Arva Flour Mills acquires Red River Cereal Brand from The J.M. Smucker Co.

Arva, Ont. – Arva Flour Mills, North America’s oldest continuously operating commercial flour mill, announced it will acquire the Red River Cereal Brand from Smucker Foods of Canada Corp., a subsidiary of The J.M. Smucker Co.

The mill officially acquired the historic cereal brand on June 1, 2022, and plans to launch the brand at its onsite retail store and their website, www.arvaflourmill.com. Further plans to distribute the Red River Cereal Brand into other retail locations are projected for later this year.

“Since acquiring Arva Flour Mills last Fall, hardly a day went by at our retail store without a customer asking if we carried Red River Cereal. This prompted our initial research, and we soon came to the decision that this iconic, nearly century old brand would be a natural fit alongside the historic Arva Flour Mills Brand,” said Mark Rinker, owner of Arva Flour Mills. “”We know that the countless customers who used to start their day with Red River Cereal share in our excitement to get this beloved brand back on store shelves.”

In 2011, the Red River Cereal recipe was slightly altered to include Steel Cut Wheat and Rye. Arva Flour Mills plans to revert back to the original recipe to include Cracked Wheat and Rye. The Mill is in the process of acquiring a hammer mill to crack the wheat, rye and flax ingredients. Cracking the grain will result in a more creamy texture and restore the cereal to its original way. The cereal will be made entirely on-site at our historic Mill, adding lore to both the Red River Brand, and the Mill itself.

“Since taking ownership of The Mill, we have expanded the Arva Flour Mills brand to over 150 grocery and specialty stores in Ontario. Our brand offering includes artisan flours, beer bread, corn bread, and our newest addition, Red Fife pancake mix. With our established retail relationships we hope to have Red River Cereal alongside our other products in the near future,” Rinker said.