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Pet, Inc. was an American company that was the first to commercially produce
evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product where about 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains adde ...
as a shelf-stable consumer product with its "PET Milk" brand. While evaporated milk was popular before refrigerators were common in homes, sales peaked in the 1950s and it is now a niche product used in baking and as a cooking ingredient. PET anticipated this change and starting in the 1950s became a multi-brand food products
conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** ...
through a series of acquisitions. This gave it ownership of consumer brands like
Old El Paso Old El Paso is a brand of Tex-Mex-style foods from American food producer General Mills. These include dinner kits, tacos and tortillas, taco seasoning, sauces, condiments, rice, and refried beans. Old El Paso products are marketed across the ...
Mexican foods, Progresso soups, Whitman's chocolates,
Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places United States *Underwood, Shelby County, Alabama *Underwood, Indiana *Underwood, Iowa *Underwood, Minnesota *Underwood, New York *Underwood, North Dakota *Underw ...
canned meats, and others. Pet was a subsidiary of multi-industry conglomerate IC Industries between 1978 and 1991 when it once again became independent. Pet ceased independent operations in 1995 when it was acquired by the
Pillsbury Company The Pillsbury Company is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company that was one of the world's largest producers of grain and other foodstuffs until it was bought by General Mills in 2001. General Mills brands consist of Annie's, Betty Crocker, Nat ...
with "PET" becoming a Pillsbury brand. When Pillsbury was acquired by
General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company or ...
in 2001, the PET brand was sold to
International Multifoods The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major busi ...
to avoid
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...
concerns. Multifoods in turn was acquired by J.M. Smucker in 2004 who spun off its US sweetened condensed and evaporated milk operations, including PET, as Eagle Family Foods Group in 2014. The "PET" trademark is owned by Eagle who still produce the PET Milk brand of evaporated milk. Eagle also licenses the PET trademark to the
Dairy Farmers of America Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA) is a national milk marketing cooperative in the United States. DFA markets members' raw milk and sells milk and derivative products (dairy products, food components, ingredients and shelf-stable dairy products) ...
(DFA) farmers
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
who use the "PET Dairy" brand as a regional tradename for fresh and processed dairy products sold in the
Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...
.


History


Background

John Baptist Meÿenberg (1847–1914) was an operator at the Anglo-Swiss milk condensery at
Cham, Switzerland Cham is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. Location Cham is located on the northern shore of Lake Zug, northwest of the cantonal capital of Zug. Surrounding Cham, Steinhausen is to the east, Hünenberg is to the west, Lake ...
. Anglo-Swiss made
sweetened condensed milk Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condense ...
. From 1866 through 1883, Meÿenberg experimented with
preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...
of milk without the use of sugar. He discovered that condensed milk would last longer if heated to 120 °C (248 °F) in a sealed container, and hence could be preserved without adding sugar. When Anglo-Swiss declined to implement Meÿenberg's work, he resigned from the company and emigrated to the United States. John Meÿenberg first moved to St. Louis, but soon relocated to
Highland, Illinois Highland is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,991 at the 2020 census. Highland began as a Swiss settlement and derived its name from later German immigrants. Highland is a sister city of Sursee in Switzerl ...
, due to its large Swiss population. On 25 November 1884, U.S. Patents 308,421 (Apparatus for Preserving Milk) and 308,422 (Process for Preserving Milk) were issued to Meÿenberg.


