Graceland — An Innovator in the Industry

Graceland Fruit emerged as an innovator in the cherry industry of northern Michigan as it developed an infused dried cherry in the mid-1980s and then used similar technology to produce the first dried cranberry in 1988. With the ability to preserve nutritional values and extend the shelf life of natural fruits, Graceland has since expanded production to a broad variety of fruits including blueberries, strawberries and apples, and has focused on developing new shelf-stable products.

Innovation was first driven by Don Nugent, the company's founder, and then by the research and development staff that developed Graceland's Soft-N-Frozen™ fruit products. This remarkable process produces fruit pieces that are soft to the bite to zero degree Fahrenheit and ideal for ice cream, sorbets, and other frozen applications.

With its infusion capability, Graceland's research and development team also created infused dried vegetable ingredients for trail mixes and other consumer applications.

In 1996, Graceland obtained exclusive license of patented slicing/dicing to better serve food manufacturing. In 2003, the company was awarded a patent on infused dried vegetables. Proprietary infusion technology to expand drier capacity was introduced in fiscal 2009.

Today, Graceland provides a wide range of infused fruit and vegetable ingredients ideal for the health conscious and convenience driven consumer and its R&D staff specializes in customizing products to customer specifications including water activity, piece size, and infusion mediums such as apple juice.

The company is steadfast in its dedication to exceptional quality, dependable performance and a continuing commitment to innovation.