The story
Founded by Daniel Frank Gerber in 1927.1
Beginning and consolidation
Gerber was founded in 1927 in Fremont, Michigan, by Daniel Frank Gerber, owner of the Fremont Canning Company, which produced canned fruit and vegetables. At the suggestion of a pediatrician, Gerber's wife, Dorothy, began making hand-strained food for their seven-month-old daughter, Sally. Recognising a business opportunity, Gerber began making baby food. By 1928 he had developed five products for the market: beef vegetable soup and strained peas, prunes, carrots, and spinach. Six months later, Gerber's baby foods were distributed nationwide.
Some believe that Dorothy Gerber was the initial inspiration behind their baby food products. One day after a visit to her infant daughter's pediatrician she toiled in the kitchen straining fruits and vegetables for her child. After much hard work she suggested to her husband Daniel, whose family already owned the Fremont Canning Company, to create this food in an industrial setting, lightening the load of mothers everywhere. A different interpretation of the story is that he was frustrated and upset having come home to find his wife looking strained and miserable in the kitchen. Not wanting to "exchange" his beautiful wife for this kitchen-bound monstrosity, he then invented the Gerber baby food product line.
The brand eventually became a major company in the baby food industry, currently offering more than 190 products in 80 countries, with labeling in 16 languages. Its primary competitors are Beech-Nut and Del Monte Foods. As of 2017, Gerber controls 61 percent of the baby food market in the United States.
Product diversification
In 1960, Gerber started selling its baby food in glass jars. Soon after, other items such as pacifiers, baby bottles, and small baby toys were introduced.
In 1967, executives at Gerber Products decided to offer a line of life insurance products aimed at young families. The company's term and whole life insurance products for adults and children are available in the United States, Puerto Rico, and most of Canada.
Early in the 1990s, Gerber tried to enter into the sugar-free food market with a Sugar Free Vanilla Custard flavor, marketed to parents with diabetic babies. The product did not see as much demand as expected, so it was dropped after a few years. Gerber also began to produce juices around the same time.
In 1999 Gerber established skincare products for babies.
In 2001 Gerber partially replaced the glass jars with plastic tubs for vegetables and some fruits. Further development toward plastic packaging continued in 2003 after the 2001 change was considered a financial success. Other fruits and meats are still sold in jars.
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On December 31, 2018, Gerber Life Insurance was sold to Western & Southern Financial Group, who continue to use the Gerber trademark under license.
Merger
In 1994, Gerber merged with Sandoz Laboratories. Two years later, Sandoz merged with CIBA-Geigy to form Novartis, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 2007, Gerber was sold to Nestlé for $5.5 billion.
From Wikipedia’s article on Gerber Products Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4