Founding

Meÿenberg associated with various local merchants in Highland, many of Swiss background, and starting in December 1884 had a series of meetings with John Wildi, Dr. John Knoebel, and Adolph Glock. On February 14, 1885, they founded the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, named after the Latin word for Switzerland, with in funds collected from other local farmers and businessmen including Louis Latzer, George Roth, and Fred Kaeser. Knoebel was named president and Wildi secretary and treasurer. Roth, Latzer, and Kaeser took director roles with Meÿenberg as superintendent of manufacturing. Production of Helvetia's first product, "Highland Evaporated Cream" unsweetened condensed milk, started on June 14, 1885, in an old, converted wool factory. They were soon processing 300 gallons of raw milk a day. But, on July 8, 1885, the steam-powered sterilizer exploded and the company ceased operations for a month for repairs. Production restarted in August 1885 and by the end of the year, Helvetia's evaporated milk was beginning to gain recognition in the Southern US. Its reputation was boosted after it donated 10 cases to victims of a fire in
Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding G ...
, and a grocer in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, ordered 100 cases after crediting it with helping to bring his sick infant back to health. However, throughout its first year the company experienced a number of setbacks. The new equipment required frequent adjustment, the factory was short of water and the company had to drill a number of additional wells, and, most concerning, cases of its milk began spoiling on store shelves. Production was halted several times to deal with these issues and much of the blame was placed on Meÿenberg. He was asked to take a reduced salary until the issues were resolved. Although he believed that the cause of the spoilage was inadequately sealed cans, others claimed that Meÿenberg's sterilization process was to blame. Meÿenberg refused to accept a reduced salary and left the company in August 1886. He went on to assist
Elbridge Amos Stuart Carnation is a brand of food products. The brand was especially known for its evaporated milk product created in 1899, then called Carnation Sterilized Cream
in producing Carnation Evaporated Milk in 1899. At Helvetia, Latzer, who had resigned within a year of the company's founding, rejoined and assumed the role of technical director and president. Latzer had both a college degree and an education in chemistry and went to work to determine the cause of the spoilage. Assisted by Dr. Werner Schmidt, Wildi, and Knoebel, all of whom had studied chemistry, the company determined that the spoilage had been caused by bacteria and resolved the problem. During the investigation, Latzer made improvements to Helvetia's operations, automating its plant and improving production speed and safety in the process.


Successful production

By 1890, they had resolved the spoilage issue and Helvetia began growing nationally and internationally. Wildi led the company's marketing efforts and, after seeing the benefits from its actions after the Galveston fire, one major strategy was to send in free product following natural disasters. Particular focus regions for marketing were the Southern US where fresh milk spoiled quickly in the heat and mining regions in the Western US where it was scarce. The company exhibited its products at international events including the Paris Exposition of 1889 and the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...
in Chicago in 1893. A major aspect of the company's marketing under Wildi in the 1890s was to promote it as an
infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...
, particularly as a better alternative to sweetened condensed milk which had previously been one of the only alternatives to breastfeeding. Sales began to slow in the 1890s, however, with competing products entering the market. In response, Wildi convinced the company to launch the "Economy" brand which sold alongside their Highland brand. The "Our Pet Evaporated Cream" brand was introduced when a New Orleans food broker asked Helvetia for a "baby-sized" can that could be sold for a nickel. Helvetia registered "Our PET" as a trademark in 1895 and by 1907 it had eclipsed the Highland and Economy brands to become the company's best seller.


Contested management

Just after the turn of the century, disputes between Latzer and Wildi on the direction of the company began to become more prominent. By 1906, they were two of only three stockholders in the company with the third being Kaeser. One aspect of the increased tensions was related to the number of family connections within the company.
John Flournoy Montgomery John Flournoy Montgomery (September 20, 1878 – November 7, 1954) was an American businessman and diplomat. His sole diplomatic posting was as U.S. Minister to Hungary, between 1933 and 1941. This ambassadorial assignment placed Montgomery at the ...
, who had married Wildi's only child, Hedwig, in 1904, was hired as an advertising executive in 1905 or 1906. Latzer disliked Montgomery. After Kaeser's son, Albert, married Latzer's daughter, Mary Jane, in 1906, Latzer and Kaeser became a voting bloc, often opposing Wildi. At the 1907 annual meeting of the company, Wildi was forced out of daily operations and was no longer the secretary and treasurer. He still owned over 33% of the company's stock and so was still a member of its board but in 1907 the board passed new laws which forbade board members from working in the milk condensing industry. Despite the new rules, Wildi and Montgomery organized the "John Wildi Evaporated Milk Company" six months after Wildi was forced out. The new company was headquartered in Highland with a factory in
Marysville, Ohio Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States, approximately 27 miles (44 km) northwest of Columbus. The population was 22,094 at the 2010 census, a 38.59% increase from 2000. Marysville's longtime slog ...
. The Helvetia board was outraged at this move but Wildi had enough votes to remain on the board, though he was denied access to meetings. The Wildi family successfully sued the company and, in November 1911, the court ruled that the 1907 change in rules was invalid. However, Wildi died on February 5, 1910, over a year before the court case was ruled on. He left his stock in Helvetia to his wife Louisa and his stock in the John Wildi Evaporated Milk Company to his daughter. Since the Helvetia stock was no longer owned by someone who held stock in a competing company, the 1907 rule change no longer had any impact on the Wildi family. After John's death, his family attorney, William Nardin, joined Helvetia's board. Louisa Wildi eventually sold her stock in the company in 1923 for . The John Wildi company, under Montgomery's management after Wildi's death, merged with
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


