J.H. Filbert, Inc. was a company based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

that produced

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

and butter substitute products, including Mrs. Filbert's Margarine and

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is a brand of a spreadable emulsion of vegetable oil in water with butter flavorCalvani Terry. ''Antitrust Law Journal'', 1989, "Advertising Regulation: The States v. FTC. "...a nationally distributed butter subs ...

. The company was founded by John H. Filbert, who died in 1917. His widow, Martha V. Filbert (and the namesake for Mrs. Filbert's Margarine(21 April 1960)
Mrs. Filbert Rose To Conquer
''

Daytona Beach Morning Journal ''The Daytona Beach News-Journal'' is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler Counties. It grew from the ''Halifax Journal'', which was started in 1883. The Davidson family purchased the newspaper in 1928 and retained control unt ...

'' (sample advertisement)) then took over as president, and served in that role for over thirty years, until her death in 1954.(13 October 1954)
Mrs. John H. Filbert (obituary)
''

The 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 ...

''(13 October 1954)
"Mrs. Filbert Dies At Age 76: Headed Food Products Firm For Over 3 Decades"
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' In 1972,

Central Soya Bunge Limited is an American agribusiness and food company, incorporated in Bermuda, and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. As well as being an international soybean exporter, it is also involved in food processing, grain trad ...

acquired the privately owned company, which at that time had reached annual sales of $63 million and was the largest privately owned manufacturer in Baltimore.(31 March 1972)
"Filbert to join Central Soya"
''The Baltimore Sun''(4 January 1978)

''The Baltimore Sun'' In 1979, Filbert invented

and began marketing it in 1981.Lazarus, George (June 1, 1981)

''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. ("Filbert has moved into the Syracuse, Albany, and Pittsburgh markets with a one-pound blend called 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.'")

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy ...

acquired Filbert in 1986 for $23 million in order to add East Coast U.S. manufacturing capacity. It continues to market some Filbert-created products.Shurtleff, William and Akiko Aoyag
''Work with Soy - A Special Exhibit - The History of Soy Pioneers Around the World''
unpublished manuscript, SoyInfoCenter.com, Central Soya Company (2004)Wyman, Carolyn (2004).
Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed The Way We Eat
'. Quirk Books. pp. 50–52. Jones, Geoffrey (2005)
''Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition''
Oxford University Press. pp. 102–03. (27 January 1977)

''The Baltimore Sun'' ("Walter Scott, Jr.. has resigned as president of JH Filbert, Inc. ...")

References

{{reflist, 2 Food manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Baltimore Margarine