Newman's Own

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Newman's Own
Founded 1982
Key people Paul Newman (founder), A.E. Hotchner (founder), Nell Newman (Newman's Own Organics)
Products salad dressing, snacks
Website http://newmansown.com

Newman's Own is a food company and for-profit corporation founded by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner in 1982. Newman received all of the profits from product sales, and then he donated 100% of the proceeds, after taxes, to various educational and charitable organizations of his own selection.[1] In 1982, Newman summarised his initial intentions regarding distribution of his company's profits:

"My profits will be divided between a number of tax-deductible charities and causes, some church-related, others for conservation and ecology and things like that".[2]

The brand started with homemade salad dressing that Newman and Hotchner had prepared, and given to friends as gifts.[3] The successful reception of that salad dressing led Newman and Hotchner to commercialise that item for sale.[4] From that initial food item, made with USD $40,000 of Newman's own funds as seed money,[5] the product offerings have expanded to include pasta sauce, iced tea, lemonade, limeade, fruit cocktail juices, popcorn, pretzels, salsa, cookies, coffee, grape juice, dog food, cat food, and other offerings. Newman's Own Limeade was introduced in 2004. The sketch of Newman that is found on the labels of each product bottle was created by a young fan from Boston. While Newman was filming The Verdict in the area, a young girl gave him a sketch which she had drawn, and it has been used ever since.[citation needed] Each label features a picture of Newman, dressed in a different costume to represent the product. The company incorporated humour into its label packaging, as in the label for its first salad dressing in 1982, "Fine Foods Since February".[5]

According to the Newman's Own website, the franchise has resulted in over $250 million in donations as of February 2008. The company co-sponsors the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award, which is presented annually to a United States resident who has fought courageously, despite adversity, to safeguard the First Amendment right to freedom of expression as it applies to the written word.

The complete list of charities, and their nature, to which the proceeds are given mostly remain undisclosed.[citation needed] One beneficiary of his charity is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp for seriously ill children he co-founded in 1988, located in Ashford, Connecticut. While proceeds from Newman's Own financed the startup of the camp, it now receives funding from many additional sources. Other beneficiaries of the profits from Newman's Own have included The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund (from 1983 onwards)[6], the Safe Water Network, [7], Women of Worth[8], and the Breast Care Centre at Singleton Hospital through the Swansea National Health Service Trust.[9]

In 1993, Newman's daughter, Nell Newman, founded Newman's Own Organics, as a remote division of the company that she runs from California. It produces only organic foods and her father posed with her for the photographs used on the labels. She also donates the proceeds of that division to charity.[10]

Newman and Hotchner co-wrote a memoir about their company and the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (ISBN 0-385-50802-6), published in 2003. Newman and Robert Forrester had arranged for the continuation of the distribution of Newman's Own profits to charity after Newman's death through the establishment of the Newman's Own Foundation.[7]. After Newman's death on 26 September 2008, whilst some feared that the company would become defunct, the company is expected to continue to function, with Nell Newman expected to take it over.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mike Allen (18 November 1998). "Making His Own Charity an Acquired Taste", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-09-30. 
  2. ^ Mimi Sheraton (15 September 1982). "Newman's Salad Dressing: Oil, Vinegar and Ballyhoo", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-10-01. 
  3. ^ Nadine Brozan (22 December 1989). "From Paul Newman's Own Company, $250,000 for Neediest", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-09-30. 
  4. ^ Florence Fabricant (3 April 1991). "New Salsa Is True to Newman's Own Taste", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-09-30. 
  5. ^ a b Ty Burr (28 September 2008). "Blue-eyed idol put an indelible stamp on movies, philanthropy", Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2008-10-01. 
  6. ^ Jon Gertner (16 November 2003). "Newman's Own: Two Friends and a Canoe Paddle", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-09-30. 
  7. ^ a b Susan Haigh (29 September 2008). "Newman planned for charitable legacy after death", International Business Times. Retrieved on 2008-09-30. 
  8. ^ Trina Kleist (6 April 2006). "Local charity wins Newman’s Own award", The Union. Retrieved on 2008-10-01. 
  9. ^ "Hospital cash from Hollywood icon", BBC News (3 October 2007). Retrieved on 2008-10-01. 
  10. ^ Florence Fabricant (6 April 1994). "Food Notes", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-09-30. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newman%27s_Own"
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