Government contracts

Since it was easy to transport and did not spoil, "Our PET" was widely used by the
US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
, including
Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's
Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
, during the
Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...
and
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. American troops referred to a Helvetia milk can as a "Tin Cow". To fulfill these large government orders, Helvetia built a second plant in
Greenville, Illinois : Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The population as of the 2020 census was 7,083, up from 7,000 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bond County. Greenville is part of the St. Louis M ...
and bought and converted a
limburger Limburger (in southern Dutch contexts Rommedoe, and in Belgium Herve cheese) is a cheese that originated in the Herve area of the historical Duchy of Limburg, which had its capital in Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, now in the French-speaking Belgian pr ...
cheese factory in
New Glarus, Wisconsin New Glarus is a village in Green County, Wisconsin, United States at the intersection of Wisconsin Highways 69 and 39. It has a population of 2,266 according to the 2020 census. The village, and the town that surrounds it, were named after the ...
to milk production in 1910. By 1918, it was operating 10 production facilities across the US Midwest, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Many of these were closed after World War I as government orders tapered off and as a result the company was no longer able to supply buyers in the Western US. In 1919, Pet formed a joint venture with Carnation, General Milk Co., for the purpose of expanding internationally. Pet's share of the venture cost . The company's Highland plant was closed temporarily in 1920 when local farmers went on strike. During a strike in St. Louis, Latzer had sold Helvetia's excess supplies to businessmen in the city when the St. Louis area milk producers association went on strike. Learning of this, the strikers in St. Louis convinced Highland area producers to strike as well.


PET Milk Company

Helvetia moved its headquarters to St. Louis in 1921 and Louis Latzer's son, John Latzer, took over leadership of the company though the former remained involved with the company. Two years later, Helvetia renamed itself the PET Milk Company after its signature product. In 1925, Pet bought the Sego Milk Products Company of
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
which restored the company's access to the Western US markets lost after its post-World War I draw-down. The Sego purchase was followed by the acquisition of a
Greenville, Illinois : Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The population as of the 2020 census was 7,083, up from 7,000 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bond County. Greenville is part of the St. Louis M ...
ice cream plant and a Johnson City, Tennessee fluid milk processing plant all in the late 1920s. Following its significant expansion during the 1920s, Pet Milk began trading on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
in 1928. The next year, it established a subsidiary, "Pet Dairy Products Company", to start selling fluid milk produced at its newly-acquired Johnson City plant. After Louis Latzer died in 1924, John Latzer put Nardin in charge of sales and marketing. Nardin convinced his friend, copywriter Erma Proetz, to take over the Pet account at its advertising agency, Gardner Advertising Company. Proetz began a successful campaign promoting Pet Milk in ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' in May 1927 followed by creating the "Pet Milk test kitchen" developing recipes and extensive marketing around the concept. Most notable of her marketing efforts was Proetz's development of a pseudonym, "Mary Lee Taylor", who was said to be a "nutritionist and home economist" for Pet Milk. Under this character, Proetz began making bi-weekly radio broadcasts in 1933 offering recipes and cooking tips which incorporated Pet Milk. The show was called "The Mary Lee Taylor Show" and broadcast from the PET Milk test kitchen. By 1943, these segments had been extended to a half hour airing on
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
on Saturdays with the first half being a
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
called "The Story of the Week" featuring a young married couple, Jim and Sally Carter. The second half would be "Mary Lee Taylor" discussing her recipes and cooking tips while promoting Pet Milk products. In the 1940s, Pet began offering free recipe books by mail for listeners of the show. At its height, the show was aired on 200 radio stations. It continued after Proetz's 1944 death with other actors playing the titular role. The show moved to NBC in 1948 and aired until 1954. Pet became the first company to add
vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
to its dairy products via irradiation in 1943 but sales of PET Evaporated Milk peaked in 1950 leading the company to look to diversification. It began expanding its products with a mix of acquisitions and product development. It introduced first of its kind nonfat dry milk made with an improved process. John Latzer died in 1952 succeeded in leadership by his brother Robert Latzer.


