COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 311423

Dried and Dehydrated Food Manufacturing

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

28companies1858–1997founding years28still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedLeroux S.A.S.
1858
FoundedDeli Universal NV
1869
FoundedSensient Technologies Corporation
1882
FoundedKanebo, Ltd.
1887
FoundedFederico Paternina S.A.
1896
FoundedRanks Hovis McDougall Limited
1899
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedAjinomoto Co., Inc.
1909
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedMeiji Seika Kaisha Ltd.
1916
FoundedKewpie Kabushiki Kaisha
1919
FoundedCampbell Soup CompanyFoundedEzaki Glico Company Ltd.
1922
FoundedGrupo Herdez, S.A. de C.V.
1923
FoundedGeneral Mills, Inc.
1928
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedStrauss-Elite Group
1934
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedCJ Corporation
1953
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
FoundedKettle Foods Inc.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedImagine Foods, Inc.
1982
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedGoodman Fielder Ltd.
1986
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Leroux S.A.S. →
Active · founded 1858 · France
Leroux S.A.S.
Deli Universal NV →
Active · founded 1869 · Netherlands
Netherlands-based Deli Universal NV is the wholesaling and distribution arm of Universal Corporation, alongside sister…
Burns, Philp & Company Ltd. →
Active · founded 1882 · Australia
Long a part of Australia's corporate establishment, Burns, Philp & Company Ltd.
Sensient Technologies Corporation →
Active · founded 1882
Early 1970s:[fsps*2.5]Company expands into soft-drink bottling.
Kanebo, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1887 · Japan
Kanebo, Ltd.
Dole Food Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1894
Best known for its pineapples, Dole Food Company, Inc., is promotes its Dole brand of fresh and packaged food and…
Federico Paternina S.A. →
Active · founded 1896 · Spain
Federico Paternina S.A.
Ranks Hovis McDougall Limited →
Active · founded 1899 · United Kingdom
Ranks Hovis McDougall Limited (RHM) is the food division of Tomkins PLC, which acquired the company (then known as…
The Quaker Oats Company →
Active · founded 1901
The product of a rocky union between three 19th-century millers, The Quaker Oats Company maintains a portfolio of…
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1909 · Japan
Ajinomoto Co., Inc., the world's first and still-largest producer of monosodium glutamate (MSG), is one of Japan's…
Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. →
Active · founded 1916 · Japan
Founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of biscuits and caramels, Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd.
CSM N.V. →
Active · founded 1919 · Netherlands
CSM N.V.
Kewpie Kabushiki Kaisha →
Active · founded 1919 · Japan
Kewpie Kabushiki Kaisha (QP Corporation is its English equivalent name), one of Japan's leading food products…
Bush Brothers & Company →
Active · founded 1922
Bush Brothers & Company, family owned and operated, is the nation's leading producer and marketer of baked beans.
Campbell Soup Company →
Active · founded 1922
Campbell Soup Company is the number one maker of soups in the world, holds the top position in that category in Europe,…
Ezaki Glico Company Ltd. →
Active · founded 1922 · Japan
Ezaki Glico Company Ltd.
Zatarain's, Inc. →
Active · founded 1922
Zatarain's, Inc., is a leading producer of rice mixes.
Grupo Herdez, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1923 · Mexico
Grupo Herdez, S.A.
General Mills, Inc. →
Active · founded 1928
General Mills, Inc.
Molinos Río de la Plata S.A. →
Active · founded 1931 · Argentina
Now a century old, Molinos Río de la Plata S.A.
Strauss-Elite Group →
Active · founded 1934 · Israel
Merging two of Israel's oldest and largest food companies in 2004, the Strauss-Elite Group has become that country's…
CJ Corporation →
Active · founded 1953 · South Korea
South Korea's largest food manufacturer, CJ Corporation, is also one of the world's leading producers of such food…
Evergreen International Aviation, Inc. →
Active · founded 1960
The "airline's airline," Evergreen International Airlines, Inc.
Kettle Foods Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
Kettle Foods Inc.
Imagine Foods, Inc. →
Active · founded 1982
Imagine Foods, Inc.
Natural Selection Foods →
Active · founded 1984
Natural Selections Foods grew from a home kitchen to state-of-the-art food processing company.
Goodman Fielder Ltd. →
Active · founded 1986 · Australia
Goodman Fielder Ltd.
Clif Bar Inc. →
Active · founded 1997
Based in Berkeley, California, Clif Bar Inc.
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