Orville Redenbacher's is an American brand of
popcorn made originally by Chester Inc. which was owned by
Charles F. Bowman and
Orville Redenbacher (who starred in nearly all the commercials until his death in 1995). The product was launched to the public in 1969 and was sold to
Hunt-Wesson
Hunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by Conagra Brands. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby S ...
, a division of
Norton Simon Inc. in 1976. In 1983,
Esmark Esmark is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Birgitte Esmark (1841–1897), Norwegian malacologist
*Jens Esmark (1763–1839), Danish-Norwegian mineralogist, study of glaciers
* Lars Mathias Hille Esmark (1908–1998), Norwegian ...
purchased Norton Simon, and the next year (1984),
Beatrice Foods
Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...
acquired Esmark. In 1985,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
acquired Beatrice with the goal of selling off businesses.
The popcorn business and other old Hunt-Wesson businesses were sold in 1990 to
agribusiness giant
Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...
.
See also
*
List of popcorn brands
This is a list of notable popcorn brands. Popcorn, also known as popping corn, is a type of corn (maize, ''Zea mays var. everta'') that expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Popcorn is able to pop because its kernels have a hard moist ...
*
References
External links
Company WebsiteChester, Inc.
{{Popcorn brands
Conagra Brands brands
Popcorn brands
Products introduced in 1969