Diversification

Pet acquired Michigan-based Pet-Ritz Foods Company in 1955, a deal orchestrated by Louis Latzer's grandson Theodore Gamble, and established a Canadian subsidiary. Gamble was elected president in 1959 and Robert Latzer became chairman. Pet created the Mary Lee Taylor
Ice Milk Ice milk, or iced milk, is a frozen dessert with less than 10 percent milk fat and the same sweetener content as ice cream. Ice milk is sometimes priced lower than ice cream. A 1994 change in United States Food and Drug Administration rules all ...
brand in 1959 and in 1960 Pet's Canadian subsidiary acquired Canadian cheese company Old Cherry Hill Cheese House for over . Also in 1959, Pet created another frozen pie brand, Swiss Miss. By 1960, it also had significant international operations through the General Milk Co. which was jointly owned by Pet (35%) and Carnation (65%). General Milk itself operated a number of joint ventures including with
Standard Brands Standard Brands was a packaged foods company, formed in 1929 by J. P. Morgan with the merger of: * Fleischmann Company *Royal Baking Powder Company * E. W. Gillett Company of Canada (1929) - Toronto-based baking goods company (maker of Magic Bak ...
in Brazil and Beechnut-Life Savers in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. The company became a food products conglomerate in the early 1960s, purchasing or developing many new brands, as Gamble steered its focus toward the more profitable specialty and snack markets. It bought applesauce producer C. H. Musselman of
Biglerville, Pennsylvania Biglerville is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,225 at the 2020 census. The National Apple Museum is located on West Hanover St. in Biglerville. The borough is home to Biglerville High School. History Originally nam ...
in 1961 and the same year introduced Sego Liquid Diet Food. In 1962, Pet announced the closing of its factory in New Glarus but bought Laura Scudder's, a California producer of snack foods, peanut butter, and mayonnaise, from the Signal Oil and Gas Company. Between 1961 and 1962, Pet also bought Stephen F. Whitman & Son, Inc. chocolates, Downyflake frozen waffles, and pecan producer R. E. Funsten. Its Canadian subsidiary bought Van Kirk Chocolate and Dominion Dairies' Numilk Division. Pet bought Dutch jelly and confectionary producer C. V. Gebroeders Pel in 1963 as Pet sought high-growth markets. The gourmet foods market was Pet's next target with its 1964 acquisitions of Reese Finer Foods, Inc. and fruit-juice producer D. E. Winebrenner Co. Snack foods producer George H. Dentler & Sons and
Stuckey's Stuckey's is a convenience store in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwestern United States. known for its pecan log rolls and kitschy souvenirs. Additionally, Stuckey's sells candy, apparel, and souvenirs, and other products online. Stuckey's ...
, Inc. were bought in 1965. Stuckey's was Pet's first operation that was not food processing. Stuckey's did produce pecan candy, which fit nicely with Pet's Funsten business, but also owned and operated 27 roadside stores. The company also founded the
Matutano Matutano (officially ''Matutano Snack Ventures, S.A.'') is a producer and distributor of snacks and potato chips with headquarters in Barcelona, operating the markets of Spain and Portugal (here through its subsidiary ''Matutano Unipessoal Lda.'') ...
company in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain in 1965 as a joint venture with a local snack foods producer. Pet introduced Skimmed Milk and "99% Fat Free Evaporated Skim Milk" products in 1966. By this point, Pet's sales had increased 123% since 1959 when Gamble became president.


