Elmer's Fine Foods, or just Elmer's, is a snack food company based in
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. Elmer's started in 1946 in making snack products, including its popular CheeWees and
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
cheese curls sold in various
southeastern states
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
. Until their chocolate business was sold, they also specialized in the production of seasonal candies such as Heavenly Hash and Gold Bricks, that are popular in the
Gulf Coast states. Their manufacturing plant and offices are located in the
Ninth Ward
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is bound ...
, a part of New Orleans that was heavily flooded by
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
.
History
Elmer Candy Company began in 1855 as Miller Candy Company, launched by Christopher Miller.
[Jamey Landry. 2014. Elmer's CheeWees—the Big Cheese of New Orleans. ''Inside New Orleans'', Vol. 1 (No. 1):94-96, 98-99.]
Retrieved 2015-04-01. Miller transferred the company to his son-in-law, Augustus Elmer, who changed the name to Miller-Elmer Candy. Elmer's five sons joined the business, and it became
Elmer Candy Corporation around 1914.
[Mark Miester and Michael DeMocker. 2004. Robert Nelson—Elmer Candy. ''Tulanian'', Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana]
Retrieved 2015-04-01.
During the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the Elmer brothers developed a cornmeal
Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...
-based cheese-curl snack.[ In 1939, the sales manager for Elmer’s, Morel M. Elmer Sr., held a contest in New Orleans to name the famous cheese curls, and the winning entry was ''CheeWees''. In 1946, Elmer's Fine Foods was formed to market their new cheese-curl product.][History of Elmer's CheeWees]
Retrieved 2015-04-01.
In 1963, the five sons of Augustus Elmer sold the Elmer Candy Corporation. By doing so, they forfeited the trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
names of the products, and Elmer’s Fine Foods lost the ability to use the name CheeWees. For the next 30 years, the company marketed their famous cheese curls using the names ''Chee-T'' and ''Chee-Z-Snax''.[
In the 1980s, brothers Alan, Paul, and Stephen Elmer joined the business and began modernizing the company, adding products, and increasing sales.][ As president of Elmer's Fine Foods, Alan wanted to use his grandfather’s trademarked CheeWees name. In 1993, Elmer's Fine Foods reacquired the naming rights from the Elmer Candy Corporation and began to once again sell CheeWees.][
Following devastation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Elmer's Fine Foods was closed for 14 months while its ]infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
was rebuilt. The company re-opened in January 2007, and launched its company web site.[
Brothers Alan, Stephen, and Paul are the fifth generation of the Elmer family to be in the food business in New Orleans. CheeWees are sold throughout ]Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and Louisiana, and sales have expanded to national and international markets.[
]
ProductsElmer's Quality Snacks—Product Index
Retrieved 2015-04-01.
*''CheeWees'' are produced in six flavors (original cheese, bar-b-que, hot-n-spicy, green onion, jalapeño, and taco).
*''Elmer's Popcorn'' is packaged ready-to-eat in caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
and cheese flavors.
*''Elmer's Jumbo Peanuts'' are dry roasted and packaged in shell.
*''Elmer's CheeWees T-shirt
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
s''
See also
* Cheese puffsElmer's Fine Foods was involved in their development.
References
{{Reflist
Food and drink companies of the United States
Snack food manufacturers of the United States
Manufacturing companies based in New Orleans
Food and drink companies established in 1946
1946 establishments in Louisiana