Shared Story & Brand Platform for Ontario Local Food System

Marketing & Communications Management for a Multi-Entity Farm, Supply Chain and Retail Partnership

The Challenge:

VG Meats, Olliffe, and Rowe Farms partnered to build an integrated farm-to-customer supply chain across the Ontario market. As the business scaled across retail and online channels, an Organizational Health Assessment conducted by nRhythm identified cross-brand communication as a priority for strengthening alignment, employee engagement and retention, and a greater connection with their expanding customers and community.

  • Marketing & Communications Manager responsible for implementing the parent brand strategy and communications infrastructure—leading cross-business coordination, contractor management, and internal stakeholder alignment, while translating organizational priorities into consistent internal and external communications (website, newsletter, graphic assets etc).

  • Parent Brand Strategy & Development; Partnership Strategy; Website Development; Internal & External Communications; Newsletter Strategy & Ongoing Management; Customer Loyalty Program Launch

  • Regenerative farming and local food systems spanning farm operations, wholesale partnerships, retail stores, and direct-to-consumer channels across the Ontario market.

  • Harvest to Gather parent brand strategy and identity executed; website developed and launched; internal and external communications rolled out; cross-business newsletter launched and managed; customer loyalty program launched across retail locations.

Our Solution:

To address growing complexity across the partnership, nRhythm introduced Harvest to Gather as an ecosystem-level brand and communications framework. The parent brand provided a shared story and consistent flow of information across VG Meats, Rowe Farms, and Olliffe—supporting employee engagement, cross-business alignment and coordination, and a clearer connection between farm, supply chain, and a growing customer community as the business scaled.

Marketing & Communications Deliverables

Ecosystem Brand & Narrative

  • Parent brand strategy and positioning for Harvest to Gather

  • Visual identity system designed and brand guidelines developed

  • Brand platform defining the relationship between VG Meats, Rowe Farms, and Olliffe

Digital & Communications Platforms

  • Parent brand website designed to educate stakeholders on regenerative mission, unify brand stories, and support engagement across retail, online and wholesale sales channels

  • Internal and external newsletter strategy and monthly execution to improve cross-business communication, transparency and employee engagement

Customer & Community Engagement

  • Cross-brand customer loyalty initiative (“Decision Maker Program”) launched connecting retail brands through shared values and regenerative outcomes

Photo via VG Meats Instagram

Outcomes & Impact

  • Established Harvest to Gather as a shared narrative layer that clarified how VG Meats, Rowe Farms, and Olliffe function together—without collapsing their individual brand identities.

  • Improved internal alignment and information flow across teams by introducing consistent communications rhythms and shared messaging priorities.

  • Created a foundation for employee engagement and retention by addressing communication gaps identified in the Organizational Health Assessment.

  • Enabled coordinated customer engagement across retail brands through the launch of a shared loyalty and education program.

  • Provided scalable communications infrastructure to support continued retail expansion and deeper community connection.

Eighteen months ago, our company was in a degenerative state. Sales were declining, stores were looking dirty, dated and tired and team members were focused on many areas other than serving our customers. Over the past year we have begun a transformation that sets the stage for an encouraging future. We have made improvements to our farmer network, we now control our entire supply chain from farm to consumer, we have a dedicated warehouse to serve our business with night time deliveries 5 days per week, we have launched an online store and we have begun the process to engage our team members in a more regenerative way.
— Jamie Cooney, CEO, RoweFarms
Previous
Previous

Building a North East Texas Food Chain