MOULTON, Alabama – Red Land Cotton is expanding its home base in Lawrence County, as demand is surging for its heirloom-inspired linens.
The company completed construction of a 25,000-square-foot warehouse, distribution center and storefront in December and officially began operations there earlier this year.
The move follows a year of strong growth for Red Land Cotton, with sales volume that climbed 215 percent from March to August 2020 and increasing online traffic as well.
The company also added new employees in Alabama, along with a manufacturing arm in Mississippi that has expanded production capacity. The investment in its growth plans totals $1.5 million.
Anna Yeager Brakefield, Red Land Cotton’s co-founder, said several factors are driving the growth.
“I believe that we have been smarter about our marketing on social media and search engines, and we have grown our product offerings allowing for several different points of entry to our brand,” she said.
The company also has benefited from an increased resolve from consumers to buy American-made goods, Brakefield added.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Over the past three decades, Brakefield’s father, Mark Yeager, has been growing cotton on his family farm in Moulton, honing sustainable farming practices and custom gin operations. About five years ago, he and his daughter teamed up on a retail business to sell the farm’s crops directly to consumers.
Red Land Cotton, named after the red earth of northern Alabama, was born, and today sells luxury sheets, blankets, towels and more made from the farm’s cotton at manufacturing sites around the Southeastern U.S.
Their efforts have gained widespread attention, with the products featured in publications such as Southern Living, Garden & Gun and Country Living.
Tabitha Pace, president and chief executive of the Lawrence County Industrial Development Board, said the economic benefit of Red Land Cotton’s recent expansion will be seen in the community for many years to come.
“We are honored to have Red Land Cotton in our community as a company that thrives on 100 percent American-made products, but has an impact throughout the world,” she said.
“Red Land Cotton is the perfect example of the American dream, and we are happy that the dream began in Lawrence County, Alabama.”
INCREASING PRODUCTION
Additional growth is expected, Brakefield said, with plans to double the company’s workforce over the coming year.
Last year, Red Land Cotton added four new jobs to its fulfillment and distribution team, in addition to 18 jobs created at a new cut-and-sew manufacturing plant in Tylertown, Mississippi, that is currently producing sheets, loungewear and bathrobes.
“The addition of this manufacturing arm of our business raised our employee total to 26 and is allowing us increased production capacity as well as oversight on the final production aspect of our sheeting production,” she said.
Red Land Cotton’s most popular products are its Basic Sheet Set and Bath Towel Bundle.
“Both are core offerings that give a simple taste for our brand and the exceptional American manufactured quality of our products,” Brakefield said. “Further, our quilts are very popular and our ticking stripe print remains out of stock due to high demand.”
The company’s products are available for shipment worldwide, but sales are focused on customers in the U.S.
“Our focus is primarily on domestic sales as one of our most defining aspects is our dedication to a completely American-made supply chain across all product offerings,” Brakefield said.
(Courtesy of Made in Alabama)