Pet Incorporated

In 1966, changed its name to Pet Incorporated to reflect its more diverse interests. It then merged with the Hussmann Refrigerator Company and bought a controlling interest in American Refrigeration Products S.A., a Mexican company in the process of expanding to Guatemala which had been partially owned by Hussmann. Continuing with its expansion strategy, Pet bought Aunt Fanny's Bakery in Atlanta in 1966 and in 1967
Schrafft's Schrafft's was a candy, chocolate and cake company based in Sullivan Square, Charlestown, Massachusetts. The famous Schrafft's neon sign is a significant landmark in Boston, although the former factory it sits above, constructed in 1928, has been ...
restaurants for . Mountain Pass Canning Company was Pet's next acquisition, buying the Texas-based company in 1968. With Mountain Pass came its Old El Paso brand of Mexican food. Around this time, Pet sold its portion of General Milk Co., receiving more than its initial investment of . Pet further diversified its product lines in October 1968 buying the 9-0-5 Liquor Store chain of 31 St. Louis-area stores for $6 million. This period was not without its challenges. While Pet was in the process of moving Hussmann production to a new St. Louis site from two old plants, a
teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...
strike impacted the division's performance. The strike combined with negative market pressures due to slower housing and supermarket building meant Hussmann's performance was flagging. Additionally, a number of Pet's new products introduced in the previous decades had either failed or were facing competition from newcomers. These challenges led to several changes to the organization in the late 1960s. Pet replaced the head of its milk division with the head of frozen foods, John Bittner, closing two milk plants, and cutting corporate employees by almost 200. Pet's president and COO Gordon Ellis also resigned and took the president role at
Fairmont Foods Fairmont can refer to: Places Canada * Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, a resort town ** Fairmont Mountain, a summit near Fairmont Hot Springs United States * Fairmont, Illinois * Fairmont, Minnesota * Fairmont, Missouri * Fairmont, ...
. At Pet, Boyd F. Schenk became president and CEO after Gamble's death in March 1969. Schenk had worked for Pet since 1947 starting as a laboratory technician then becoming president of the newly-formed frozen foods division in 1963. By the late 1960s, under Schenk's direction, frozen foods had become the largest of Pet's four divisions. With Schenk at the helm of the entire company, Pet saw record earnings, invested more in advertising than it had been, and continued to create new products, especially those aimed at nice markets. These included frozen Mexican pizzas from the Old El Paso brand, Pet-Ritz pizza crusts, frozen donuts, natural peanut butter, and Sego diet bars. It expanded its liquor store holdings buying Vendome Liquor Markets of
Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...
in 1970 and sold off two less profitable operations in 1971: Red Seal based in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
to T&W, Inc. and its Spanish snack foods brand, Matutano, to
PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
.


