Welch Foods Inc., commonly known as Welch's, is an American company, headquartered in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. It has been owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

of grape growers, since 1956.Hays, Constance L
How Too Much Purple Could Mean Less Green.
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

.'' April 18, 1999. Welch's is particularly known for its

grape 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 a ...

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 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 Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to th ...

. Welch's has also licensed its name for a line of grape-flavored soft drinks since 1974. Welch's grape and strawberry soda flavors are currently licensed to Global Beverage Corporation. Other popular products that use the Welch's name are the fruit snacks made by The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc.

History

The company was founded in

Vineland ''Vineland'' is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's reelection.Knabb 2002 Through flashbacks by its characters, who have lived the sixties in their youth, th ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 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 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 Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, New York,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, 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 ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

''; 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 after the product had been fully used. In the early 1970s,

The Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

cartoon characters were on the jars.

Physical plant

The oldest extant structure associated with the company is Welch Factory Building No. 1, located at

Westfield, New York Westfield is a town in the western part of Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 4,513 at the 2020 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town, containing 65% of the town's population. This unique to ...

, and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1983. Their largest manufacturing plant is located 17 miles away in North East,

History of Welch's Grape Juice

The method of

pasteurizing Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. Th ...

grape juice to halt the fermentation has been attributed to a British–American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and dentist, Thomas Bramwell Welch (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, a town started in 1861 by Philadelphia land developer Charles K. Landis (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. Accessed January 26, 2013. Landis determined the potential in growing grapes and named the settlement "Vineland", and advertised to attract

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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, New York. The product was given to visitors at international exhibitions. The oldest extant structure associated with the company is Welch Factory Building No. 1, located at Westfield, and listed on the

in 1983. As the temperance movement grew, so did the popularity of grape juice. In 1913, Secretary of State

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

served grape juice instead of wine during a full-dress diplomatic function, and in 1914, Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, forbade any alcoholic drinks on board naval ships, actively replacing them with grape juice. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the company supplied "grapelade", a type of grape jam, 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 Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

and in the Fall of 2016 announced that

Jack Morton Worldwide Jack Morton Worldwide is an American multinational brand experience agency. It is a subsidiary of The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). The company's current chairman and CEO is Josh McCall. Conference & Incentive Travel Magazine ranked Ja ...

'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 Travis William Tedford (born August 19, 1988) is an American former actor. A child actor during the 1990s, he is best known for portraying ''Our Gang'' kid Spanky McFarland in the 1994 feature film ''The Little Rascals'' and for being the first ...

* Emily Mae Young * Isla Ng * Shyann McClure *

Alton Brown Alton Crawford Brown Jr. (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, chef, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show '' Good Eats'' that ran for ...

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