Hickory Farms, LLC is an American food gift retailer with headquarters in Chicago.

[1] Richard Ransom established the company in 1951 when he began selling handcrafted cheese at local fairs.

By 1959, the company added summer sausage and opened its first retail store in Maumee, Ohio.

By 1981, it operated over 1,000 Hickory Farms stores and seasonal kiosks open in the United States and Canada.

Ransford played a huge role in moving the company to a more modern and digital brand.