America’s Largest Tomato Cans Arrive in Oklahoma City
March 8, 2010
ORESTES, INDIANA – Red Gold Tomatoes today unveiled the country’s largest tomato cans on a rare, oversized 3-D in Oklahoma City on Interstate 40. In conjunction with the large display, Red Gold will deliver 16,718 pounds of tomatoes to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma on Friday, March 12, at 11 a.m.
The tomato cans on the billboard are capable of holding the contents of more than 100,000 normal store cans. Red Gold has been producing premium quality tomato products since 1942 and is known for canning tomatoes within 24 hours of them being harvesting from their Indiana, Ohio and Michigan farm fields.
“We wanted to do something dramatic” said Greg Metzger, Director of Marketing at Red Gold. “We thought that oversized tomatoes and vines were a great way to reinforce the big tomato taste of Red Gold Brand canned tomatoes. And, even more importantly, making a donation to the Regional Food Bank in Oklahoma City.”
Together, the volume of the “big” cans total 1,617,093 cubic inches. A typical 14.5-ounce can of Red Gold Tomatoes has a volume of 30.9 cubic inches. Minneapolis-based advertising firm Clarity Coverdale Fury, an expert in such spectacular billboards, created the sign.
“The board itself took more than 9 weeks to construct,” said Rob Rankin, VP Director of Brand Development. “While this is not the first 3-D board in the country, it is relatively uncommon given the difficulty and time necessary to create such a display.”
In addition:
- There are 5 tomatoes: 5 feet tall by 13 feet around, each weighing about 150 lbs
- There are 140 feet of tomato vines
- The leaves on the tomato vine are 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide
- Each Red Gold can is 16 1/2 feet tall by 12 1/2 feet wide
- If the two giant cans were filled with Red Gold petite diced tomatoes, that would make enough salsa to serve over 400,000 people
The board will be up through March.
About Red Gold
Red Gold is a premier full-line tomato processing company with its corporate headquarters located in Orestes, Indiana. Red Gold produces premium quality canned tomatoes and tomato-based products for the retail, foodservice, private label, and club channels of distribution. The Red Gold family of consumer brands includes Red Gold, Redpack, Tuttorosso, and Sacramento. Exceptional quality and operational excellence are the shared values that contributed to the employee-created mission statement: “To produce the freshest, best tasting tomato products in the world.” Visit www.redgoldtomatoes.com to learn more about Tomato Country and for delicious tomato recipes
