Gerber

History[edit]

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 Gerber 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.

The brand eventually became a major company in the baby food industry, offering more than 190 products in 80 countries, with labeling in 16 languages. Its primary competitors are Beech-Nut and Del Monte Foods, but Gerber controls 83 percent of the baby food market in the United States.

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.[1][2]

Some believe that Daniel Gerber's wife, Dorothy Gerber was the initial inspiration behind their baby food products. Legend has it that Dorothy came home one day after a visit to her infant daughter's pediatrician toiling 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 Daniel was frustrated and upset having come home to find his wife Dorothy looking strained and miserable in the kitchen. Not wanting to "exchange" his beautiful wife for this kitchen-bound monstrosity, Daniel then invented the Gerber baby food product line. Both of these narratives are obviously gender bias, yet vital nonetheless to understanding the incentive for the invention of Gerber products.[3]

Product diversification[edit]

In 1960 Gerber started selling its baby food in glass jars, which often found new life as household storage, especially in home workshops. Soon after, other items such as pacifiers, baby bottles, and small baby toys were introduced. In 2003 Gerber partially replaced the glass jars with plastic tubs for vegetables and some fruits. Other fruits and meats are still sold in jars.

In 1967 executives at Gerber Products decided to offer a line of life insurance products aimed at young families. Today, the Gerber Life Insurance Company is one of the largest purveyors of direct-marketed life insurance in the United States. Gerber Life currently has more than two million life insurance policies in force, with more than $650 million in assets. 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. Gerber Life currently has an "A" ("Excellent") rating with independent rating entity AM Best, the third-highest rating out of thirteen categories.

Early in the 1990s, Gerber tried to enter into the sugar-free food market with a Sugar Free Vanilla Custard flavor, favorable to 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, which are still being sold as of March 2009. In 1999 Gerber established Gerber Skincare products for babies.

Other Gerber products currently produced include breastfeeding supplies, such

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