Vlasic is an American brand of

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

that is currently owned by

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, ...

. Since its introduction in 1942, it has become one of the most popular pickle brands in the United States.

History

Franjo "Frank" Vlašić, a Bosnian Croat, emigrated from

Livno Livno ( Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: ''Ливно'', ) is a town and the administrative center of the Township of Livno and Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bis ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, at the time part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 1912 and started a small

creamery A creamery or cheese factory is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has ...

with savings from his factory job. His son Joseph acquired a milk route in 1922, which eventually grew into the state's largest dairy distributor.Uyterhoeven, Hugo E. R. (1973). ''Strategy and organization: Text and cases in general management.'' R. D. Irwin, In 1937, Vlasic was approached to distribute a home-style pickle, later marketing their fresh-packed pickle in glass jars. Its first plant was built in Imlay City, Michigan. The business rapidly expanded in the post-war years, corresponding with growth in per capita pickle consumption. A child-bearing

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

was introduced as a mascot in 1974, merging the stork baby

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

with the notion that pregnant women have an above average appetite for pickles. Vlasic marketed themselves as "the pickle pregnant women crave...after all, who's a better pickle expert?" The modern Vlasic Stork speaks in a style reminiscent of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

and holds a pickle like a cigar. The original voice was

Ron Masak Ronald Alan Masak (July 1, 1936 – October 20, 2022) was an American actor best known for playing the recurring role of Sheriff Mort Metzger of Cabot Cove in the CBS mystery series ''Murder, She Wrote'' starring Angela Lansbury, who predecea ...

, since replaced by

Doug Preis Doug Preis is an American voice actor, best known for his role as Phil Funnie, Chalky Studebaker, Willie White, Walter "Skunky" Beaumont, Bill Bluff, and Vice Principal Lamarr Bone on '' Doug''. Roles * '' Doug'' - Mr. Phil Funnie, Chalky Stud ...

. Vlasic Pickles was sold to

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

in 1978. It was spun off to ''Vlasic Foods International'' on March 30, 1998. On April 13, 1999, the company introduced the Vlasic Hamburger Stackers, made from naturally grown but specially cultivated cucumbers long and over in diameter, which enabled a single pickle chip to cover an entire hamburger. In early 2001, the company voluntarily filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and its pickle and barbecue sauce units were initially planned to be sold to H. J. Heinz. By April of 2001, the company had backed out of the deal and was looking into other offers. Vlasic is owned by

Pinnacle Foods Pinnacle Foods, Inc., is a packaged foods company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey that specializes in shelf-stable and frozen foods. The company became a subsidiary of Conagra Brands on October 26, 2018. History The company was foun ...

, a subsidiary of

, since its name change in 2001. The Vlasic Stork was shown in "Icons", a MasterCard commercial during

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...

in 2005 where he and many other famous advertising icons from food and cleaning equipment are shown having dinner together. On April 10, 2019 at the

Investor Day event, Tom McGough, Conagra Co-Chief Operating Officer, announced that Vlasic Pickle Chips, made from vacuum-fried pickles, were in development. The

cucumbers The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Mount Pleasant and

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, and processed at its plant in Imlay City, Michigan.Made in Michigan: Vlasic
WJRT-TV, April 24, 2013

References

External links

Vlasic Pickle website"The Wal-Mart You Don't Know", Charles Fishman, ''Fast Company'', Dec 1, 2003
{{Pinnacle Foods, Inc. Pinnacle Foods brands Products introduced in 1942 Pickles Brand name condiments Fictional storks

History

See also

References

External links