ICI

After almost tripling its revenue in 12 years to in 1977, Pet became the target of an unfriendly takeover bid by IC Industries (ICI) completed in 1978. The deal was complicated by the fact that Pet was in the midst of negotiations to finalize its acquisition of restaurant chain
Hardee's Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has evolved through several corporate owne ...
which it had agreed to buy for in March 1978. Since ICI was not interested in Hardee's, the Pet/ICI merger put an end to that discussion. However, Hardee's accused both Pet and ICI of using the merger as a defensive move to avoid carrying through on Pet's agreement. In the end, ICI paid Hardee's to settle the issue prior to completing the acquisition of Pet. ICI, named for the
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
and led by former
Railway Express Agency Railway Express Agency (REA), founded as the American Railway Express Agency and later renamed the American Railway Express Inc., was a national package delivery service that operated in the United States from 1918 to 1975. REA arranged transp ...
president William B. Johnson, was a Chicago-based conglomerate. It already owned diverse assets including the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, the American Brake Shoe Company, real estate in Chicago and New Orleans,
Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
General Bottlers,
Dad's Root Beer Dad's Root Beer is a root beer created in Chicago in 1937 by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns. It is currently owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC, and sold and marketed by the Dad's Root Beer Company LLC. History Dad's Root Beer was established in th ...
Company, Midas International, and the
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Chicago, Illinois. From its two pa ...
. It said it had been planning the Pet takeover for two years. Within a year of the acquisition, ICI split the businesses of Pet and Hussmann into separate subsidiaries with Hussmann keeping commercial refrigeration, environmental control, and store equipment product lines and Pet holding the food lines. Pet's Musselman division was sold off in 1981 to MFP Enterprises of
Vincentown, New Jersey Vincentown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located on the South Branch Rancocas Creek in Southampton Township of Burlington County, New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 0808 ...
for and was subsequently bought by Knouse Foods in 1984. In 1982, ICI bought specialty foods producer
William Underwood Company The William Underwood Company, founded in 1822, was an American food company best known for its flagship product Underwood Deviled Ham, a canned meat spread. The company also had a key role in time-temperature research done at the Massachusetts In ...
for merging it into Pet. This brought with it Underwood canned meats, B&M beans, and
Ac'cent Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wi ...
flavor enhancer. Pet also bought printing company McGrew Color Graphics which it added to its existing St. Louis Lithographing subsidiary. In 1983, Pet left the retail liquor business selling its 52-store 9-0-5 Liquor Stores chain to David C. Kay and a group of investors and the last 24 of its Vendome Liquor Markets stores to Rider Stores of Woodland Hills, California in November. It also sold off its Laura Scudder's business in December of 1983. The head of Pet's grocery group, Ray Morris, took the role of Pet's president in 1984 and Shenk became ICI's president and COO in 1985 but continued to serve as Pet's chairman. Also in 1985, the PET Dairy division was sold to the Challer Foods subsidiary of Finevest Dairy Holdings. This did not include the canned milk products. By the mid 1980s, Pet had undergone significant restructuring going from 30 operating divisions to 4 groups: Grocery, Specialty, Frozen & Baker, and International. In 1986, Pet acquired Ogden Food Products (including the brands Progresso, Las Palmas, Hollywood, and Hain) for and Primo Foods, a Canadian Italian foods marketer. Prepared salad maker Orval Kent Food Company, Inc. was Pet's next acquisition in 1988. Pet then bought Van de Kamp's frozen seafood from Pillsbury in 1989 and specialty meat producer Coorsh and Bittner was acquired by Pet's Canadian subsidiary.


Resumed independence

Pet's parent company ICI changed its name to Whitman Corp. in 1988 and sold its railroad and defense units to focus on its food products. A few years later, in 1991, Whitman spun off Pet, Inc. to once again operate as an independent company. By the early 1990s, Pet owned the LaCreme brand of whipped topping and Pet's subsidiary Pet-Ritz also held a regional brand of pie shells, Oronoque. Pet sold the Whitman's chocolate brand in 1993 to
Russell Stover Candies Russell Stover Chocolates, Inc., founded by Russell Stover, an American chemist and entrepreneur, and his wife Clara Stover in 1923, is an American supplier of candy, chocolate, and confections. The corporate headquarters are in Kansas City, M ...
. The next year, it sold Orval Kent a group of investors led by former
Land O'Lakes Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an American member-owned agricultural cooperative based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, Minnesota, United States, focusing on the dairy industry. The cooperative has 1,959 direct producer-members, 751 m ...
executive Dick Fogg. In 1995, Pet was acquired by the
Pillsbury Company The Pillsbury Company is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company that was one of the world's largest producers of grain and other foodstuffs until it was bought by General Mills in 2001. General Mills brands consist of Annie's, Betty Crocker, Nat ...
, a division of
Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...
, marking the end of Pet's independent operations.


Post independence

Over the next decade, Pet's primary brands would be split up as it and its parent companies underwent a number of transitions. In 1997, Pillsbury's parent Grand Metropolitan merged with
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
to form
Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...
. In 1999, Pillsbury sold the Underwood business, including the B&M, Ac'cent and Sa-son Ac'cent, Las Palmas, and Joan of Arc brands, to
B&G Foods B&G Foods is an American branded foods holding company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1996 to acquire Bloch & Guggenheimer, a Manhattan-based producer of pickles, relish and condiments which had been founded in 1889. ...
. Pillsbury's rational for the sale was so that it could focus on its larger brands including
Green Giant Green Giant and Le Sueur (spelled Le Sieur in Canada) are brands of frozen and canned vegetables owned by B&G Foods. The company's mascot is the Jolly Green Giant. Company and brand history The Minnesota Valley Canning Company was founded in ...
. A year later, General Mills agreed to acquire Pillsbury, and with it the PET brand and its evaporated milk and dry creamer product lines, from Diageo. However, the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
(FTC) initially objected to the transaction citing antitrust concerns. To satisfy the FTC, Diageo and General Mills both agreed to sell several Pillsbury and General Mills brands, including PET, to
International Multifoods The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major busi ...
. Both transactions were approved in 2001. Multifoods was acquired in 2004 by
The J.M. Smucker Company The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...
who spun off its US sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk operations in 2015. The new company, Eagle Family Foods Group, was backed by private investment firm Kelso & Company and based in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
. It took with it a number of Smucker brands including PET.


