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Ore-Ida

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Ore-Ida
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail, food
Founded1952; 72 years ago (1952)
FoundersRoss Erin Butler Sr.
Francis Nephi Grigg
Golden Grigg[1][2][3]
HeadquartersPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
ParentKraft Heinz
Websiteoreida.com

Ore-Ida is an American brand of potato-based frozen foods currently produced and distributed by Kraft Heinz's, H.J. Heinz Company Brands LLC. based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Ore-Ida's primary production facility is located in Ontario, Oregon, at the far east of Oregon on the border with Idaho, where the company was originally founded in 1949. It once employed over 1,000 local residents, and currently has about 650 employees. It is generally considered a leading potato brand in the American market, consistently accounting for a large amount of processed potatoes sold.[3]

History

Francis Nephi Grigg, one of the Grigg brothers that founded the "Oregon Frozen Foods Company" that evolved into Ore-Ida

In 1934, Mormon entrepreneurs Francis Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg began growing sweet corn in eastern Oregon. Their first company, "Grigg Brothers", became the largest distributor of sweet corn in the United States.[1][4][2] In 1949, with financial backing from their brother-in-law Otis Williams, the brothers rented a frozen food plant located in Ontario, at the border with Idaho, and converted it into a potato-processing facility. The three purchased the facility around 1952 after the plant went into foreclosure.[1][4][5] The company was officially founded that year as the "Oregon Frozen Foods Company".[5][6]

The company initially produced and sold frozen corn and French fries.[1][4] In 1953, Nephi, Golden, Otis, and Ross developed Tater Tots, bite-sized "logs" formed from seasoned slivers of potatoes, which were leftovers from French fry production.[1][3][7] Tater Tots are today considered the brand's most well known product.[3][7][2]

In 1960, the company built a second plant in Idaho at Burley,[5] where some of their potato fields were located.[8][5][self-published source] The company's name is a syllabic abbreviation of the first few letters of Oregon and Idaho and the original logo consisted of the outlines of Oregon and Idaho with Ore-Ida superimposed in italicized letters.[1]

After going public in 1961,[1][9] the Ore-Ida brand was acquired by the H. J. Heinz Company in 1965.[1][8][10] The Heinz company coined Ore-Ida's long time advertising slogan: “When it says Ore-Ida, it’s All Righta.”[8]

McCain Foods purchased Ore-Ida's foodservice division in 1997, acquiring five of the company's plants, including the Burley location.[2][11][12] Ore-Ida's division headquarters were located in Boise until 1999, when a new frozen foods division was created based at Heinz's corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[11][13]

Sports sponsorship

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ross Erin Butler Sr. Lukas, Paul (November 1, 2003). "Mr. Potato Head – A Dirt-Poor Farmer Turned Spud Scraps into Gold". CNN Money. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Francis Nephi ("Neef") Grigg Papers". University of Utah Library Special Collections.
  3. ^ a b c d "Ore-Ida Fun Zone – Fun Facts" Archived 2006-06-22 at the Wayback Machine. Ore-Ida.
  4. ^ a b c "A Brief History of Grigg Brothers" (PDF). Grigg Brothers. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Dick Grigg (December 2011). Family History and Temples Including Grigg and Related Family Genealogies. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 286–. ISBN 978-1-4653-8287-0. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Company Overview of Ore-Ida Foods, Inc". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b Elliott, Stuart (August 25, 2014). "Ore-Ida Campaign Focuses on Authenticity of Tater Tots". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Evan Morris (9 November 2004). From Altoids to Zima: The Surprising Stories Behind 125 Famous Brand Names. Simon & Schuster. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-7432-7647-4. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  9. ^ "S.E.C. Registrations" (PDF). The New York Times. June 30, 1961. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Heinz is Planning Food Acquisition: Directors Approve Plan for Purchase of Ore-Ida" (PDF). The New York Times. May 21, 1965. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  11. ^ a b "H.J. HEINZ COMPANY ANNUAL REPORT 2000" (PDF). Heinz. 2000. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  12. ^ McCain Foods (June 30, 1997). "McCain Foods Completes Ore-Ida Food Service Acquisition: New Company Has Strategic Advantages". PR Newswire. Chicago. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  13. ^ Sabatini (November 11, 1998). "Heinz moves Ore-Ida from Idaho to Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Thompson wins Ore-Ida race". Idahonian. (Moscow). Associated Press. July 9, 1990. p. 3B.
  15. ^ "Vickers to Drive No. 57 Ore-Ida Chevy in Busch Series". HendrickMotorsports.com. Concord, North Carolina: Hendrick Motorsports. February 8, 2005. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Ore-Ida Racing". HendrickMotorsports.com. Hendrick Motorsports. October 26, 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  17. ^ Long, Dustin (October 4, 2006). "Two will share ride for Wood Brothers". News & Record. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  18. ^ Ford Racing (October 13, 2007). "Charlotte II: Elliott - Ford Friday interview". motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  19. ^ Press Release (June 11, 2007). "Little Debbie Ford Show car stopping by Q-C". The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
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