Heluva Good! is an American company specializing in

cheeses Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, chip dips,

sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...

and

condiments A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant flavors. ...

. It has been a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

company

HP Hood LLC HP Hood LLC is an American dairy company based in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. Hood was founded in 1846 in Derry, New Hampshire, by Harvey Perley Hood. After two years in Derry, Hood took his milk south and established a factory in Charlestown, Mas ...

since the acquisition of

Crowley Foods Crowley Foods (legal name Crowley Foods LLC) is an American dairy company formerly based in Binghamton, New York. It has been a subsidiary of HP Hood LLC since being purchased by the company in 2004, which is headquartered in Lynnfield, Massachus ...

in 2004. The primary offices for the company are in

Lynnfield, Massachusetts Lynnfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 13,000. Lynnfield initially consisted of two distinct villages with a single governing body. Lynnfield Center had a mostly agricultura ...

.Heluva Good! (Contact Us)
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015. Heluva Good! products are sold in

grocery stores A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym f ...

throughout much of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

.Heluva Good! (About Heluva Good!)
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015. A Heluva Good! Country Store was located in Wallington, New York, just east of the village of Sodus which first opened in 1980.Heluva Good! (Country Store Information)
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015 All cheese products were packaged at a plant in

Sodus, New York Sodus is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Wayne County, New York, Wayne County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,384 at the 2010 census. The town takes its name from a native word for the bay in ...

.''Beaver County Times'' (June 11, 1980), ''Heluva Good Cheese Lives Up To Name'', page B2
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015. Both locations closed on June 26, 2015.''Democrat & Chronicle'' (Rochester, NY) - ''Heluva Good! plant, store in Wayne Co. to close'' by David Andreatta (April 19, 2015)
Retrieved Apr. 19, 2015.

History

Heluva Good! was founded by Sodus resident Perry Messinger in 1925, when he started making washed curd cheese as a hobby in the basement of A.B. Williams Company for which he owned and managed at the time.PostStar (September 15, 2002), ''A Heluva Good Idea'', Associated Press
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015. Regarding the name origin, a traveling salesman stopped by Messinger's store one day and sampled a wedge of cheese. "Boy, that's a hell of a good cheese," the salesman said after tasting it.Rochester Wiki - Heluva Good!
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015 Messinger would open a cheese shop in 1939 which officially established the company. Its present name would be registered the following year after an issue with government regulators regarding the application. Messinger was known for his humorous side. His executive officers for the company were listed:

Father Time Father Time is a personification of time, in particular the progression of history and the approach of death. In recent centuries, he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe ...

as President; Death and Taxes as Treasurer; Geo. Experience as Secretary. The face of Father Time adorned the packaging of Heluva Good! products for over half a century. Business was kept small and family oriented for a number of years. Despite this, his products had attracted notable customers including

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his raid on Japan during World War II, known as the Doolittle Raid in his honor. He ma ...

. In 1955, Messinger sold his company to salesman George F.T. Yancey, Sr. of

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. Yancey and his son would turn Heluva Good! into the regional business known today, introducing additional cheeses along with chip dips and condiments. Heluva Good! was purchased by Crowley Foods of

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

in 1984.''Finger Lakes Times'' (Geneva, NY) - ''Crowley buys Heluva Good Cheese'' by Carolyn Sheridan (June 15, 1984), page 18, retrieved Apr. 21, 2015 It would eventually be acquired by HP Hood twenty years later.The Whale 99.1 FM, ''Crowley Plant in Binghamton Begins to be Sold Off'' (March 25, 2013)
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015. In 2006, Father Time was retired in favor of more colorful and lively packaging but has since made a return.
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015. The company has sponsored

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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

racing events in recent years, including the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 of the

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...

in 2010–2011.

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 Stock car racing, Stock car races events in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. The race, currently known as FireKeepers Casino 400 for sponsorship reasons, is current ...

, Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015.Michigan International Speedway (Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400)
Retrieved Feb. 5, 2015 On April 19, 2015, HP Hood confirmed that both the cheese packaging plant in Sodus and the Heluva Good! Country Store in Wallington would be closing on June 26, 2015. Warehouse and delivery operations would continue through the end of July. Heluva Good! cheese products are currently manufactured by Schreiber Foods, Inc. of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

. Packaging operations would be moved there. Heluva Good! chip dips and condiments will still be manufactured and packaged at a facility in

Arkport, New York Arkport is a village (New York), village in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located in the town of Hornellsville, New York, Hornellsville, and is north of the city of Hornell, New York, Ho ...

which is owned and operated by HP Hood. Some New York State consumers have already complained about the change as a result of Heluva Good! cheese products no longer being produced locally, citing corporate greed.Syracuse.com - ''A Heluva Good reason not to buy their cheese anymore'' (April 21, 2015)
Retrieved Apr. 21, 2015. According to the Wayne County Economic Development Department, HP Hood stated that market conditions were the primary reason for the closure.''Finger Lakes Times'' - ''Market conditions cited as reason for Heluva Good closure'' by Jim Miller (April 21, 2015)
Retrieved Apr. 24, 2015.

References

{{reflist Brand name snack foods Companies based in Lynnfield, Massachusetts American companies established in 1925 Food and drink companies established in 1925 1925 establishments in New York (state)