PET brand

The PET brand is used by two companies for their dairy products. The "PET" trademark is owned by Eagle Foods who still produce "PET Milk" brand evaporated milk. Eagle licenses the "PET" trademark to the DFA cooperative for use in DFA's "PET Dairy" brand. The PET Dairy operations is the successor to the original "Pet Dairy Products Company" founded by the PET Milk Company in 1929. After Pet sold the dairy division to Challer Foods in 1985, it eventually came under the ownership of the Land-O-Sun division of
Dean Foods Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintained plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods had 66 manufacturing faciliti ...
. During Dean's 2020 bankruptcy, the Pet Dairy operation was bought by farmers cooperative DFA who use "PET Dairy" as a regional tradename of fresh and processed dairy products in the
Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...
.


See also


Former Pet brands

* Laura Scudder's snack foods and peanut butter *
Matutano Matutano (officially ''Matutano Snack Ventures, S.A.'') is a producer and distributor of snacks and potato chips with headquarters in Barcelona, operating the markets of Spain and Portugal (here through its subsidiary ''Matutano Unipessoal Lda.'') ...
snack foods *
Old El Paso Old El Paso is a brand of Tex-Mex-style foods from American food producer General Mills. These include dinner kits, tacos and tortillas, taco seasoning, sauces, condiments, rice, and refried beans. Old El Paso products are marketed across the ...
Mexican foods * Progresso soups *
Schrafft's (restaurant chain) Schrafft's was a chain of high-volume moderately priced New York restaurants connected to the Schrafft's food and candy business of Boston. The dining rooms, which had tablecloths at dinner time, and later had separate standing bar areas, were ...
*
Sego (diet drink) Sego was a US meal replacement diet drink formally marketed by Pet, Inc. (at the time ''Pet Milk'') as ''Sego Liquid Diet Food.'' Introduced in 1961 and selling for approximately US25¢ each, Sego sales registered US$22 million to the company's M ...
*
Stuckey's Stuckey's is a convenience store in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwestern United States. known for its pecan log rolls and kitschy souvenirs. Additionally, Stuckey's sells candy, apparel, and souvenirs, and other products online. Stuckey's ...
pecan candies and roadside stores * Van de Kamp's frozen seafood * Whitman's chocolates *
William Underwood Company The William Underwood Company, founded in 1822, was an American food company best known for its flagship product Underwood Deviled Ham, a canned meat spread. The company also had a key role in time-temperature research done at the Massachusetts In ...
canned meats


Related articles

*
List of defunct consumer brands This is a list of defunct consumer brands which are no longer made and usually no longer mass-marketed to consumers. Brands in this list may still be made, but are only made in modest quantities and/or limited runs as a nostalgic or retro style it ...
*
Carnation (brand) Carnation is a brand of food products. The brand was especially known for its evaporated milk product created in 1899, then called Carnation Sterilized Cream
* Milnot


References


General references

*


External links


PET Milk
(Eagle Foods brand of evaporated milk)
PET Dairy
(DFA brand of milk products)

Apparatus for Preserving Milk

Process for Preserving Milk
U.S. Patent No. 358,213
Process of Evaporating Milk
1966 Advertisement for SEGO Diet Food by PETGardner Advertising Company digital collection featuring Pet Milk advertisements
from th
St. Louis Public Library
* {{Authority Control Companies based in Madison County, Illinois Food and drink companies established in 1885 Dairy products companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Illinois Defunct consumer brands Dean Foods brands The J.M. Smucker Co. brands American companies established in 1885