Welch Foods Inc., commonly known as Welch's, is an American company, headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts. It has been owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a co-op of grape growers, since 1956.Hays, Constance L
How Too Much Purple Could Mean Less Green.
'' New York Times.'' April 18, 1999. Welch's is particularly known for its grape juices, jams and jellies made from dark

Concord grape The Concord grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species ''Vitis labrusca'' (also known as fox grape) that are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape pies, grape-fl ...

s and its white

Niagara grape Niagara grapes are a variety of the North American grape species ''Vitis labrusca'' (botanical family Vitaceae) and are used as table grapes and for wines, as well as jams and juice. Niagara is the leading green grape grown in the United States ...

juice. The company also manufactures and markets an array of other products, including refrigerated juices, frozen and shelf-stable concentrates, organic grape juice, fruit snacks, and dried fruit. Welch's has also licensed its name for a line of grape-flavored

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

s since 1974. Welch's grape and

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

soda flavors are currently licensed to Global Beverage Corporation. Other popular products that use the Welch's name are the

fruit snack A fruit snack is a type of Gummy candy, gummy snack made with fruit flavoring. They were first made by confectioner Louis Shalhoub in the 1970s as a lightweight high energy snack food for backpackers. Although they are marketed as a healthier alt ...

s made by The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc.

History

The company was founded in Vineland, New Jersey, in 1869 by

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

dentist

Thomas Bramwell Welch Thomas Bramwell Welch (December 31, 1825 – December 29, 1903) was a British–American Methodist minister and dentist. He pioneered the use of pasteurization as a means of preventing the fermentation of grape juice. He persuaded local ...

and his son Charles Welch. In 1956, the company was sold to the 'National Grape Cooperative Association', which comprises 1,300 grape growers located in Michigan,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington and Ontario, Canada. In the 1960s, Welch's was a major sponsor of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

primetime animated comedy series '' The Flintstones''; its characters were prominently featured in Welch's TV commercials on that show, and on jars of Welch's grape jelly which could be used as a

drinking glass upTypical drinkware The list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glass ...

after the product had been fully used. In the early 1970s, The Archies cartoon characters were on the jars.

Physical plant

The oldest extant structure associated with the company is

Welch Factory Building No. 1 Welch Factory Building No. 1 is a historic grape juice factory located at Westfield, New York, Westfield in Chautauqua County, New York. It was built in 1897 and expanded in 1899 and 1903, to be an 8-bay wide, 10-bay deep rectangular building. It i ...

, located at Westfield, New York, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Their largest manufacturing plant is located 17 miles away in

North East 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 sepa ...

, Pennsylvania.

History of Welch's Grape Juice

The method of pasteurizing grape juice to halt the fermentation has been attributed to a British–American physician and

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

(1825–1903) in 1869. Welch was an adherent to the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion which strongly opposed "manufacturing, buying, selling, or using intoxicating liquors" and advocated the use of unfermented grape juice instead of wine for administering 'communion', during the church service. A few years earlier, Welch had relocated to

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

, a town started in 1861 by Philadelphia land developer

Charles K. Landis Charles Kline Landis (March 16, 1833 – June 12, 1900) was a property developer in South Jersey, who was the founder and developer of Vineland, New Jersey, Vineland and Sea Isle City, New Jersey, Sea Isle City. Career His first foray as a d ...

(1833–1900) to create his own alcohol-free utopian society, a " Temperance Town" based on agriculture and progressive thinking. Landis declared that he was "about to build a city, and an agricultural and fruit-growing colony around it." The population reached 5,500 by 1865.Our People of the Century: Charles K. Landis - Founder of a City, Creator of a Dream
.

Cumberland County, New Jersey Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 154,152, making it the 16th-largest of the state's 21 counties. Its county seat is Bridg ...

. Accessed January 26, 2013. Landis determined the potential in growing grapes and named the settlement "Vineland", and advertised to attract Italian grape growers to Vineland, offering 20 acres (81,000 m²) of land that had to be cleared and used to grow grapes. Welch had moved to the region following his sister who was one of Vineland's earliest residents and began to produce an "unfermented wine" (grape juice) from locally grown grapes that was marketed as "Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine". This product became "Welch's Grape Juice" in 1893 when Welch and his son Charles E. Welch (also a practicing dentist) had decided to incorporate in 1893 as the Welch's Grape Juice Company at Westfield,

. The product was given to visitors at international exhibitions. The oldest extant structure associated with the company is

, located at Westfield, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. As the temperance movement grew, so did the popularity of grape juice. In 1913, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan served grape juice instead of wine during a full-dress diplomatic function, and in 1914,

Josephus Daniels Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948) was an American newspaper editor and publisher from the 1880s until his death, who controlled Raleigh's ''News & Observer'', at the time North Carolina's largest newspaper, for decades. A D ...

, Secretary of the Navy, forbade any alcoholic drinks on board naval ships, actively replacing them with grape juice. During World War I, the company supplied "grapelade", a type of

grape jam A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...

, to the military and advertised aggressively. Subsequent development of new grape products and sponsorship of radio and television programs made the company very successful.

Current products

Welch's produces a variety of juices, jellies/jams, and fruit snacks.

Juices

100% Juices

* Concord Grape * Concord Grape with Calcium * Concord Grape with Fiber * Red Grape * White Grape * White Grape Cherry * White Grape Peach * Black Cherry Concord Grape * Apple * Pineapple Apple * Orange

Juice Drinks

* Fruit Punch * Mango Twist * Orange Pineapple Apple * Peach Medley * Cranberry Juice Cocktail * Apple Cranberry * Grape * Passion Fruit * Mango Passion Fruit * Mango Pineapple * Orange Pineapple * Strawberry Kiwi * Tropical Carrot

Refrigerated Juices

* Concord Grape * Passion Fruit * Berry Pineapple Passion Fruit * Guava Pineapple * Mountain Berry * Mango Twist * Dragon Fruit Mango * Watermelon Lemonade

Diet and Light Juices

* Diet Concord Grape * Diet Cranberry Grape * Light Concord Grape

Sparkling Juices

* Sparkling Red Grape * Sparkling White Grape * Sparling Rosé Grape * Sparkling Cider * Sparkling Sangria * Sparkling Strawberry Daiquiri

Jellies/jams

* Concord Grape Jelly * Concord Grape Jam * Natural Concord Grape Spread * Reduced Sugar Concord Grape Jelly * Strawberry Spread * Natural Strawberry Spread

Snacks

* Fruit Snacks * Juicefuls * Fruit 'n Yogurt * Fresh Fruit * Organic Juice Ice Bar * Sparkling Soda * Slush Pouch (Concord Berry, Concord Grape, White Grape Cherry, and White Grape Peach) * Protein Smoothies * Gelatin (Grape and Strawberry Peach)

Advertising

Welch's long-time traditional advertising partner is The Via Agency in Portland, Maine and in the Fall of 2016 announced that Jack Morton Worldwide's Genuine group will be handling the mobile, social, and digital media and strategy. The company is looking to reach consumers on digital channels with advertising aimed at informing about Welch's products, ingredients, and the company's long heritage. Welch's has featured people in their television commercials such as: * Travis Tedford * Emily Mae Young * Isla Ng * Shyann McClure * Alton Brown

References

External links

Welch's company homepage

Welch's soft drink page

National Grape Cooperative Association
{{Use mdy dates, date=February 2017 Agricultural marketing cooperatives Drink brands Companies based in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Companies established in 1869 Food manufacturers of the United States Vineland, New Jersey 1869 establishments in New Jersey Food and drink companies established in 1869 Agricultural cooperatives in the United States Grape juice