Ore-Ida is an American brand of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

-based frozen foods currently produced and distributed by

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage ...

's, H.J. Heinz Company Brands LLC. based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Ore-Ida's primary production facility is located in

Ontario, Oregon Ontario is the largest city in Malheur County, Oregon, United States. It lies along the Snake River at the Idaho border. The population was 11,366 at the 2010 census. The city is the largest community in the region of far eastern Oregon, also k ...

, at the far east of Oregon on the border with

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, where the company was originally founded in 1949. It once employed over 1,000 local residents, and currently has about 650 employees. It is generally considered a leading potato brand in the American market, consistently accounting for a large amount of processed potatoes sold."Ore-Ida Fun Zone Fun Facts"
. Ore-Ida.

History

Nephi Grigg Tater Tots Inventor Oreida Founder

In 1934,

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

entrepreneurs Francis Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg began growing sweet corn in eastern

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Their first company, "Grigg Brothers", became the largest distributor of sweet corn in the United States. In 1949, with financial backing from their brother-in-law Otis Williams, the brothers rented a frozen food plant located in Ontario, at the border with

, and converted it into a potato-processing facility. The three purchased the facility around 1952 after the plant went into foreclosure. The company was officially founded that year as the "Oregon Frozen Foods Company". The company initially produced and sold frozen corn and French fries. In 1953, Nephi, Golden, Otis, and Ross developed

Tater Tots Tater tots are grated potatoes formed into small cylinders and deep-fried, often served as a side dish. The name "tater tot" is a registered trademark of the American frozen food company Ore-Ida, but is often used as a generic term. "Tater" ...

, bite-sized "logs" formed from seasoned slivers of potatoes, which were leftovers from French fry production. Tater Tots are today considered the brand's most well known product. In 1960, the company built a second plant in Idaho at Burley, where some of their potato fields were located. The company's name is a syllabic abbreviation of the first few letters of

and

and the original logo consisted of the outlines of Oregon and Idaho with ''Ore-Ida'' superimposed in italicized letters. After going public in 1961, the Ore-Ida brand was acquired by the

H. J. Heinz Company The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

in 1965. The Heinz company coined Ore-Ida's long time advertising slogan: “When it says Ore-Ida, it’s All Righta.”

McCain Foods McCain may refer to: * McCain (surname), a surname (includes a list of persons and characters) Companies * McCain Foods Limited, a producer of frozen foods * McCain, Inc., privately held American manufacturing company headquartered in Vista ...

purchased Ore-Ida's

foodservice The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many ...

division in 1997, acquiring five of the company's plants, including the Burley location. Ore-Ida's division headquarters were located in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

until 1999, when a new frozen foods division was created based at Heinz's corporate headquarters in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Sports sponsorship

* Ore-Ida

Women's Challenge The Women's Challenge bicycle race (originally known as the Ore-Ida Women's Challenge as the lead sponsor was the Ore-Ida brand of frozen potato products) was held annually in the western United States in southern Idaho, beginning in 1984 until i ...

road cycling race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most commo ...

in the 1980s and 1990s. * In 2005 and 2006, Ore-Ida sponsored

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured ...

' #57 Chevrolet in the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

. In 2007, Ore-Ida/Heinz and Delimex foods (another Heinz brand) sponsored the #21

Wood Brothers Racing Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by eponymous brothers Glen and Leonard Wood. From 2006 to 2008, the team was merged with Tad a ...

Ford for selected NASCAR

NEXTEL Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

events, driven by

Jon Wood Jonathan Wood (born October 25, 1981) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of Glen Wood, one of the famous Wood Brothers who founded what has become the NASCAR Cup Series' longest continuously active t ...

and Bill Elliott.

References

External links

* {{Heinz Heinz brands Food manufacturers of the United States Frozen food brands Ontario, Oregon Food and drink companies established in 1952 1952 establishments in Oregon Companies based in Pittsburgh

History

Sports sponsorship

See also

References

External links