Vlasic is an American brand of

pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...

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 The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs, and are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia and ...

) emigrated from

Livno Livno ( sr-cyrl, Ливно, ) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Fiel ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

to Detroit, Michigan in 1912 and started a small

creamery A creamery 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 had some cream ret ...

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 In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...

, 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 called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

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

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

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, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

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. He began working as a stage performer, and mostly was involved in theater until transitioning to film and television becoming a familiar character actor. From 1988 to 19 ...

, 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, Willi ...

. Vlasic Pickles was sold to

Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...

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, wheth ...

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 debto ...

and its pickle and barbecue sauce units were initially planned to be sold to

H. J. Heinz Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844 – May 14, 1919) was an American entrepreneur of Palatine descent who, at the age of 25, co-founded a small horseradish concern in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. This business failed, but his second business ...

. 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 fou ...

, 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 ...

in 2005 where many 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 Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Mount Pleasant and

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropo ...

, 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

History

See also

References

External links