Oberto is an American family-owned business that makes meat snacks including all natural

jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...

pepperoni Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper. Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Thinly sliced pepperoni is one ...

, charcuterie, chicken bites and other smoked meats. The company was founded in 1918 by Constantino Oberto in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. It is now headquartered in Kent, Washington. The company sells products under the Oberto, Oberto Classics, Lowrey's Meat Snacks, Pacific Gold Beef Jerky and Cattleman's Cut brands.

History

Constantino Oberto founded Oberto Snacks Inc. (formerly known as Oberto Sausage Company) making and selling hand-made Italian sausage in Seattle, Washington, in 1918. Using Italian family recipes, he began making

salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...

, coppacola and other sausages. On Labor Day 1943, Oberto died leaving his company and its two employees to his family. Art Oberto, Constantino's 16-year-old son, took over the company. He continued to run the company while completing his studies at

West Seattle High School West Seattle High School (known to students as "Westside") is a comprehensive public high school in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood that serves grades nine through twelve as part of the Seattle Public Schools. History and facilities The s ...

, resisting pressure to sell the business. By 1954, revenue had grown enough to begin construction on a new factory, completed the following year, with the help of a loan from the family of Oberto's new wife, Dorothy Vennetti. Oberto continued to grow through the 1960s with the production of its flagship beef jerky product and introduction of the product at Safeway stores in 1967. Safeway was the first national grocery chain to carry Oberto jerky. In 1990, Laura Oberto joined her father in a leadership role and became the co-chairman of the company. The following year, she took over as president of Oberto Snacks Inc.. In 1994, Oberto purchased Smoke Craft and Lowrey's meat snacks brands and facilities, both based in

Albany, Oregon Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, jus ...

. The purchase added 200 employees to the company. In 1999, the company entered into a distribution partnership with the

Frito-Lay Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-fla ...

company. In 2002, Oberto purchased the Pacific Sun Industries which produced the Pacific Gold brand. In 2009, after slow sales, Oberto ended the distribution deal with Frito-Lay and began distributing its own products. Shortly after the agreement was terminated, Oberto named Tom Ennis CEO and president. The company adjusted the recipes for its flagship jerky products in 2012, removing corn syrup, preservatives, dextrose, and other artificial ingredients. In 2013, Oberto opened a production and distribution center in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The factory added over 300 employees to the company's workforce. Ennis left the company in 2014 and Thomas Hernquist was named the CEO and president in January, 2015. In January 2016, Oberto announced they were closing the Nashville plant and laying off more than 80 people. Oberto announced in April 2018 that it was being sold to Premium Brand Holdings.

Marketing

Oberto' eccentric marketing tactics began with Art Oberto, who frequently drove an Oberto branded

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, the "jerky mobile" around the Seattle area beginning in the 1950s. The company also sponsored a Hydroplane race boat from 1975 until the end of 2015. The company's, "You Get Out What You Put In" campaign features professional athletes and has included

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

Louie Vito, Seattle Seahawks

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Richard Sherman, New England Patriots

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Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

, the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

Clint Dempsey Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. During his career, he played in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer ...

and sportscaster

Dick Vitale Richard John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster f ...

talking to a little voice in their stomachs played by Stephen A. Smith. The company has also recruited former NFL player,

Brian Urlacher Brian Urlacher (; born May 25, 1978) is an American former football linebacker who spent his entire 13-season career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where h ...

and trainer Harley Pasternak to join Dempsey and Vito as spokespeople for the brand and an active lifestyle. Beginning in 2014, Oberto announced a partnership with the

Tough Mudder Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt obstacle courses. It was co-founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. The obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and heights. The fi ...

events. As part of the deal Oberto also donated $100,000 to the

Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit ...

. The partnership was renewed in 2015. In 2015, the company launched a commercial during

Shark Week Shark Week is an annual, week long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel, which features shark-based programming. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July or early August, it was originally devoted to c ...

in which the CEO throws a giant piece of jerky into the ocean and a

Great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...

jumps from the water to eat it.

References

External links

* {{authority control American companies established in 1918 Meat companies of the United States Companies based in Kent, Washington Food and drink companies based in Washington (state) Sausage companies of the United States Food and drink companies established in 1918 1918 establishments in Washington (state) Brand name meats 2018 mergers and acquisitions American subsidiaries of foreign companies