Yarrows sign up as naming sponsor of the Taranaki Bulls
When the Taranaki rugby team run onto the field for their first game of the 2018 season, they’ll be the Yarrows Taranaki Bulls.
Port Taranaki’s sponsorship of the Taranaki Rugby Football Union (TRFU) came to an end on Wednesday after three years, with Yarrows The Bakers signing on for the next three years with the option of extension.
TRFU chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said Yarrows had a ‘‘fantastic association’’ with the province.
‘‘Yarrows is an iconic Taranaki company which has given fantastic support to Taranaki Rugby over a long period of time,’’ he said.
‘‘Sponsorship is crucial to the ongoing success of Taranaki rugby and we are extremely grateful that Yarrows has stepped up. We look forward to working with them as our principal partner and our other supporters as we head into the 2018 season as Ranfurly Shield holders."
Geoff Hitchcock from TRFU said principal partners were crucial for the union so they would be competitive in the Mitre 10 Cup.
‘‘They enable us to run the high performance and other programmes that we do... There’ll be some new fan engagement initiatives.’’
Yarrows managing director John Yarrow said he had taken his grandchildren to Ranfurly Shield defences, and remembered attending the Shield games when he was a boy.
‘‘It’s always been very very important really,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s our roots, Taranaki, at the end of the day.’’
Yarrows the Bakers was founded in Manaia by Alfred and Grace Yarrow in 1923 and has expanded to Rotorua and Tirau, producing frozen goods for supplying wholesale and foodservice customers across New Zealand, Australia and much of Asia. They are the naming rights sponsor of Yarrow Stadium, and the ground’s western stand, the Noel and Melva Yarrow Stand.
The company was principal sponsor of the NPC team from 1992 to 2002, and for the past two years has sponsored the Yarrows Kids Eat Free promotion, providing 500 free kids’ meals at each of Taranaki’s home games.
Yarrows executive director Philip Yarrow said rugby was a part of Taranaki culture.
‘‘There is a lot of history between our business and Taranaki Rugby and it’s exciting to be back,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s a huge part of Taranaki; it’s a big part of our culture. We’ve all grown up following Taranaki rugby so it’s important to us.’’
‘‘It’s just the business is going through some transition period at the moment so it’s about us aligning ourselves with another successful brand which is Taranaki rugby.’’
Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said the company had thoroughly enjoyed its three-year term as principal partner.
‘‘The team has represented the region and Port Taranaki extremely well,’’ he said.
‘‘We look forward to continuing our support of Taranaki rugby in some capacity this season and in the seasons to come.’’
The Bulls play their first match on July 28, a pre-season Shield defence against Poverty Bay before the Mitre 10 Cup campaign begins on Saturday, August 18, at International Stadium in Rotorua against Bay of Plenty.