The company’s first products were smoke and cured hams and bacon.
Ephraim son and a friend, John C. Zieley, decided to form a company to sell Lipe’s ham to a wider market.
Twenty years after its founding as the Imperial Packing Company in 1891, the company had diversified its product line to include mustard, peanut butter, macaroni, marmalades and coffee.
The company eventually expanded to a national market with many well-known brands including Tetley Tea, Martinson’s Coffee and Table Talk Pie.
In 1921, Beech-Nut was acquired by Life Savers to form Beech-Nut Life Savers and entered the baby food market with 13 varieties of strained baby food.
The company then became one of the first infant food marketers to seal its products in glass jars rather than metal cans.
In 1968, Beech-Nut Life Savers was acquired by E.R Squibb Company, a pharmaceuticals form, which affiliated with Olin Mathieson.
Several new baby foods were introduced by Beech-Nut during 1968.
History of Beech-Nut Company
