Welch's
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Welch Foods Inc., commonly known as Welch's, is an American company, headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts. It has been owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a co-op of grape growers, since 1956.<ref name=nytimes>Hays, Constance L. How Too Much Purple Could Mean Less Green. New York Times. April 18, 1999.</ref><ref>Welch's History</ref> Welch's is particularly known for its grape juices, jams and jellies made from dark Concord grapes<ref>Hein, Kenneth. Welch's Touts Concord Grape as 'Superfruit'. Archived Adweek. November 17, 2008.</ref> 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. 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other popular products that use the Welch's name are the fruit snacks made by The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc.
HistoryEdit
The company was founded in Vineland, New Jersey, in 1869 by teetotal dentist Thomas Bramwell Welch and his son Charles Welch.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WelchCompany">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1956, the company was sold to the National Grape Cooperative Association, which comprises 1,300 grape growers located in Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington and Ontario, Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the 1960s, Welch's was a major sponsor of the ABC primetime animated comedy series The Flintstones; 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 cartoon characters were on the jars.Template:Cn
Physical plantEdit
The oldest extant structure associated with the company is Welch Factory Building No. 1, located at Westfield, New York, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.<ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref> Their largest manufacturing plant is located 17 miles away in North East, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History of Welch's Grape JuiceEdit
The method of pasteurizing grape juice to halt the fermentation has been attributed to a British–American physician 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 Holy Communion during the church service.<ref>Hallett, Anthony; and Hallett, Diane. "Thomas B. Welch, Charles E. Welch" in Entrepreneur Magazine Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs. (John Wiley and Sons, 1997), 481–483; and Haines, Lee M.; and Thomas, Paul William. "A New Denomination" in An Outline History of the Wesleyan Church (4th edition ed.). (Indianapolis, Indiana: Wesley Press, 1990), 68.</ref> 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.<ref name="LandisBioVineland">Our People of the Century: Charles K. Landis - Founder of a City, Creator of a Dream Template:Webarchive. Cumberland County, New Jersey. Accessed January 26, 2013.</ref> Landis determined the potential in growing grapes and named the settlement "Vineland", and advertised to attract Italian 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".<ref>The Founding of Vineland and Its Growth as an Agricultural Center, West Jersey and South Jersey Heritage. Accessed August 28, 2007.</ref> 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.Template:Cn
As the temperance movement grew, so did the popularity of grape juice. In 1913, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan served grape juice instead of wine during a formal diplomatic function, and in 1914, Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, forbade any alcoholic drinks on board naval ships, actively replacing them with grape juice. During World War I, 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.Template:Cn
Current productsEdit
Welch's produces a variety of juices, jellies/jams, and fruit snacks.
JuicesEdit
100% juicesEdit
- 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 drinksEdit
- 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 juicesEdit
- Concord Grape
- Passion Fruit
- Berry Pineapple Passion Fruit
- Guava Pineapple
- Mountain Berry
- Mango Twist
- Dragon Fruit Mango
- Watermelon Lemonade
Diet and light juicesEdit
- Diet Concord Grape
- Diet Cranberry Grape
- Light Concord Grape
Sparkling JuicesEdit
- Sparkling Red Grape
- Sparkling White Grape
- Sparling Rosé Grape
- Sparkling Cider
- Sparkling Sangria
- Sparkling Strawberry Daiquiri
Jellies/jamsEdit
- Concord Grape Jelly
- Concord Grape Jam
- Natural Concord Grape Spread
- Reduced Sugar Concord Grape Jelly
- Strawberry Spread
- Natural Strawberry Spread
SnacksEdit
- PB&J sealed crustless sandwiches
- Fruit Snacks
- Juicefuls
- Fruit Strips<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- 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)
AdvertisingEdit
Welch's long-time traditional advertising partner is The Via Agency in Portland, Maine and in the Fall of 2016 announced that Jack Morton Worldwide'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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Welch's has featured people in their television commercials such as:
- Travis Tedford<ref name="TT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Emily Mae Young<ref name="AdAge">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Isla Ng<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Shyann McClure<ref name="SM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Alton Brown<ref name="AB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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