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Gerber Products Company is perhaps the most well-known purveyor of baby food and baby products in the world. The company was founded in 1927 in Fremont, Michigan by Daniel Frank Gerber, owner of the Fremont Canning Company. At the suggestion of a pediatrician, Gerber's wife began making hand-strained food for their seven month old daughter, Sally. Seeing a business opportunity, Gerber began devoting resources at the cannery to baby food production. By 1928, five products were available, and six months later, Gerber's baby foods were available nationwide.
The brand eventually became a major international player in the baby food industry, offering more than 190 products in 80 countries, with labeling in 16 languages. Its competitors include Beech-Nut and Del Monte Foods, though it should be noted that Gerber currently has an approximately 81% share of the US baby food market.
In 1994, Gerber merged with Sandoz Laboratories. In 1996, Sandoz merged with CIBA-Geigy to form Novartis, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Gerber is currently a business unit of Novartis Consumer Health, a division of Novartis.
Product Diversification
In 1967, executives at Gerber Products decided to offer a line of life insurance products aimed at young families. Nearly forty years later, the Gerber Life Insurance Company is the largest purveyor of direct-marketed life insurance in the country. Gerber Life currently has more than 2 million life insurance policies in force, and controls more than $650 million in assets. Gerber Life's term and whole life insurance products for adults and children are available in the United States, Puerto Rico, and most of Canada. Gerber Life currently has an A (Excellent) rating with independent rating entity AM Best, the third-highest out of thirteen rating categories.
Early in the 1990s, Gerber tried to enter into the sugar-free food market with a Sugar Free Vanilla Custard flavor, favorable to diabetic babies. Demand was not as high as expected for this product, however, and it was dropped off the supermarket shelves after a few years. Gerber also began to produce juices, which are still being sold as of 2004. In 1999, Gerber established Gerber Skincare products for babies.
Gerber has a long history of projecting a family-friendly image. In 1938, Gerber Products set up their consumer relations department, and then-ten-year-old Sally Gerber began answering each customer's letter individually, a practice she would continue for many years, even after she became president of the company. In 1986, the company set up a toll-free customer relations hotline, the Gerber Parents' Resource Center, which has been dispensing information on baby food and parenting issues ever since.
Gerber in Popular Culture
Numerous urban legends have circulated containing speculation about the identity of the famous Gerber baby. Some claim that the baby is Sally Gerber, while others insist that it is a young Humphrey Bogart. Humphrey Bogart's portrait, drawn by his mother, was indeed used in national advertisements for Mellin baby foods, but not for Gerber Products. According to Gerber, the baby is actually Ann Turner Cook, depicted in a charcoal sketch by Dorothy Hope Smith.
In 1960, Gerber started using glass jars, which often found new life as a household storage item. Soon after, other items such as pacifiers, baby bottles and small baby toys were introduced. In 2003, the glass jars were replaced with plastic.
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