Let's stay. Let's find a way to live and work here.'" Soon they had
purchased a home and vineyard and became acquainted with neighbors Harry and
Mary Branch.
Both families were growing grapes and making
natural fruit leather at home. Since fruit leather was not available
commercially at that time, they all agreed that manufacturing it on a larger
scale was a project worth pursuing. It was Harry's sister, Bonnie, who
provided the proverbial laundry room for the first production
area in 1977.
Soon Harry, a natural-born salesperson, was selling Stretch Island Fruit
Leather to local stores.
In 1979, the Sagersons bought out their partners and
moved the production to a larger space next door to their home. The company
moved or remodeled several more times over the next 27 years to accommodate
growth, as the business became steadily larger. Today, Stretch Island Fruit
Leather is located about two miles south of Allyn on State Route 3 in rural
Mason County.
First Expansion next door to home
So what exactly IS fruit leather? It's simply dried fruit in a bar. "A
convenient, portable fruit, in your pocket … without the squish!"
Old-fashioned fruit leather recipes say: Find a fruit blend that you like
(apple and strawberry for example). Use ripe fruits, wash them, and
carefully take out stems and seeds. Puree them in a blender and spread the
fruit on a tray. Let it dry naturally under the sun (or in a home
dehydrator) until the texture is just right. Then cut the fruit leather into
strips and store in a dry place.
Pureed Fruit in Vat Before
Going Into Drier
Fruit
Bars Coming Out of Drier
At Stretch Island, they follow a very similar process, but instead of the
sun, they use dehydrators at low temperatures to maintain flavor. The
natural sugar of the fruit provides a sweet taste with only 45 calories and
no added sugar. Stretch Island Fruit Leathers are also manufactured without
the use of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The Sagersons
strongly believe in the importance of 100% natural food to provide the
best-tasting, highest quality, naturally healthy and fat free fruit snack
available. In fact, they chose the name "Fruit Leather" to purposely
differentiate from the candy version.
In 1994, Ron and Mary were happy to welcome their son, Bob, who joined
them in the business. Bob graduated in economics from the University of
Washington in 1990 and previously taught high school mathematics while
coaching golf and basketball.
Ron still works at the company and maintains the title of President of the Corporation, while Bob, now the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), manages most of the daily operations.
Bob and Ron in the office
Stretch Island Fruit Leather ranks in the "Top 20" of Mason County
employers with about 80 employees working two shifts per day. Production is
not seasonal and provides steady employment year round. An additional 6,000
square feet of production area is currently under construction adjacent to
the original 12,000 square foot building, which will allow for an additional
30 employees and possibly a third shift in the future.
New Construction
Stretch Island Fruit Leather employees are a happy lot. Three of them
have worked for the Sagersons for over 20 years each! Most employees live
locally and many others have worked at the factory for several years.
Sold nationwide and now even available at Costco, the market for Stretch
Island Fruit Leather continues to grow and expand globally. Customers in the
United Kingdom, Japan and Canada are also enjoying the product as it becomes
more and more available in the mainstream market. Annual sales topped $10
million last year.
Stretch Island Fruit Leather is manufactured in two lines: regular and
organic. Pure and simple, the process involves a puree of 100% fruit (the
majority of which is grown in Washington, Oregon or California) that is
molded into flat portions, spread on trays, dried and packaged for sale. It
is approved for diabetics, certified Kosher, and continues to be a favorite
with both adults and kids of all ages. The product has also been approved
for reimbursement in the school lunch program by the federal government.
Package Quality Control
The regular line includes nine flavors: Great Grape, Sour Apple, Tangy
Apricot, Rare Raspberry, Berry Blackberry, Chunky Cherry, Truly Tropical,
Sweet Strawberry, and the most recent to be introduced: Mucho Mango. In
addition, a second line of Fruit Leather made from organically grown fruit
was added in 1990. Stretch Island ORGANIC Fruit Leather is produced in
Apple, Grape, Strawberry and Raspberry flavors.
With one 7,200 square foot off-site warehouse located in nearby Kitsap
County, the Sagersons are big fans of their high-speed Internet access
provided by local Hood Canal Telephone Company's fiber optics. "It has really helped our internal
communications in particular," commented Bob. "We share files directly
between our production facility and the warehouse, which allows us to
increase our efficiency in filling orders."
For more information and a free sample, visit their website at
www.stretchislandfruit.com. You can
also reach Stretch Island Fruit, Inc. Customer Service at 1-800-700-9687.
