You’re a craft brewer, so you know YCH HOPS. What you might not know is that YCH HOPS is now Yakima Chief Hops. The U.S.-based hop supplier, formerly known as Yakima Chief — Hopunion/YCH HOPS (those are the actual growers) — is rebranding to honor more than 30 years of connecting family hop farms to great beer producers. Sounds like a cool idea. According to the press release:
“Craft brewers are artists in the brewing world,” stated Kate Ruffing, chief marketing officer for Yakima Chief Hops who led the brand transformation efforts. “Our growers have heard directly from them what is needed to realize their vision and we responded. It has been an amazing partnership that continues to this day.”
According to the hop supplier, the new brand reflects the strong partnerships that Yakima Chief Hops has created within the brewing industry while also celebrating the future. The interlocking rings of the new logo that are connected with a stylized hop cone mirror are supposed to symbolize the company’s core mission of connecting family farms with the world-class breweries by supplying high quality hop products. The rings also represent the connection of two grower-owned companies, Yakima Chief Inc. and Hopunion, CBS. The new color scheme of red, white and blue are aimed at highlighting the brand’s American roots from the Pacific Northwest
“We have entered a new age in the hop industry where beer-drinking consumers really care about the ingredients that make their favorite beverages. The brewers are looking to help tell the story about hops and why they choose to support family farms by purchasing the highest quality hops for their brews,” stated Ruffing. “We want to share that story with brewers and beer drinkers around the world.”
